The Praying Hands of Mary, Glen Lyon, Scotland (mountaintreks/Shutterstock)
Looking for some Great British adventure inspiration? You're in the right place. Here you'll get an independent, ad-free lowdown on Britain's top 50 adventure locations - the online yin to the paper yang of our Joyously Busy Great British Adventure Map.
Why Go To Glen Lyon?
It's slightly under the radar, but Glen Lyon lords it over almost all the other glens. Just some of many things you can do in Glen Lyon that you can't do anywhere else...
Feel very cultured and smug as you quote Sir Walter Scott at your travelling companions - it was his favourite glen
Hike up the many Munros standing guard over the valley
Freshen up with a dip in the River Lyon
Want to find out more? Read on for great photos, articles, videos, top tips and other content to fire up your adventure appetite. Got a question? Ask away.
Tell Me More
A remote but much-lauded glen: Sir Walter Scott called it the "longest, loneliest and loveliest glen in Scotland". 32 miles of old stone bridges, Caledonian pine forest and the river Lyon winding and tumbling its way through more travel writing cliches than you could shake a rolling hill or rugged cliff at. Great for hiking (Munros on both sides), cycling or driving - the mostly single-track road goes through all the best bits. Finish with a dip in the pools near the Bridge of Balgie or visit what could be Earth’s oldest living thing, the Fortingall Yew (estimated age: 5,000 years).
The essential journey in Glen Lyon is simply to travel the length of the glen, with the optional extra of bagging one or more of the nearby Munros.
Getting To Glen Lyon, Maps & Guides
Getting there: 2 hrs by car from Edinburgh.
Travel times from where you are: See Glen Lyon on Google Maps.
Maps: Find the right Ordnance Survey maps and / or get a month's free subscription to their excellent OS Maps app.
Guidebooks: Lonely Planet's Highlands and Islands or Rough Guides' equivalent.
Walking route guidance: WalkingHighlands.
Tourist board: Visit Scotland.
Even More Glen Lyon Adventure Inspiration
Roman Bridge, Glen Lyon, Scotland (mountaintreks/Shutterstock)
Our faves...
This Sidetracked article on packrafting is worth a look.
The Great Outdoors magazine includes Glen Lyon in its article on 3 weekend Highland hikes.
And we like this - a list of Scotland's top glens.
Feeling energetic? Here's the Glen Lyon Corbett round.
What Next?
Click here to see 49 other Great British adventure locations and tell us about your adventures, plans and suggestions for these pages.
Britain's Best Outdoorsy Bits... Mapped!
Liking what you see, but fancy keeping it old school with an actual paper map? Our Joyously Busy Great British Adventure Map features all of Britain's best outdoorsy bits (including the Top 50), plus some enjoyably random and vaguely useful stuff too. Available either as a 2-sided fold-out map or a framed wall map (office furniture and fake plants not included).
