Ring of Steall

The Ring of Steall is the name given to a horseshoe of peaks in the Mamores range in the central Highlands. The circuit of the ring is rightly very popular, taking in four Munros. It begins (and ends) in Glen Nevis and is a long and demanding walk that should take a fit hill-walking party around seven hours.

The ridge is the sort of thing that would be described in a guidebook as “a superb high-level promenade, resplendent with narrow airy ridges and peppered with occasional scrambling to sustain interest”. Quite good then. In fact, while this is an excellent hill walk, any scrambling is very straightforward (think Striding Edge) and most sections are bypassed by a path. In winter, it can pose more difficulties.

Debate rages about whether the ring should be walked in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. If walking clockwise, the route begins from the car park at the end of the road and meanders through the pretty scenery of Glen Nevis before reaching Steall Bridge, which crosses the wide but fairly shallow Water of Nevis. The “bridge” consists of three thick Steall (or possibly steel) wires – one for feet and two for hands. Crossing involves doing a sort of tightrope act with your feet and holding the other wires for support. The bridge does tend to wobble a bit, especially when a person of ample girth gets on or off it!



Once on the far shore, a path skirts around the base of the impressive Steall Waterfall before zig-zagging steeply up the slopes of An Gearanach. From here the ridge is gained and the rest of the walk becomes visible. It’s an impressive sight: the ridge curves round almost 360 degrees over a small distance. The distance in a straight line is only around 2km from one side of the ring to the other. On a clear day, there are fantastic views of the Ben and the Carn Mor Dearg arête.

The walk from here is long but straightforward – just follow the ridge over the steep summits of Stob Choire a’ Chairn and Am Bodach (escape from here to Kinlochleven is possible but not a desirable option if a vehicle has been left at Glen Nevis). After Am Bodach there’s a welcome flatter section before arriving at the dramatically named Devil’s Ridge. From there it’s up to the final and highest peak of the day, Sgurr A’ Mhaim. Unfortunately from there it’s a long descent (much of it on scree) back to the road. The car park looks quite close from the summit but it’s actually a kilometre below you!

Warning: The Mountaineering Council of Scotland has published a comprehensive safety warning about the descent from the Ring of Steall, which can be found here. This is worth reading before setting out: descending to Glen Nevis on either side of the waterfall can be dangerous.