About Falls of Falloch
The Falls of Falloch (Eas Falloch in Scottish Gaelic; meaning the Hidden Falls) was a short excursion waterfall that we made a stop for as we were making the drive from Fort William to Stirling Castle then eventually to Glasgow. Because it had been raining heavily for almost the entire drive between Fort William and the falls, the River Falloch was in full spate, and it flowed with such a fearsome amount of power that I made sure I stayed clear of riverbank edges as a slip and fall in there would’ve surely meant a drowning. Even though the falls was only 30ft tall, it had a very thick and angry appearance, and it was a far cry from the more graceful flow it might otherwise have as indicated by what was in the literature.
Because it was such a short walk, I was actually able to survey this waterfall twice. Not wanting to deal with the heavy rains, Julie initially had me go out and experience the falls while Tahia was napping. But when I returned to the car less than 25 minutes later, that got Julie and Tahia to don their waterproof gear and make their way to the overlooks of the falls along the very flat and easy trail. Indeed, it was definitely a family-friendly excursion, and the only caveat would be to keep an eye out on the young ones who might tempt fate and approach the dropoffs into the River Falloch.
At the far end of the trail, there were benches as well as a handful of overlooks presenting a frontal view of the waterfall. There was also a less-used trail paralleling the main one alongside the River Falloch, and that less-used trail showed partial views of other smaller cascades further downstream. But as far as the waterfall lookouts were concerned, there was an open one yielding the photo you see at the top of the page. However, there was also a caged walkway leading to an alternate lookout that got us even closer to the waterfall but still on the opposite side of the plunge pool. There was prose engraved at the overlook describing “the Vale of Awful Sound” by Dorothy Wordworth in 1803. Apparently, this caged walkway also had another engraving that said “Woven Sound 2014 John Kennedy”, but I wasn’t clear whether this was referring to JFK or someone else that happened to have the name John Kennedy.
Even though the weather was bad when we arrived at the Falls of Falloch, when we returned to the car park after our short walk, there were at least a half-dozen other vehicles filling the car park. I guess that attested to the popularity of this waterfall rain or shine.
From Fort William we drove roughly 50 miles along the A82 road towards the town of Crianlarich. We then continued on the A82 from Crianlarich for another 4.5 miles to the signed-but-easy-to-miss turnoff for the Falls of Falloch car park. True to its name, the car park was somewhat hidden from the A82 road even though it was right next to it. In fact, we actually missed the turnoff and had to do a three-point-turn to get back to it. Overall, this drive took us nearly 90 minutes.
Going in the other direction from Stirling (of Stirling Castle fame), we would go west on the A84 road for nearly 30 miles towards Lochearnhead. Then continue on the A85 road for the next 16 miles towards Crianlarich. Finally, drive the last 4.5 miles on the A82 from Crianlarich to the relatively hidden car park for the Falls of Falloch on the left. This drive would also take about 90 minutes.
Finally for some additional geographical context, Stirling was 97 miles (about 2.5 hours drive) southeast of Fort William, 81 miles (about 2 hours drive) southeast of Glencoe, 27 miles (over 30 minutes drive) northeast of Glasgow, and 37 miles (about an hour drive) northwest of Edinburgh.
Find A Place To Stay
View of the falls in full spate thanks to heavy rain from a caged walkway dedicated to JFK
Right to left sweep showing numerous side waterfalls feeding the stream in full spate before ending with a direct view of the main waterfall itself
Related Trip Reports
Related Top 10 Lists
No Posts Found
Related Itineraries
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall
Nearest Waterfalls
