Ballachulish – An Old Slate Quarry and Lunch by Loch Leven

Ballachulish Slate Quarry

Slate was quarried at Ballachulish from 1693 until 1955, and boats carried it south to roof Edinburgh and Glasgow. Park at the Ballachulish Visitor Centre and cross the road to the quarry gate, marked by a sandstone obelisk that once stood on Fort William's High Street. A well-made path loops round the floor of the old workings, past two pools under slate cliffs with rusty seams: the iron in the rock left about three-quarters of what was cut unfit for roofs. The free Ballachulish Quarry Stories app has a story for each information board, told by local people, many from quarrying families, and needs wifi only to download. A second path runs about 500 metres round the north side to the slate arch, built to carry wagons of slate down an incline from the upper workings. Now restored, it's said to be the last of its kind in Scotland.

Isles of Glencoe Hotel

Lunch

It's about a six-minute walk, or a minute by car, to the Isles of Glencoe Hotel, on the shore of Loch Leven across the A82. Its restaurant, Waters Edge, cooks with ingredients from the area and looks out over the loch. Lunch is served every day from noon to 5pm, in the restaurant or in the bar next to the wood burner.