The Cruachan Dam – A Walk up the Hollow Mountain
High on the side of Ben Cruachan, a long concrete dam holds a reservoir in a corrie, with Loch Awe far below it.
The power station it feeds is hidden inside the mountain, and its owner is happy for walkers to climb to the dam. There's a steep path straight up from the lochside and a longer, gentler road, with a café at the foot.
- Time
- About three hours there and back by the steep path from Falls of Cruachan station, which climbs 400 metres; about four hours by the dam road from Lochawe village, three miles each way. A walk, steep by the path.
- The path
- The steep path is rough, wet and stepped, with a stile; the dam road has a good surface but climbs for three miles. The visitor centre is step-free.
- Where to start
- Cruachan Visitor Centre car park, free for the centre's visitors, for the steep path; a small village car park on St Conan's Road in Lochawe for the dam road.
- Set off
- From November to January, set off by noon to be down in daylight.
- When to go
- All year in daylight, best on a weekday when the visitor centre is open. From November to January set off by noon. Not the steep path after snow or hard frost.
- Dogs
- Under close control: a hill farm's animals graze along the dam road. No pets in the visitor centre.
- Children
- A steep, rough climb of 400 metres: older children used to hills.
- Toilets
- In the visitor centre, in its opening hours only.
- Before you set out
- The visitor centre is shut at weekends and on public holidays, and from Friday 18 December 2026 to Monday 1 February 2027. Tours inside the mountain are suspended.
The walk
Park at the Cruachan Visitor Centre, on the A85 beside Loch Awe, where the car park is free for the centre's visitors. The centre opens on Monday at 11am and from Tuesday to Friday at 10.30am, and closes at 2.45pm, so this is a weekday walk if you want the car park, the toilets and the Hollow Mountain Cafe. It's shut at weekends and on public holidays, and closed from Friday 18 December 2026 until Monday 1 February 2027. The tours inside the mountain are suspended while two of the four generating units are upgraded, but the free exhibition, the café and the shop stay open. Drax, which owns the power station, describes two ways up to the dam and puts no restriction on walkers.
The steep path starts at Falls of Cruachan station, 200 metres along the road, and climbs 400 metres through woodland and out onto open hillside. It's rough and wet underfoot, so wear boots, and allow about three hours there and back. The easy way is the dam road from St Conan's Road in Lochawe village, three miles each way on a good surface that climbs gradually. There's a small village car park at the foot, and a foot gate beside the locked vehicle gate. Allow about four hours for that.
At the top is a buttressed concrete wall 316 metres long and 46 metres high, holding back a reservoir in a corrie of Ben Cruachan. The power station was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1965, and its machine hall lies a kilometre inside the mountain. A hill farm's animals graze along the dam road, so keep dogs under close control, and pets aren't allowed in the visitor centre. From November to January, set off by noon, and after snow or a hard frost leave the steep path for another day. The café does soup, sandwiches, toasties and cakes, so eat before you climb or be down by two.
If it rains
The steep path is rough and runs with water in rain, and the dam is in cloud on a low day. In wet weather take the dam road from Lochawe village, or keep to the free exhibition and the café at the visitor centre.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Where to eat
Cruachan Visitor Centre, a café in Dalmally.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Will Gaze via Google