The Lost Valley, Glencoe, Scotland, Winter
After nearly a decade, it’s time to tick this one off the bucket list.
Early on in my photography journey—almost immediately after I learned about the wonders of Glencoe—I discovered and read about a “secret” valley above the main Glencoe valley itself.
It captivated me immediately.
This place is known in English as the Lost Valley or the Hidden Valley. In Scottish Gaelic it’s called Coire Gabhail, meaning “corrie of bounty” or “the hollow of capture”. Legend has it that this hidden valley was used by members of Clan MacDonald to hide cattle and other livestock. Whether the livestock was their own or belonging to others, we’ll never know.
The day dawn completely clear and very cold, with temperatures not breaking above freezing point. It’s not a long hike from Glencoe up into the Lost Valley, but it was definitely made harder with all the ice everywhere.
The reward, however, was more than worth it.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 ultra-wide lenses. RAWs converted using Capture One for iPad, developed in RNI Films using an Ektachrome 100 film profile, and finalised in Affinity Photo 2 for iPad.
The Lost Valley, Glencoe, Scotland, Winter by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Parking up at the main car park at Glencoe, two of the Three Sisters of Glencoe immediately hold my attention. On the left is Geàrr Aonach (689m/2,263ft), and to the right is Aonach Dubh (892m/2,296ft). The snowy peak catching the light in the middle is Stob Coire nan Lochan (1,115m/3,658ft).
A vertical, and tighter, composition that allows the beacon of Stob Coire nan Lochan to really stand out.
As we began hiking up the trail in between Beinn Fhada and Geàrr Aonach, the sheer ridge face of Aonach Eagach was being drenched in morning wintersun.
The trail in between the two sisters involves careful stepping and scrambling as you’re essentially climbing alongside, and above, a gorge. The falls in the gorge were looking icy cold.
After much slipping, scrambling, and an inadvertent dunk in the river, we ascended above the rake to be greeted with this. Coire Gabhail, the Lost Valley. What a sight!
My longer lenses allow me to really zoom in tight on particular scenes within a grand vista. Here, I enjoyed the line created by the shadow of the valley side as it frames the golden crags and leads towards the snowy peaks of Stob Coire Sgreamhach (1,072m/3,517ft).
Despite the icy conditions of winter, there were still a fair few people about. A small party of Spanish-speaking people were elated to have made it to the Lost Valley.
Despite the incredible sight of the snowy peaks at the head of the Lost Valley, directly above you Beinn Fhada’s crags lean peerlessly over you, reminding you of just how small you are.
I located a small waterfall trickling down Beinn Fhada’s flanks that was freezing up. It’s little pool below already comprised of shards of ice.
A bit of ice-cold scrambling was in order to nab this composition with my ultra-wide 9mm lens, but I enjoy it.
With my 9mm lens still equipped, I went on the hunt for more subject matter that would be suitable for ultra-wide compositions. This boulder field with a single tree in the middle caught my eye and I lined up the shot.
Another dead tree covered in frozen moss and lichen made for a nice ultra-wide focus stacked composition.
I clambered along the valley side a little more to get past the trees and find a unhindered view of the Lost Valley.
One last look back at those magnificent peaks of the Lost Valley before gingerly scrambling back down the gorge again.
What an experience. Never to be forgotten.