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4.7
| 14 reviews

The 12 Peak Challenge in Scotland

Scramble, hike, climb and abseil your way along the Glencoe Skyline, bagging peaks and munros as you go

Duration

3 nights

Annual Leave

2 days off work

Group Size

Up to 8 people

Season

May-Sep

Location

United Kingdom

Meeting Point

Red Squirrel Campsite, Glencoe

Classic Accommodation

Campsite

Customer Reviews

(14)

4.7

Difficulty

Challenging

From

From

Pack in 12 mountains, 6 munros and 3500m of height gain in a single epic weekend

Navigate the route of the Glencoe Skyline with a guide to climber ratio of 1:2, giving you all the flexibility you need to tackle each section

Soak up the highlands and take in the views on a lung-busting hike along the three sisters of Glencoe

Day 1

Welcome to Glencoe

Arrive at Red Squirrel Campsite anytime in the late afternoon - your tent will be ready from 18:00 and will be pitched for you. Settle into the campsite and spend the evening relaxing or take a warm-up stroll on the hills around the resort.

Day 2

Summit Buachaille Etive Mòr

Hiking

8-10hrs · 16km · 1050m up · 1050m down

Grab a big Scottish breakfast roll and meet your guide first thing. After spending yesterday evening staring up at Buachaille Etive Mòr it's now time to tackle it. A short walk across Rannoch Moor takes you past the historic Jacksonville Hut and then a steep rough walk uphill to the base of Curved Ridge. You'll don helmets and harnesses and take on this classic rock climb, weaving your way up the mountain. Climb the infamous Crowberry Tower and eat lunch atop this exposed pinnacle before abseiling down. A final climb takes you to the summit of Buachaille Etive Mòr. You'll then follow the ridge to tackle four more peaks and hike back along the dramatic Lairg Eilde, finally reaching the King's House for a dram and pub dinner before heading back to camp.

Day 3

Scramble on

Hiking

8-10hrs · 18km · 1200m up · 1200m down

Time for the most legendary grade 2 scramble in mainland Britain. Narrow and exposed from start to finish, you'll need a head for heights today. From the campsite, hike along the West Highland Way past the Devil's Staircase to the base of Am Bodach. This is a steep and lung-busting climb, gaining 900m of ascent within 1km. From the top the spectacular ridge opens up, dropping away on either side. Downclimb the most technical sections, balancing along the knife-edge ridge, past steep rocky chimneys, before scrambling the trickiest section, known as the 'Crazy Pinnacles'. Toast a memorable day at the Clachaig Inn and grab some dinner before a well-earned sleep.

Day 4

The three sisters of Glencoe to the finish line

Hiking

8-10hrs · 20km · 1350m up · 1350m down

Starting at Loch Achtriochtan and ending up with a descent through the eery 'Lost Valley', this is a wonderful route to bag the Munros of Bidean nam Bian and Stob Coire Sgreamhach. A sturdy path leads uphill past beautiful waterfalls before you make your way onto the high rocky crests of Bidean nam Bian and Stob Coire Sgreamhach. The terrain here is steep, technical and spectacular. Your guide will expertly navigate you through these mountains and take you safely down into the lost valley and back into the Coe! Time for a celebratory pint to toast the completion of the Glencoe Skyline before you bid your fellow adventurers farewell.

Included

Guides

Professional, experienced mountain guides

Accommodation

3 nights camping

Meals

Hot breakfast rolls to fuel you up each morning

Equipment

Helmets, harnesses, ropes, climbing and camping gear

Not Included

Some meals as described

Travel insurance

Personal expenses

Travel to and from the start point

Visas where required

Day 1

Campsite · Solo tent

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 2 – Day 3

Campsite · Solo tent

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 4

Departure day

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

What is the food like?

Breakfast: Fuel up on breakfast rolls each morning, made from a selection of Scottish produce including Lorne sausage, sausages, Scottish bacon, local fried eggs, tea and coffee.

Lunch: Lunches are not included, you'll need to bring your own lunch and hiking snack supplies with you and prepare your lunches at camp each morning to take out into the mountains with you.

Dinner: Dinners will be had in a nearby pub each night which has been factored into the end of each days adventuring. Each has a variety of options to suit all dietary requirements.

Vegetarians and vegans can be catered for: just make this request when booking.

What is the accommodation like?

Red Squirrel Campsite

You’ll stay in solo tents at Red Squirrel Campsite, a natural campground in a spectacular setting on the River Coe. Tents are good quality mountain tents with self-inflating camping mats. If you would like to share a twin tent with someone from your household up until covid restrictions are lifted this is fine. The campsite has toilets and showers, and there are fire pits available for use. Wood can be purchased from the campsite office.

