Glen Etive ( gd, Gleann Èite) is a

glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...

in the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The River Etive ( gd, Abhainn Èite) rises on the peaks surrounding

Rannoch Moor Rannoch Moor (, gd, Mòinteach Raineach/Raithneach) is an expanse of around of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch in Scotland, where it extends from and into westerly Perth and Kinross, northerly Lochaber (in Highland), and the area of ...

, with several

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

streams A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

coming together at the

Kings House Hotel The Kings House Hotel is an inn at the eastern end of Glen Coe, at its junction with Glen Etive in the Scottish Highlands. The inn, in an isolated position about 2 km east of the head of the glen towards Rannoch Moor, facing Buachaille Etiv ...

, at the head of

Glen Coe Glen Coe ( gd, Gleann Comhann ) is a glen of volcanic origins, in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the county of Argyll, close to the border with the historic province of Lochaber, within the modern council area of Highland ...

. From the Kings House, the Etive flows for about 18 km, reaching the

sea loch ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...

Loch Etive Loch Etive (Scottish Gaelic, ''Loch Eite'') is a 30 km sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It reaches the sea at Connel, 5 km north of Oban. It measures 31.6 km (19 miles) long and from 1.2 km ( mile) to wide. Its ...

. The river and its tributaries are popular with whitewater

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

ers and at high water levels it is a test piece of the area and a classic run. At the north end of Glen Etive lie the two mountains known as the "Herdsmen of Etive":

Buachaille Etive Mòr Buachaille Etive Mòr (), gd, Buachaille Èite Mòr, 'great herdsman of Etive'), also known simply as 'The Buachaille', is a mountain at the head of Glen Etive in the Highlands of Scotland. Its pyramidal shape, as seen from the northeast, ...

and

Buachaille Etive Beag Buachaille Etive Beag (, gd, Buachaille Èite Beag, 'little herdsman of Etive') is a mountain between Glen Coe and Glen Etive in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies west of Buachaille Etive Mòr, its larger neighbour, from which it is sep ...

. Other peaks accessible from the Glen include Ben Starav, located near the head of Loch Etive, and Beinn Fhionnlaidh on the northern side of the glen. The scenic beauty of the glen has led to its inclusion the

Ben Nevis and Glen Coe National Scenic Area Ben Nevis and Glen Coe is a National scenic area (Scotland), national scenic area (NSA) covering part of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland surrounding Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, in which certain forms of development are restricted. It i ...

, one of 40 such areas in Scotland. A narrow

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

from the Kings House Hotel runs down the glen, serving several

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

s and

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

s. This road ends at the head of the loch, though rough tracks continue along both shores. The River Etive is one of Scotland's most popular and challenging white water kayaking runs. It provides a multitude of solid Grade 4(5) rapids with a variety of falls and pool drops. It is home to a herd of

Scottish red deer The Scottish red deer (''Cervus elaphus scoticus'') is a subspecies of red deer, which is native to Great Britain. Like the red deer of Ireland, it migrated from continental Europe sometime in the Stone Age. The Scottish red deer is farmed for m ...

that have become accustomed to the presence of humans.

Mythology

In the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle ( ga, an Rúraíocht), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly coun ...

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...

Deirdre Deirdre ( , Irish: ; sga, Derdriu ) is the foremost tragic heroine in Irish legend and probably its best-known figure in modern times. She is known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (). Her story is part of the Ulster Cycle, the best-know ...

and her love

Naoise In Irish mythology, Naisi,"Deirdre and Naisi". In: Thomas, Edward. ''Celtic stories''. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. 1911. pp. 48-60. Noíse or Noisiu (modern spelling: Naoise ) was the nephew of King Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulster, and a son of Ui ...

founded Glen Etive after fleeing

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

. The

Fachen In Scottish folklore the fachan (or fachin, fachen, Direach Ghlinn Eitidh or Dithreach (dwarf of Glen Etive)) is a monster or giant described by John Francis Campbell in ''Popular Tales of the West Highlands'' as having a single eye in the middle ...

is also known as the Dwarf of Glen Etive.

Movie location

Glen Etive has been used as the backdrop to many movies, among them ''

Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence ag ...

'' and ''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the villai ...

''.Skyfall location despolied by fly tippers ''The Guardian'' 18 July 2014
/ref> The resulting influx of visitors has led to concerns about the spoilage of the glen through littering and

fly-tipping Illegal dumping, also called fly dumping or fly tipping ( UK), is the dumping of waste illegally instead of using an authorized method such as curbside collection or using an authorized rubbish dump. It is the illegal deposit of any waste onto l ...

Footnotes

{{coord, 56, 36, 4, N, 5, 0, 21, W, region:GB_scale:100000, display=title Etive Valleys of Highland (council area)