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Day 1 - Fort William - Laggan - 24.48 milesHaving flown into Inverness from London Gatwick the night before. I took the 9am bus from Inverness to Fort William, arriving at 11am.
Fort William was wet & windy, so it was straight into Morrisons to change into full wet weather gear and put on the backpack rain cover. It was going to be a long day, we were booked into the Great Glen Hostel for the night, with a promise of Spaghetti Bolognaise for dinner, but 24 miles had to be walked first!
The stage to Gairlochy was done at a good pace arriving around 2pm and we stopped at the lock gates for lunch. The weather despite starting off wet soon turned dry allowing us to remove the wet weather gear! I love a good photo opportunity, but the low cloud gave us no good views of Ben Nevis or the Nevis ranges.
After a 20 min lunch break, it was onwards to Laggan. The route along the edge of Loch Lochy and along the country lane towards Clunes was flat and pleasant, allowing us to eat up the miles. After Clunes we entered the pine forests and met the 1st diversion on the GGW, the diversion has been well thought out and the pathway rewarded you with excellent views of the loch. The information signs were also excellent providing insight, into the use of the land, wildlife, history & GGW.
On we plodded jackets on, jackets off, as the rain started and stopped, we soon had the Laggan Locks in view, meaning the end for today, was a mere 30 minutes away! As we hit the flat ground again it was back on the Caledonian Canal until a break on the path allowed us to walk back on ourselves to the Great Glen Hostel, for a shower and dinner.
The days walk took just under 7 hours, which was a good time including stops considering the weather!
Day 2 - Laggan to Invermoriston - 20.58 miles
Sun! It’s dry and sunny for Day 2!
There was no rush today, so we planned on a slower pace we had a B&B booked in Invermoriston and dinner booked at the Glenmoriston Arms, but as long as we arrived by dark no rush!
Detour no. 2 was due to logging on the east side of Loch Lochy, so it was onto the Invergarry detour and continuing on the high route, we made an impromptu stop for a coffee and shortbread at the Invergarry Hotel (Recommended). The walk through the forest was peaceful with only birdsong for company along with the finches, tits and starlings that followed you.
A quick stop in the sunshine at the Bridge of Oich and we followed the flat path alongside the Caledonian Canal into Fort Augustus for lunch! And a nice lunch it was too! (Delightfulness Cafe)
The route out of Fort Augustus took us straight up hill, in fact I'd go as far to say this is the hardest stretch of the whole route over the course of the 4 days. Past the waterfall on the All na Criche and reaching the highest point on the edge of Carn an Doire Mhoir.
Once, the highest point is reached the going is easy with gentle ups and downs heading towards Invermoriston. The highlight of this section was a sunbathing Adder!
Approximately 1.5 miles outside of Invermoriston, the path headed downwards on a steep decline, it really hits the knees, its then past Telford's Bridge and the Moriston Falls and into the pub for a beer!
Day 3 - Invermoriston - Drumnadrochit - 14.32 miles
Drizzle to start and then on and off rain throughout the day!
Another steep start out of Invermoriston, zig zagging up through a mixed-wood of deciduous trees and as we went higher into mixed open heathland & conifer woods. As we neared the top the viewcatcher came into view, but unfortunately no view!!
The walk following the Viewcatcher became relaxed as we followed the a path over open heathland and then down through a conifer forest.....then it was up, up, up! This is the highest point of the GGW on the slopes of Creag Dhearg. It's not the hardest of climbs, just long. The views at the top by the protective shelter are rewarding looking down at Loch Ness and back across the route where you have just came!
The next stage of the route through the conifer forests, is not the most interesting, but the promise of tea and cake at the Loch Ness Pottery, keeps your spirits high and it wasn't long before we arrived in Grotaig for our cake!
What followed next was some fairly boring road walking and a steep drop through more conifers into Drumnadrochit and a comfortable night staying at the pub!
Day 4 - Drumnadrochit - Inverness - 20.65 milesFinal Day and it was dry!
A little bit of road walking out of Drum' and then on the bend of the A82 it was off the road and onwards and upwards again through the Pine Forest with views back across Urquhart Castle & Loch Ness.
The path through the forest is well marked and zig zags it way up to a forestry track and then on open moorland. It is here we saw a couple of Golden Eagles, which was a fantastic sight to see on the GGW.
The next few miles were through the Abriachan Forest Trust lands, which being a Saturday we saw our first walkers and cyclists on the trail coming in the opposite direction (till now we'd seen nobody).
Passing next to the community living in the Abriachan Forest, we crossed the road and stopped at the cafe for Lemon Cake and Tea (Cake was the size of a doorstep, and lovely), before continuing out onto a road leading through small hamlets of crofting cottages and bungalows. The views were amazing of the mountains in the distance, but no sight yet of Inverness.
After a few miles road walking the path detoured off to head towards a forest, which lead us to the outskirts of Inverness, little did we know that the walk would be a further 5 miles into the city, so near, but yet so far!!!
With Inverness in sight, we headed downwards through a community park and some new housing estates (lots of litter, not good!!) and down onto the Caledonian Canal and crossing the bridges to the Ness Islands. From here we followed the River Ness for the last mile into the City centre and a race to the finish.
All that we now needed to do was drop off our packs and find a pub!
Another fantastic walk in the Scottish Highlands, next step plan the next one!
