Duror Home in Highland

Only five minutes from a glorious beach, Mingulay Cottage is situated in Cuil Bay. The Duror Home overlooks the River Duror in a tranquil silvan setting. Partway between Fort William and Oban, the Home in Highland is well situated for walking,climbing,skiing and canoeing or touring the West Highlands. Recently remodeled it is a peaceful, relaxing holiday getaway.

There is a double and a second twin bedroom, plus there is also a double bed settee in the living room.

Homes in the Highland

Walkers and climbers will find Duror Home to be a paridise on earth. Some may want to head for the hills while others will enjoy the wonderful beach walking. Our staff have experienced both settings and are available for advice and guidance. 

Fort William, (about 30 minutes away) a small urban center, has supermarkets, cinema, swimming pool and sports centre. It’s the starting point for the ascent of Ben Nevis (Britain’s highest mountain). You can visit the Ben Nevis Distillery, see the well planned Treasures of the Earth exhibition, enjoy the West Highland Museum, take a ride up Aonach Mor in a cable car and perhaps descend by testing your nerves on the World Cup mountain bike course.

Oban (about 40 minutes away) is the gateway to the isles.  From this location it is possible to make day trips to the Inner Hebrides, including Mull, Iona and the well known Fingal’s Cave on Staffa.   The town also has a supermarket, cinema, swimming pool and sports centre and is a lively tourist town with a variety of events and exhibitions. In winter, two ski centres – Glencoe and Nevis Range, are available for your choosing.

Self catering rates vary from £300 - £450 per week for up to six guests, according to the season, different rates may apply for weekends or holidays.

The lands of Durrour and Glencoe

After the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the lands of "Durrour, Glencoe and the iles of Tirree and Mull" were succeded to Angus Og by Robert the Bruce . Angus championed the right wing of the Scottish army. His son Iain Abrach was the founder of the Glencoe branch of Clan Donald.

The Duror Home in Highland is about 100 miles from Glasgow and lies on the beautiful North Lorn coast, between Oban (26 miles) and Fort William (20 miles). Scene of the infamous massacre in 1692, it is nearby the awesome valley of Glencoe, .

This entire area is rich in natural beauty, wildlife and history. Below are just a few of the many wonderful locations available:

The island of Lismore, south of Duror, was in important centre of sea-borne trade in the early era.  Contained within the island are the ruins of of brochs, castles and religious sites associated with St Moluag who established a church here in 561AD. Geologically, the island is formed from limestone.  The gentle scenery is juxtaposed to the rugged mainland hills.

The belt of limestone through Glen Stockdale is home to the deepest cave in Scotland, and many other caves used as refuges duing historical strife. The walk through the glen, from Appin to Duror is a fine low impact trip, with lovely views of sea and mountain scenery.

Beautiful Cuil Bay gives impressive views of Loch Linnhe, past the islands of Balnagowan, Shuna and Lismore to Mull. The name is derived from cul, meaning a scoop or hollow.  Cul is the perfectl description of this sheltered and solitary bay.


Glen Duror was the home of James of the Glens, who was unrightfully executed for the murder of Colin Campbell in 1752. The true murderer was never captured, but James was arrested and found guilty of the crime by a jury of Campbells. The dark and solemn tale is told in Robert Louis Stephenson's classic tale "Kidnapped".

Glen Duror is the ancient route through the hills to Ballachulish, under the rising peaks of Beinn a'Bheithir, the peak of storms. Some say that the glen is haunted by the spirit of a beautiful woman, the green lady, who often appears to lone travellers.

Stewart's Cave lies behind a waterfall near the village. Stewart of Ardsheal hid here after the defeat of Bonny Prince Charlie in the 1745 rebellion. On the Ardsheal peninsula, west of Duror, his house was quarantined and his wife and baby son were held prisoner while troops carried out unending manhunts for him. He eventually made it to the safety of France in 1746. A journey to this cave requires some physical exertion and good humor. 

Home in Highland

The Great Glen Fault runs across the Ardsheal Peninsula from Inverness to Mull. Although the fault is still active and small earthquakes sometimes occur, they are tiny and not hazardous. In fact, the most recent earthquake was recorded in June 2000 but was noticed only by extremely sensitive seismographs. This particular section of the fault is a Sight of Special Scientific Interest.

North of Duror, and close to Glencoe, is the site of the Battle of Laroch where Finn MacCool conquered the Vikings in an epic battle. Some say that the waters of the river Laroch ran red with the blood of the defeated. Despite the passage of time, the trenches created by Finn MacCool are still visible on the slopes of Sgorr nam Fiannaidh.

