Scotland Travel Vlog April 2025
”Hike to the Falls of Glomach”
A short video of a hike we did from Morvich in Kintail to the impressive Falls of Glomach, which is one of the highest waterfalls in Scotland, with a drop of 370 feet. It is also one of the remotest waterfalls, and to reach it, you have to follow a 6-mile trek via quiet glens and barren moors where the only sign of human activity is the path that you follow.
It's a place that I've wanted to visit ever since I led a conservation project for the National Trust for Scotland, where our task was to repair sections of the footpath at the start of the trail. So, I have started the hike to this waterfall at least 7 times, but never got very far along the path as I was pushing a wheelbarrow. This April, I was determined to get to the end of the path, and this video proves that I finally made it!
The name "Glomach" is derived from a Gaelic word, but the actual derivation of the name varies depending on which book you read. One theory has it that the word is derived from the Gaelic for "mist" and this is a reference to the fine spray of water that rises from the tumbling cascade. The other derivation claims that the name comes from a Gaelic word that translates as "fearsome" or "forbidding".
Sadly, I'm not conversant in Gaelic, so I can't give you an educated answer, but having stood at the top of the falls peering over the edge, I'd say that fear was the reaction the Falls of Glomach stirred in me.
From the top of the waterfall, it's not possible to see the bottom, and the water drops into a dark, narrow gorge that looks impenetrable from above. It looks like the sort of place where mythical monsters would dwell, a place from which there is no return. Yep, I'm going with the "Forbidding Falls" theory.
Starting from the NTS Rangers office for the Kintail Estate (at Morvich), the outbound hike took us 2.5 hours. We stopped at the falls for 30 minutes to take photos and eat our lunch, and then returned via the same route in 2 hours, aided by the fact that most of the return route is downhill. The path is indicated on Ordnance Survey maps and, in good weather conditions, is easy to follow as it is well maintained and well defined for most of its length. It's not a route that I'd suggest you try if there is snow lying on the ground.
You will need some stout footwear, preferably with ankle support, and wear layers as the path climbs to a high pass at Bealach na Sroine, where the wind is channelled between 2 peaks and it can get pretty chilly on the exposed moorland sections. It does require a reasonable level of fitness as there are some steep sections, but the waterfall is ample reward for the effort involved. I hope our video manages to convey this.