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Date: 17/07/2021.
Distance: 7km.
Ascent: 320m.
Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.
Weather: Windy, warm and sunny.
This was a short walk to try and encourage Jackie out again. The last 2 or 3 weeks had been pretty bad for her - every time we went out for even a short walk or cycle, it would result in at least a day of not being able to get off the couch afterwards. She had reached a point where even if she didn't feel physically too bad, she couldn't work up the enthusiasm to do anything, assuming it would just end in pain and tiredness again. I had managed to persuade her out to Creag Phadraig in Inverness the previous evening with seemingly no ill effect, so we thought we'd try this short stroll around Foyers today.
Short it may be, but immediately after leaving the car we were heading upwards - first through houses, then following the side of the Foyers gorge. The hydro power station (originally built in the 19th century as the first water powered aluminium smelter in the UK) next to where we had parked often takes water from the River Foyers upstream of the falls, so it can be hit or miss as to whether there is much to see. There was little water today, but the gorge was still impressive.
Loch Ness and old Foyers bridge 
Meall Fuar Mhonaidh 
Impressive gorge at the lower falls 
Less impressive waterfall today We popped out opposite the shop on the main Foyers road and Jackie was still OK for a bit more walking, so we wandered through the village to the Upper Falls. Again, little water in these.
Upper Falls of Foyers without much water From here we followed a series of forestry tracks to loop back around to the bridge in the lower part of Foyers. On the way we passed a boardwalk that appeared to go nowhere - no signposts either so unsure what this was for. Then we climbed up to the mast near Carn Dearg hoping for views. Sadly there were none.
Path along the edge of Glenlia 
Unsure what this walkway is for 
Mast near Carn Dearg - sadly no views The track we were on led directly back to Foyers, but we opted for a more overgrown one which took us closer to Loch Ness. The hoped-for views were fairly intermittent due to the thickness of the trees, but it felt pretty wild down here. The path was just a narrow trail through the trees for a short while, before crossing fields and dropping into Foyers.
SW down Loch Ness 
Loch Ness and Foyers 
New bridge to Lower Foyers It is fairly standard for Jackie to start feeling knackered at some point in the last third of whatever walk we do. Fortunately today it only started happening a couple of minutes from the car, with the consequence that she didn't pay for the exertion the next day. While a lot of the day was spent in conifer plantations with limited views, this was a fairly pleasant wander.