The Area

map

Logistics

Starts

Red Squirrel Campsite

18:00 on Day 1

Ends

Red Squirrel Campsite

16:30 on Day 4

Transfers

You'll make your own way to Red Squirrel Campsite for 18:00 on Day 1 to meet up with the group and get settled into camp. If you prefer, you can arrive at the campsite on Day 2 at 08:00 ready for breakfast and the safety briefing with your guides.

On Day 4 the trip ends at 16:30 back at the Red Squirrel Campsite, in time for the bus to Fort William for any onward travel.

Travel options

The nearest bus station is Fort William which is serviced by a regular bus provided by the Scottish Citylink service from Glasgow. You'll need to get off the bus at the stop on the A82 at the turning for the Clachaig Inn. The Red Squirrel Campsite is a 1km walk from the bus stop.

Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear

In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.

What's included?

  • Climbing harness
  • Climbing helmet
  • Belay device and carabiner
  • Ropes and all other climbing gear
  • Tent and sleeping mat

Your host will also carry essential group equipment such as a first aid kit and a group shelter.

Please bring your own helmet and harness if you have them.

What do I need to bring?

  • Rucksack (we recommend 40 litres) with liner
  • Sleeping bag (2-3 season)
  • Sleeping bag liner (optional)
  • Camping pillow
  • Waterproof hiking boots (not shoes)
  • Thermal base layer
  • Fleece top – not cotton
  • Polyester, fleece or woolen trousers and tops (no jeans)
  • Heavy-duty waterproof jacket and trousers
  • Hat without bobble so helmet can fit
  • 2 pairs of good gloves
  • Neck buff plus spare
  • Head torch
  • Flask or water bottle
  • Energy snacks
  • Whistle
  • Sunglasses and sun cream
  • Towel
  • Emergency survival bag (6’ by 3’ orange poly bag available from any outdoor store)
  • Walking poles (if you like to use them for hiking sections)
  • Power-bank (to keep your electronics fully charged)

No optional extras are available for this trip.

Eleanor(September 2021)

Such a fantastic experience. No stress and only good surprises in the event- the food was great, there was loads of flexibility according to preference and ability, all of the kit provided was good quality and in great nick. The campsite was lovely, beds comfy, showers hot. My advice to anyone going would be train for it a bit, bring twice as much food as you think you might need for lunch (it is provided but you will eat so much while you're out) and get a head net. Thank you Connor and team

Shona(September 2021)

What a fantastic way to explore Glencoe and it’s beautiful peaks. Every day was different and the right amount of challenging, with plenty of hillwalking, scrambling and climbing. All of the guides were excellent and struck the right balance of fun and informative, while always ensuring the group’s safety. We were lucky to have perfect weather and a really great group. I would definitely recommend this trip, you won’t regret it!

Marina(September 2021)

This trip was absolutely fantastic. Amazing introduction to Glencoe area with experienced and friendly guides. I liked the flexible approach with an option to tailor the trip to individual objectives / experience level. It was moderately challenging but in line with my expectations. All 3 days were truly spectacular and varied in type of activities. Scenery is stunning and it also helped that weather was gorgeous throughout. I would definitely recommend this trip to others.

Hannah(September 2021)

The trip was really well put together with a great variety of walks and climbs to do but also flexible with different options each day. All the guides were experienced and really well equipped, always ensuring our safety and that we all had a great time. Was great to be outside in stunning scenery!

Kathryn(August 2021)

Fantastic walking / scrambling routes with quality mountaineering guides, Glencoe is gorgeous. The camp setup and food arrangements could do with some improving for the price.

Natalie(August 2021)

An amazing trip to a truly stunning part of the world. Experienced guides are happy to tailor the trip to your ability and experience level, imparting knowledge and ensuring that you get the most out of your visit. Learn how to keep yourself safe in the mountains and challenge yourself over some technical terrain. A fantastic escape.

Ryan(July 2021)

Overall I had a great few days around Glencoe and thought the trip was well organised. It was definitely challenging physically but in line with my expectations. I was impressed by the skill and knowledge of our two local guides, who were very friendly and helpful. I was especially impressed that our guides tailored the trip to the group’s goals, even taking us through some leading/seconding skills building on a grade 3 scramble (the Sron na Lairig) at our request. My only real gripe was with the food provided which was entirely vegan to suit the majority of the group. I drew the short straw there being the only meat eater! Would have been nice to have been given the choice. Otherwise I was overall pleased with the trip and felt it was good value for money. This was my first trip with Much Better Adventures and I would happily recommend to others.

Oli(July 2021)

I really enjoyed this trip. It was a fun challenge learning to scramble and get to the top of the 11 peaks we got through. Rob, the guide was excellent and worked to our skill level and what we wanted to get out of the weekend, and I feel like I learned a lot and gained confidence. It's a long way up the mountains but worth it every time - the views are amazing! This trip is three days of intense hiking and scrambling, I am glad I trained beforehand.

