Ratings

Buggy - not suitable, the ground is very rough.
Carrier - good, but confidence is needed.
Walking - a great walk, with some fantastic views, terrain is rocky in places and sheer drops mean you would have to be mindful of any child who might be a "runner" like our. Carrier or wrist strap worthwile.
Toilets - none available at the start of the walk. Toilets are available at the Glen Nevis visitor centre.

Wheelchair - no wheelchair access.

Things to note

This is at times, extremely rough terrain, and should only be undertaken by those with a bit of confidence in their capabilities. The walk is manageable with a back carrier and is mainly on good, marked paths, but they can be very rocks with steep drops to the side at times. You HAVE been warned.

Ben Nevis & Steall Falls

You say potato, and I say potarto - well something like that!

Apparently the Scots tend to refer to the Glen Nevis range, which includes Ben Nevis, while us Sassenach's tend to call anything large and rocky in the Fort William area, Ben Nevis. I took plenty of pictures in the area, but couldn't actually tell you if I was photographing Ben Nevis.

Ben Nevis is, officially, the tallest mountain in Britain, but among the Nevis Range it is quite difficult to tell which is which, and perspective makes them all look as tall as each other. In 2016 Ben Nevis was actually remeasured and is now a whopping 1 metre taller than previously measured - now standing at 1,345 metres tall - maybe someone built one of those stone towers that have become so popular at many locations like the Fairy Pools.

Anyway, I digress. We had decided that a trip up Ben Nevis itself might just be a step, or several, too far for our party. Our little one was finding his feet on this holiday, but the going underfoot was too much for him, so we brought the trusty back carrier out to carry out the walk along the foot of Ben Nevis to Steall Waterfall.

The path started off OK, with compacted gravel paths, but soon turned into something a bit more challenging, with rough hewn steps carved out of the rock face - don't get me wrong, it wasn't exactly mountaineering, but just a bit more than we (well my wife) was expecting. There were some quite precarious sections, with sheer drops to the sides - mind you there appeared to be a constant stream of Octogenerians coming the opposite way, so if they could do it, so could we!

The path climbed quite a bit, and rushing water could be heard to our left as we progressed towards the falls. Eventually we came out into a meadow area, with our first sight of the falls, through the trees. They weren't quite as impressive as I was expecting, but the dry weather had limited the amount of water coming over the falls.

As we got closer the falls came more sharply into view and gained in stature. The waters from the falls create a river, the banks of which were perfect for a picnic.

Apparently, according to my good friend, Mr Google, Steall Falls were used for a scene in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Harry faces down a Hungarian Horntail dragon in the Triwizard Tournament. Like you do...!

Before setting out I had read that at this point there was a wire bridge, spanning the river. The bridge consisted of a single reinforced wire to walk on, with two higher wires to hold onto and guide yourself across the river - oh and I guess to hang on to if you slip! I was dying to give it a go, I mean, what's the worst that could happen.

I was up first to carry out the walk of death - well, trip across the river - apart from one slightly hairy moment towards the end of the outward trip, where the wire twisted under my foot, the journey was uneventful.

My granddaughter was next up. I was, to say the least, a little concerned about her making the journey without incident, but my fears were unfounded as she managed to do the walk of death without any problems. There goes my £250 from Harry Hill.

My wife was desperate to give it a go, but she just didn't have the strength in her legs to get her up onto the wire, which was a shame.

Of note again here, there is a lot of water at this point, and any child with an tendency to "run" or has a fascination for water, should be watched carefully!

On, to the return, and while the walk up to the falls was probably a little more challenging then we expected the return leg was pretty easy. I guess a combination of knowing what to expect and the fact most of it was downhill on the way back.

The only shame about this walk, was the not knowing there were a couple of deep pools we could have swam in, the location being not very busy, would have been perfect. Clearly the majority of people who come to this area go to the Lower Falls and not the more difficult falls we went to.

https://www.countryfile.com/go-outdoors/walks/walk-steall-falls-and-the-nevis-gorge-highland/