Our Interpretation Boards
1. Land of the Rings
Travel through circular rings of hills forming the Ardnamurchan ring complex.
Sanna Bay, Ardnamurchan. (Turn right off B8007 1km northwest of Kilchoan)
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Grid ref: NM 447693
Local Info. Point – Ardnamurchan Natural History Centre
2. Collision, Fire and Ice
Iconic viewpoint for the Ben Nevis caldera and the white quartzites of the Grey Corries.
Commando Memorial, Spean Bridge, 100m along a footpath leading west from the car park.
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Grid ref: NN 206824
Local Info. Point – Darwin’s Rest
3. Britain's Biggest Ben
Excellent viewpoint for Ben Nevis with its core of lavas.
Treslaig Village Hall. On the west side of Loch Linnhe, opposite Fort William, 400m south of the Camusnagaul ferry terminal.
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Grid ref: NN 093746
4. Ben and Glen, Fire and Ice
Evidence that the Glen was sculpted by the power of ice is all around.
Lower Falls car park, Glen Nevis. Ben Nevis, the remains of a great volcano, towers above you.
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Grid ref: NN146683
5. Grinding Continents
The straight Great Glen follows the line of a major fault that divides the Highlands into two ‘terranes’ which tell different geological stories.
Loch Lochy. Lay-by on the A82.
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Grid ref: NN146683
Local Info. Point – The Well of the Seven Heads
6. Volcanoes and Tropical Seas
Piled lavas that flowed from the great Mull volcano form nearby hills. Sediments below tell of warm, shallow seas.
Lochaline. Car park near the Mull ferry terminal.
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Grid ref: NM680447
7. Fjords, Faults and Fire
Ben Nevis towers over the arrow-straight Great Glen Fault.
Camusnagaul. At the Camusnagaul ferry terminal on the west side of Loch Linnhe, opposite Fort William
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Grid ref: NN095751
8. Inside Ardnamurchan
The foundations of an ancient volcano that forms the most westerly point of mainland Britain.
Mingary Pier, Kilchoan. Ferry terminal for Tobermory.
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Grid ref: NM494627
Local Info. Point – Ardnamurchan Natural History Centre
9. Volcano Ahead!
Spectacular viewpoint overlooking the flank of the Ardnamurchan ring complex, part of an ancient volcano
Ben Hiant, Ardnamurchan, on B8007 6km W of Glenborrodale
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Grud ref: NM562617
Local Info. Point – Ardnamurchan Natural History Centre
10. Black Lava, Pure White Sand
From the ferry terminal walk past the sandstone mine to the marina. The pure sandstone formed at the edge of a sub-tropical sea, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.
Lochaline
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Grid ref: NM680449
11. Glaciers, Volcanoes and Drifting Continents
Exceptional viewpoint for Ben Nevis, the Great Glen and the Caledonian Canal.
Glen Loy. Follow B8004 for 5 km NW from Banavie to forestry parking place
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Grid ref: NN143811
12. Mud, Slate and Mighty Mountains
Learn about the long history of this beautiful and durable natural building material. These slates were used on thousands of Scottish homes
Ballachulish slate quarry.
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Grid ref: NN083584
Local Info. Point – Glencoe Cafe
13. A Necklace of Volcanoes
The mountains of Skye and the Small Isles formed beneath volcanoes, or were poured out as lavas, 60 million years ago.
Mallaig. Car park on the left as you enter the Mallaig on A830
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Grid ref: NM674969
14. Ancient Volcanoes
Skye and Rum are the remains of ancient volcanoes, but the Glenancross basin formed during melting of an ice-sheet only 11,000 years ago.
Glenancross. Lay-by on A830 2km S of Morar.
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Grid ref: NM672910
Local Info. Point – Land, Sea and Islands Centre
15. A Highland Jigsaw
The Corran Narrows were gouged by ice less than 20,000 years ago along the line of a great fault formed when continents collided 430 million years ago.
Corran Ferry, E side.
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Grid ref: NN022635
Local Info. Point – West Highland Museum
16. The Greatest Glen
The W side of Loch Linnhe follows the Great Glen fault, a major fracture in Earth’s crust, which becomes the Great Glen NE of Fort William.
Corran Ferry
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Grid ref: NN 016637
17. Two Fjords, Two Volcanoes and one Great Glen
The Ben Nevis and Glen Coe calderas are both visible. Red rocks nearby were crushed when the Great Glen fault moved.
Sallachan Bay. Lay-by on A830 5 km SW of Corran Ferry.
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Grid ref: NM 975623
18. A Volcanic Cauldron
The Glencoe volcanic caldera and the mountains of Ballachulish form a splendid panorama.
Loch Leven. Lay-by on B863 4 km W of North Ballachulish.
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Grid ref: NN088603
19(1). The 'Parallel Roads' of Glen Roy
A superb viewpoint for the shorelines of a glacier-dammed lake that formed 12,000 years ago.
Glen Roy. Turn N from A86 at Roy Bridge, signed ‘Ice-age landscape’
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Grid ref: NN297854
19(2). How To Spot An Ice Age Landscape
This board illustrates glacial features that you can see as you travel around Lochaber. Add a new dimension to a day in our hills.
At the same locality as 19(1)
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Grid ref: NN297854
Local Info. Point – Darwin’s Rest
20. A world of Volcanoes and Warm Lagoons
This magical island is built of sandstones deposited in shallow lagoons at the time of the dinosaurs, and lavas that formed when the North Atlantic began to open.
Isle-of-Eigg. Near harbour café.
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Grid ref: NM 484838
21. Kentallen and the naming of Rocks
A very special place for geologists, where the igneous rock Kentallenite was first discovered.
From Holly Tree Hotel in Kentallen to Lagnaha Farm, along the cycle route at the top of the hill.
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B Kilmallie Stone Circle
A modern circle of rocks from the Highlands and Islands recording the history of Scotland from 3,125 million to 55 million years ago.
Beside Kilmallie Hall in Corpach.
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Grid ref: NN 097768