Glencoe Crossroads

Glencoe Crossroads is the junction of the A82 and the B863. The village, where the infamous Massacre of Glencoe took place in 1692, sits at the entrance to Glen Coe and is surrounded by spectacular mountain scenery and is popular with serious hill-walkers, rock and ice climbers. It has been seen in numerous films, including Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as the home of Hagrid. The village looks out across Loch Leven, and is dominated by the shapely Pap of Coe, and infamous Aonach Eagach ridge.

The Crossroads was created in c1931 when the new road through the Glen was built, replacing the old road past the Clachaig Inn as the A82. At the same time, the new link to what is now the B863 Kinlochleven road was built through Invercoe. Previously this road appears to have followed the north bank of the River Coe to meet the old road immediately east of Brig O'Coe. This road is still used as a (muddy) access for the houses along it.

Looking at the map of Glencoe Village, it is easy to see where the new road sliced through the old crofts, with the long thin fields stretching up the hillside to the south of the A82. The junction was changed further in the 1970s when the A82 was diverted to cross the new Ballachulish Bridge. Around the same time that the bridge opened in 1975, the section of the old road through Tigh Phuirt to the west of the crossroads was bypassed along the shore, resulting in the junctions ceasing to be a crossroads as such. The old road through Tigh Phuirt was closed up, and the junction realigned so that Glencoe Village is now accessed via the B863, rather than directly off the A82. However, this second junction so close to the main junction is disliked by locals who find it awkward to negotiate, with poor visibility often hampered by queueing traffic.

Following the tragic death of a local, a 40mph limit was installed on this section of the A82 in 2008, and a new pedestrian crossing has now been added (2010) in conjunction with the completion of the Ballachulish Cycle Track. Around the same time, plans to redevelop the Glencoe Inn saw discussions regarding the installation of a roundabout to provide better access to the Inn and village. Sadly, the financial crash saw both plans shelved, and the local community are still waiting for the junction to be improved.

Route	To	Notes
A82	A' Chrion-Làrrich/Crianlarich, Glasgow
A82	An Gearasdan/Fort William, An t-òban/Oban (A828), Ballachulish	Former A828
B863	Ceann Loch Liobhann/Kinlochleven	Argyll Coastal Route Former A82 and originally A829
	A' Charnaich/Glencoe Village	Former A82
A829	Ceann Loch Liobhann/Kinlochleven	Latterly A82, now B863