The campsite is beautiful, nestled at the foot of the mountains, with a really good pub a short walk away, and nice clean toilet blocks.

Bring plenty of food, snacks and smidge and get some training in beforehand, and this is an amazing trip I would definitely recommend.

Andre(July 2021)

Had an unforgettable time with this trip. We had 3 days of intense mountaineering, with decent amounts of scrambling and rewarding milestones. Our guide Rob provided us all the support we needed without making us feel made out of porcelain. I'd advise non-regular hikers against doing it, though, as it's all about steady steep uphill movement and that's really hard on the legs and feet.

Amy(July 2021)

Had a great time on this trip. Had 3 fully packed days of mountaineering. Our local guide Duncan was excellent. It was also flexible to our needs. For example on the last day we focussed more on learning about gear placement and rope skills at our request. Bear in mind though that it is three quite challenging days so you will want to be in good fitness.

Rhuaridh(July 2021)

Excellent few days in the beautiful mountains of Glencoe.

Laura(June 2021)

This trip was incredible! We had a fab group and our guide Pete was amazing. It was tough going and honestly I wish I had trained more in preparation, but the views, the mountains, the walking and the mountaineering were all so worth it. The only thing that stopped this being 5 stars for me, was the organisation off the mountain was less good. But overall a fabulous experience!!

Jill(June 2021)

My 12 peaks trip to Glencoe was very memorable for many reasons - the spectacular scenery, good company, friendly & experienced hosts and challenging climbs. The standout point for me was how well Sam, my leader/instructor listened to what I wanted to get out of my trip and worked out the perfect itinerary involving 3 quite different & challenging days in the mountains. While leading us safely through some fairly tricky climbs and navigating routes in & out of the mountains, Sam kept us going by sharing some well-timed snippets of relevant info from his wide knowledge of nature/geology/history. The whole trip was beyond my expectations & I would highly recommend it.

Doug(June 2021)

Great to be able to get out of London and into the spectacular mountains round Glencoe. It's a brilliant sense of achievement to reach those peaks and look back down at the valley, after navigating at times challenging terrain and weather to get there.

Of course followed by well deserved relaxing in the evenings, in the Kingshouse Hotel or the Clachaig Inn, or round the firepit in the campsite.

We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.

What's the number?
It works out on average at 59kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.

The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.

But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:

  • Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
  • A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
  • 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.

What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.

Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.

A good level of fitness is recommended - you'll be out for up to 9 hours in a mountain environment moving over challenging terrain and ascending considerable heights each day. You do not need any previous climbing experience but you should have a head for heights. This is a challenging trip but the reward of bagging technical munros and views all across Glencoe will be worth the effort!

Most of the approaches and descents will be on good trails, but once you’re on the ridges the terrain gets rocky and there’s not always an established path. Footing is often loose and unsteady and there are some sections of scrambling, however, everything should be doable for the average hiker. The biggest challenge will be the elevation gain and long days.

Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

The weather in Glencoe can easily offer all four seasons in one day, so you should be prepared as such. Your guides will be assessing the weather constantly and will pick routes based on wind and wet weather predictions. Weather is important in Glencoe with wet rock taking twice as long to cross as dry rock so this will be factored into the plan for the day.

You can keep your main bag in your tent, however any valuables can be safely brought along and stored in your hosts vehicle each day.

The trip will be run by expert mountaineering instructors, they hold the highest qualification attainable in the UK, with 100s if not thousands of technical mountain days under their belts. The qualification is the equivalent to a masters degree!

  1. Stob na Broige (956m)
  2. Stob Coire Altruim (938m)
  3. Stob na Doire (1011m)
  4. Stob Dearg (1021m)
  5. Stob Coire nam Beith (1107m)
  6. Stob Coire nan Lochan (1072m)
  7. Bidean nam Bian (1150m)
  8. Stob Coire Sgreamhach (1072)
  9. Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (967m)
  10. Stob Coire Leith (940m)
  11. Meall Dearg (953m)
  12. Am Bordach (1032m)

Please note: The exact itinerary of the trip is flexible based on the groups ability and goals for the 3 days of the trip and, as always in Scotland, weather conditions.

Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.

Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing.

Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness.

We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last-minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.

You're always in good company on one of our adventures.

Our trips are typically made up of a mixture of solo travellers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.

Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.

It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.

Don't just take our word for it:

  • 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
  • 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
  • 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends

See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.

Interested in a more exclusive experience? Opt for a 'Private Group' through the dates and prices tab to book this adventure for just you and your chosen companions.

Our team of Adventure Hunters create exclusive adventures with highly vetted, specialist hosts. We only work with independent, local in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. See here for more info about the local teams we partner with.

TRIP DEPARTURE DATES

Private trip

Go private and split the bill with ease.

Forget complex logistics, we've taken care of all the details to ensure a hassle-free get together. All of the adventure, none of the faff.

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