Work begins to improve visitor experience at Glencoe NNR

The programme of work at Glencoe and Glen Etive includes improvements at key viewpoints and parking areas. The works are funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF) and the Coastal Communities Fund as well as by the National Trust for Scotland.

With more than 2 million vehicles driving the 10-mile stretch of the A82 through the glen each year, and many stopping to explore and camp in neighbouring Glen Etive, this project aims to help reduce visitor pressure on the local community and environment, empowering visitors to act responsibly when they come to enjoy the area.

Glen Etive works

We have appointed a local firm – Oban-based McLaren Plant & Contracting – to undertake a number of small parking infrastructure works on the single-track Glen Etive road, between the A82 and the Trust’s land boundary at Dalness.

The popular Skyfall viewpoint in Glen Etive will be sensitively enlarged and surfaced to improve the presentation of this dramatic photo spot and to ensure stopping vehicles do not block traffic on the single-track road. A similar lay-by enlargement will take place at the Triple Falls, which is a popular parking place for canoeists, as well as at several other locations along the road where inappropriate parking in passing places and on verges causes damage to the landscape and traffic disruption.

Work began in September and will be complete in November 2023. As the works are off-road, there will be no disruption to the flow of traffic at this stage.

Three Sisters parking works

We have appointed a local firm – Ardgour-based Corrigan Contractors – to undertake re-surfacing and parking layout line marking work at the Three Sisters parking areas beside the A82 in the heart of Glencoe. This will take place over an eight-week period, scheduled to start on 30 October 2023. One of the two parking areas will remain open at any time.

Parking bays will be marked out on the ground to ensure a safe and organised parking capacity in the larger of the two parking areas, with the smaller parking area becoming dedicated to buses and coaches.

This work will bring essential improvements to road and parking safety at this popular location for sightseers and walkers heading for Coire Gabhail and Bidean nam Bian. Changes have been developed in collaboration with Transport Scotland and Bear Scotland in line with mandatory design standards for trunk roads.

In addition to the parking area improvement works, we are addressing landscape damage at an eroded area next to the Three Sisters car park, which is a popular spot for photo-taking. We are creating a more robust path to the viewpoint, sensitively designed to limit trampling on the surrounding vegetation.

Parking capacity at the Three Sisters will be limited during the construction work. We ask drivers to respect road signage, stop only in other designated parking areas and lay-bys, and not stop illegally on the roadside. Most work will be taking place off-road, limiting the disruption to road users, although there may be occasions when traffic management on the A82 will be in place.