Eas Chia Eag

There are few waterfalls as spectacular as the double Eas Chia-aig waterfalls at the eastern end of Loch Arkaig, accessed through the deeply wooded valley of Mile Dorcha (Dark Mile).

They have a dark legend attached to them going back to the days when this was Clan Cameron country. The wealth of the clan was in its heads of cattle and if an illness befell them, witchcraft was often suspected to be the cause. There was always the fear that a bana-bhuidseach (witch woman) would put the eye on the cattle out of spite and envy.

When Cameron of Lochiel’s cattle fell ill, the local Bana Bhuidseach was hunted down and chased over the falls. She fell to her death in the deep brown pool below the last fall and to this day, the pool is called the ‘witch’s cauldron’. In recent times, the falls and pool were made famous as the location of Rob Roy’s escape from his redcoat captors in the 1995 film of the same name where Liam Neeson playing Rob Roy leaps from the falls into the pool.

More information on visiting the area can be found here.