Glencoe is known throughout the world, as the place of the infamous massacre of Clan Donald by government troops in 1692. It is also one of the greatest mountain areas in Britain and is considered to be the foundation of Scottish mountaineering.

Walking and climbing around Duror

Beinn a'Bheithir is one of the many Munros in the area around Duror. The mountain consists of a summit ridge with the main summits of Sgurr Dhonnuil and Sgurr Dearg. This is one of the Scotland's classic ridge hikes.

Glencoe (20 minutes drive from Duror Home) is world famous for walking and climbing. It is indescribable without writing a novel. 

For climbers, the difficulty ranges from the beginner Crowberry Ridge and Agag's Groove to the most extreme in the world. In winter, the same mountain range is upgraded in difficulty from Grade 1 to Grade 5.

In Glen Etive, to the south of Glencoe, there is more walking opportunities, and the famous Trilleachan Slabs - smooth granite slabs at a deceptively shallow angle which provide the ultimate in friction climbing.

Ben Nevis (40 minutes from Duror) where over 80,000 people go to the summit each year, using the old pony track that was built to serve the scientific summit weather observatory. The observatory closed in 1904, but the book "Twenty Years on Ben Nevis" details the history of the location and its success. 

On the north face of Ben Nevis there are literally hundreds of summer and winter climbs.  Many of the climbs have the seriousness and scale of the Alps. 

The road up Glen Nevis on the south side of the Ben, leads past the Lower Falls and the crags at Pol Dubh (which are ideal for bad weather climbing) to a parking lot at the summit. From the summit walking through the Steall Gorge to Kinlochleven is possible.

The Mamores form a 3000 ft high wall along the south side of Glen Nevis. The peaks can be ascended from Glen Nevis or from Kinlochleven and a crossing of the entire ridge is a hard, but provides a day of magnificent mountaineering.

Some place names

Duror - Origin unknown
Cuil Bay (Cul Bay) - Bay of the hollow
Glencoe (possibly Glean Con) - Glen of the dogs
Lismore (Lios Mor) - Great enclosure or great garden possibly from the unusual variety of wild flowers.
Beinn a'Bheithir - Hill of the Thunderbolt
Buachaille Etive Mor - Great Herdsman of Etive
Coire Gabhail - Corrie of plunder or loot. The Macdonalds hid their stolen cattle here.
Bidean nam Bian - Peak of peaks
Stob Coire nan Lochan - Peak of the corrie of the lochan (small loch or lake)
Sgorr nam Fiannaidh – Peak of the Fianna (Finn MacCool’s legendary band of warriors)
Aonach Eagach - Serrated ridge
Ben Nevis - Probably Venomous mountain
Mamores - Probably Big Hills
Kinlochleven - Head of Loch Leven
Beinn Sgulaird - Origin unknown
Beinn Fhionnlaidh - Finlay's hill

Many of the place names in the islands are derived from Old Norse, the language spoken by the Vikings who settled here from the eight to the thirteenth century. These notes are mostly from "The Norse Place Names of Barra" by Carl Hj Borgstrom in "The Book of Barra"

-ay or -ey means an island.

Barra (Barray) - St Barr's island
Vatersay - Possibly from the Gaelic Bhatasaidh, Island of boats
Sandray (Sandey or Sand - rif -ay) - Island of Sand or Island of Sandy Reefs
Pabbay (Papay) - Hermit's island
Mingulay (Mikil ay) - Big island
Eriskay (Eiriksay) - Erik's Island

Nes means a headland, as does Tangi (see below)

Bruernish (Bruarnes) - Headland of the bridge. There may have been a bridge across the very narrow inlet on the south side of the headland.

Fjal means a hill or mountain

Heaval (Hafjall) - High hill
Tangaval (Tangafjall) - Hill of the headland

Traigh is Gaelic for a beach

Traigh Mhor - Big Beach
Traigh Each - Beach of horses

Some books to read Duror Home in Highland

Kidnapped - RL Stevenson's classic tale of the famous Appin murder. Available and the subject of several films and TV dramas.

Walks: Oban and North Argyll by Paul Williams. Hallewell publications.

Much of it was filmed on Barra. The film is available on video and DVD

Walks : Western Isles by Luke Williams. Includes walks on Barra, Vatersay and Eriskay. Hallewell publications.