Glen Roy

Glen Roy is a glen in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands. It is known for the Parallel Roads, three terraces running along the hillside that look like man-made roads. These terraces formed along the shorelines of an ancient ice-dammed loch during a cold period after the last ice age. The glen lies north of Glen Spean, where the A86 road and West Highland Line run southwest to Fort William. A single-track road leads north from Roybridge up the glen for nearly 16 kilometres to Brae Roy Lodge. Much of Glen Roy is a national nature reserve, protecting its unusual landforms. The Parallel Roads have drawn geologists for centuries. In the 19th century, figures such as William Buckland, Charles Lyell and James Geikie studied the terraces. Charles Darwin visited in 1838 and argued they were raised marine beaches. Louis Agassiz later showed they were cut by loch ice during the Younger Dryas cold period. Darwin later admitted his theory was wrong after Thomas Jamieson’s work in the 1860s. Today, scientists and visitors come to see the dramatic landscape shaped by ice and water. A walk along the glen offers views of the terraces and the surrounding hills. The reserve has paths that follow the old shorelines, showing how the loch levels changed over time. Near Roybridge, two historic lifting stones stand as a reminder of past strength tests. The glen’s quiet atmosphere and clear evidence of ancient ice make it a place where geology is visible at every turn.