
TOURING DAYS IN SCOTLAND FROM LOCHEND
WEST COAST DAY TRIP
We’re only 90 minutes from Glencoe, and two hours from Fort William and Oban, Gateway to the Isles. With the beautiful Inner Hebridean island of Mull only a 45-minute ferry from Oban, that means even some of the most dramatic Highland & Island scenery is just a daytrip from Lochend. Here are a couple of daytrips we recommend:
The best Scottish West Coast daytrips from Lochend
GLENCOE
A wonderful drive twixt ben and glen, giving you a really proper hit of dramatic Highland scenery starting only 20 minutes from Lochend when you reach the shores of Loch Lubnaig. At the end of the loch, a quick one-mile detour to Balquhidder brings you to Rob Roy’s grave, then it’s on past Glen Ogle viaduct to Tyndrum.
Stop here at the Real Food Cafe or the famous Green Welly Stop, then the mountain scenery really becomes magnificent, with Glencoe’s much photographed Buchaille Etive Mhor (as seen in Skyfall) looming majestically over the top of Glencoe. Pull over into the layby for breathtaking views of The Three Sisters, then on to the excellent Glencoe Visitor Centre for lunch and a fascinating exhibit on the notorious 1692 massacre.
Before heading back to Lochend, you could go for walk or detour 30 minutes there-and-back to Kinlochleven’s Ice Factor, the biggest indoor ice-climbing wall in the world.
OBAN & THE ISLES
Oban (aka Gateway to the Isles) is the main west coast town with a bustling vibe and sweeping views of Kerrera and Mull. Only two hours from Lochend via Tyndrum (see the route description above), it's easily doable as a day trip from here. From Oban, you could turn the drive into a really spectacular loop, returning via Lochgilphead, Inverary, Loch Fyne Oyster Bar, the Arrochar Alps and Loch Lomond, a three-hour return that would show you a huge chunk of the Scotland's beautiful West Coast.
Alternatively, it’s only a 45-minute ferry to Mull, so you could even manage a loop round northern Mull (2.5hrs) taking in pretty Tobermory and the stunning white beach at Calgary Bay, catching the last ferry back at 7.30pm. In summer, you’ll still be back to Lochend before dark!