The Devil's Staircase

The Devil’s Staircase is the nickname, and now the accepted name, for the military-road zigzags that carry the West Highland Way over a shoulder of the Aonach Eagach range between Altnafeadh, on the A82 near the head of Glen Coe, and Kinlochleven. It was built in the 1750s as part of General Wade’s network of roads for moving troops through the Highlands, and the zigzags exist for the same reason they exist on any old military road: to keep the gradient manageable for men and pack animals, which they still do for walkers two and a half centuries later.

This ground sits outside the National Trust for Scotland’s Glen Coe estate, which stops short of the pass, so the path is maintained as part of the long-distance route rather than by the Trust’s ranger service. From Altnafeadh the path climbs steadily, about 305m of ascent, to a cairn at 550m, the highest point anywhere on the West Highland Way. The climb is steep in places but never technical, on a clear, well-constructed path that can still be boggy underfoot and exposed to wind, since it crosses open moorland with no shelter. From the top, the view back to Buachaille Etive Mòr and ahead to the Mamores is one of the best on the whole route.

Most West Highland Way walkers continue down the far side into Kinlochleven, a long descent that needs transport back to Glencoe afterwards. It works equally well as an out-and-back from Altnafeadh to the pass and home again, which turns a point-to-point day into a self-contained half-day walk with no logistics required. Either way, this is open, weather-exposed ground, not a route to underestimate just because it’s a well-trodden long-distance path. It suits a walker who wants a hill day’s exposure on a path that needs no navigation, and anyone curious to stand on the highest point of the West Highland Way without walking the rest of it. It does not suit anyone wanting shelter, a view that arrives early, or a short outing: the 305m of ascent comes before any of the reward. For roadside Glen Coe scenery with none of the climb, the pull-in at the Study is fifteen minutes back down the A82.