Kinlochleven to Blackwater Reservoir by Catriona Hare

Kayaking is not the only activity from Kinlochleven. 

I needed activity at my own speed on Sunday, so I decided to forgo the potentially windy sea kayak trip around Shuna and hike up the north side of the Leven Valley from the hostel to  Blackwater Reservoir; followed the route of the pipe linking Loch Eilde Mor (It would be hard to get lost) to the reservoir and then descend back to Kinlochleven.

The moss trees, grass and most other ground level vegetation, apart from the primroses were dry possibly, explaining the fire the night before. However, once I got to the height of the reservoir there were plenty of boggy patches to fall into. This is not a walk to undertake after a lot of rain unless you are light with very big feet.

I then made the mistake of deciding to go the shortest way back down the hill to Kinlochleven, even though I knew, from the map that the route was steep the alternative forest track looked a bit dull.  However, I need to remember my knees no longer belong to a 20-year-old and that “windy” kayaking would have been the easier option.