Walk: Blue pools of Ballachulish

📌 Ballachulish, Highland
★★★★

Sparkling blue pools in a rocky amphitheatre are the local legacy of Ballachulish’s once important slate mining industry, now forming an unusual backdrop to a dense network of walking routes. The Brecklet Trail developed by Forestry and Land Scotland rises high above the quarry’s west cliffs, soon revealing stunning views both over the manmade lakes and along Loch Leven. After the steep ascent the panorama is lost as the path plunges into a dark forest, but small waterfalls, abandoned buildings and even a small fairy village (see our photo guide!) ensure there’s still plenty of visual interest. The quarry interior and a nearby inclined plane (used for transporting slate from the upper parts of the quarry down to sea level) are both reachable by short detours from the walk’s start point, and are included on the route map below.

📷 Chronological photo guide

🌍 Location

📌 Start / finish on Park Road, just off A82 on the north side of Ballachulish

🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NN 084585

🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.678346,-5.130034

🚌 Bus to start

🚗 Car park

📝 Key info

▶ 4 km / 2 mi | ▲ 120 m | ⌚ 1.5 hr

Features: ⛏️ Ballachulish Slate Quarries; 📷 Loch Leven viewpoints; 🏠 Brecklet, churches & Ballachulish; ⛏️ Ballachulish inclined plane

⬤ Moderate | Clear paths and tracks throughout. Main circuit has a steep ascent; later detours are flat.

➡️ Clockwise circuit, then two detours from car park to slate quarry & inclined plane: start – track up west side of quarry wall – ruined buildings at 🧭 NN 085575 – Brecklet – start – detours to Ballachulish Slate Quarries (to east) & inclined plane (to north). Main circuit & detours both mostly signposted.

Download file for GPS

🥾 On our last visit

Wildlife: Small birds, grasshoppers.

Weather: Mostly sunny, warm and humid; storm clouds building over hills.

July 2019