Glen Nevis from the Walk to Dun Deardail

Bright and dry. More cloud again. Good sunny spells later in the morning and again later in the afternoon.

Since Maeve the Deerhound has been eating well this week and hoping she was as strong as she appeared to be we decided we would have a go at the walk we saw illustrated on the board at the Braveheart car park in Glen Nevis yesterday. The walk is 6.2 miles in total (out and back) and goes uphill from the car park mostly on a forestry road which is part of the last stage of the West Highland Way. Dun Deardail in Glen Nevis is the site of an ancient vitrified Iron Age fort located near the West Highland Way at 1,165 feet above sea-level

The website WalkHighlands says "Dun Deardail is an iron-age fort whose outline can still be seen as grassy embankments. The fort has a spectacular hilltop location with stunning views and makes a worthy objective on this waymarked walk from Glen Nevis."

The views from the walking route are over the Glen to Ben Nevis and to Stob Ban and the Mamores. Once at the site the view looking down into Glen Nevis is almost alpine and on a clear day like today the distance that can be seen is very impressive. Without a clear day when the mountain tops can be seen the walk wouldn't be recommended.

On the way up we met one or two people coming downhill on the last stage of their way walk. Maeve walked slowly but we gave her plenty of time and had two or three stops when there were good grassy sided to the forestry road to rest her paws. When we eventually left the forestry road and turned sharply uphill for the route in to the fort itself the going was easier for her with a smoother path. We had taken lunch with us so we had a good break at the top, on the site of the fort. We had taken a plastic dog bowl for Maeve so she could have a pouch of soft dog food in gravy, a share of sandwiches, and some water afterwards. Not long before we left to come back down a young Swiss lady arrived to have a look at the fort. She had made a detour from the last section of the Way walk. We felt it was a shame the site was fairly bare and she was a bit disappointed having seen the dramatic artists impression board at the point the fort path left the Way walk. We had a chat for a while and Apothecary7 took her photo for her with the mountains and the Way path in the background.

From the artists imprseeion board:
"A Desirable Residence in Glen Nevis.
We think Dun Deardail fort was built around 2000 years ago. It may have been occupied or rebuilt on several occasions through time - from Cletic fort to Pictish citadel.
Imagine the people who lived here, their colourful flags and banners proclaiming the power of the tribe to which they belonged. The fort dominates the glen - a natural stronghold with amazing views.

The Night of the Burning.
When did people last live here?
We aren't sure - but we do know why they left.
Fire destroyed the fort, Intense heat melted the rock - a process known as vitrification, You can still see blocks of burnt stone rubble withing the walls of the upper citadel and the lower enclosure.
Vitrification was unlikely to have been the result f accidental fire. The heat required to melt the rocks is such that the fires must have been deliberately set, the timber laced ramparts heaped with additional wood. Dun Deardail was deliberately destroyed - perhaps symbilically by victorious attackers, or perhaps as a ceremonial event following the death of a tribal chief or king. We may never know for sure."

Maeve seemed to walk more easily on the way down so we made good time. Again we met way walkers, most of them passing us as we wandered down the forestry road.

We drove into Fort William and parked on the supermarket car park. Maeve decided to have a snooze. We went into town and had tea/coffee and cakes then had a walk along the street where most of the shops are. Fingerless gloves were on the agenda for the colder days ahead. We found good thin thermal (base layer) ones in one of the better outdoor stores.

This evening I have dropped a new fleece blanket over Maeve as she lies sleeping on her mat on the living room of the lodge to make sure she is a cosy as possible.

E-PL5 f/9 1/400 sec. ISO-200 14mm

Extras:

Looking down Glen Nevis from Dun Deardail

Two shots of the Ben Nevis path form the walk to Dun Deardail - can you spot it ?