GUIDE TO THE RIVER COE
(Glencoe Visitor Centre to Loch Leven)
NAME OF RIVER: Coe.
WHERE IS IT?: Wait for it....Glencoe. Follow the A82 north of Glasgow or south of Fort William and sooner or later you'll come to it.
PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS: Put-in a large eddy on river left close to the new Glencoe Visitor Centre and campsite. (NN 11411 57475)
Take out in the sea at Loch Leven and walk up to the road. (NN 09786 59574)
APPROX LENGTH: 4 km.
TIME NEEDED: 1 hour.
ACCESS HASSLES: Unknown.
WATER LEVEL INDICATORS: It really needs to persist it down for this river to come into condition.
GRADING: 1-2 (6)
MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS: Plenty of trees overhang. Glencoe Village Falls are extremely dangerous.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: You are most likey to find yourself paddling this section if you have just done the upper Coe. In truth, it doesn't have much to commend itself, beyond awesome scenery at the takeout.
From the new Glencoe Visitor Centre, the river braids for a while, then narrows past people's gardens with low trees in some places.
After you pass under the Glencoe village bridge, be extremely careful...shortly downstream is Glencoe Village Falls, a really nasty little gorge with numerous sharp rocks and siphons. Pointlessly dangerous, not recommended at all. Get out and portage on the right, there is a public footpath all the way from the bridge to the sea. It is probably worth scouting this portage before getting on. You can park at the bridge in Glencoe village and walk down the path a short way to find the drop.
The falls at low water - there are more siphons just downstream, photo by Kirsten Rendle.
Below the falls, the river flows into Loch Leven. Beautiful.
OTHER NOTES: Update from Bob Evans....'The dangerous falls mentioned at the end of this river are a few hundred yards after the road bridge at Glencoe village. I have not paddled them, and would not want to!!! Inspection at low water shows a seriously sharp, under cut and sculptured mini gorge. A theoretical route is there but the consequences of a mistake are not pleasant. The gorge section from the visitor centre can offer good trip in relatively low water, if there is enough water to float at the visitor centre, it`s on, although it`s a better trip at higher levels.'
CONTRIBUTED BY: Mark Rainsley and Kirsten Rendle
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