Video: The Battlefields of Glencoe

Glen Coe, whose name probably means “narrow glen,” is famous for the sheer majesty of mountain scenery. Glen Coe is a steep-sided valley climbing steadily southeast from the village of Glencoe on the sea-loch, Loch Leven. The north side of the glen is closely hemmed in by the Aonach Eagach ridge. The south side of lower Glen Coe revolves around Bidean nam Bian, a mountain that keeps its summit hidden behind three huge protruding buttresses that tower over the glen. Between two of these buttresses lies a high-level hidden valley, for many years used by the Glen Coe MacDonalds to hide their cattle, and anyone else’s they could get their hands on. As early as 1501, MacDonalds captured a Campbell castle, and many raids followed over the next 150 years.