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GGW spiced up by whisky, turkeys & lost camera

GGW spiced up by whisky, turkeys & lost camera


Postby dogplodder » Sat Jul 06, 2019 7:17 pm

Route description: GGW 5 Low Route: Invermoriston to Drumnadrochit

Date walked: 26/03/2019

Distance: 23.5 km

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We left the car in car park at Drumnadrochit and got the Skye bus to Invermoriston which dropped us off close to the start of the GGW by the clog shop. But for reasons that will be obvious we headed in the opposite direction towards the excellent toilets by the community hall. Over the years these toilets have reached celebrity status, having won awards for 'best kept toilets' nationwide and have been visited on countless occasions as we've travelled up and down the A82. So to say we are disappointed to hear they are now to be closed is putting it very mildly. :?

Across the road from this significant milestone in many a journey is the old bridge which tourists flock to see after availing themselves of the now closed facilities. It makes one wonder if Invermoriston will suffer from this closure since there's no longer the same 'need' to stop there? :think:

The old bridge was built by Thomas Telford in 1813 and crosses the spectacular River Moriston falls. It was part of the main road between Drumnadrochit and Fort Augustus but was replaced in the 1930s with the bridge used today.

Old bridge at Invermoriston
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We retraced our steps to the Skye road and followed the lane to the left of the clog shop, which took us gently then more steeply uphill to meet a track where we turned right. We had decided that due to the weather we would take the low route, but later came to regret that as there was a sameness about the low route with a lot of track through tall trees and not all that much to see.

At this point we caught a glimpse of a misty Loch Ness before a section through forestry plantation.

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Gorse coming into bloom
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Stone cave which could be useful in bad weather
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I don't think I've seen primroses flowering in the Highlands as early as March, which must be testament to the mild winter we'd had.

Early primroses
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Seat with a view
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Not much to say about the next stretch except it's an easy track with pleasant views over the loch. The last female wolf living wild in the Great Glen is said to have been killed in the vicinity of the bridge over the Alltsigh, which seems a shame to me but crofters with livestock probably had a different view on the matter. :(

Looking back
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Looking back
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Looking forward
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Looking back
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Did I mention there is a sameness about this route, not helped on the day we did it by mist and low cloud minimising the views even when the trees weren't in the way. In the gentle rain it was a bit of a dreich trudge, the silver lining being it was early enough in the year to be midge free. :evil:

Looking back again
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Looking forward
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So by the time we reached Grotaig we were in the mood for something to perk us up. On previous times at Grotaig we had seen the sign for The Pottery but never paid it a visit. All that was about to change. We followed the sign 200m back from our route and found a stable type door, so went in.

It was a pottery right enough and there were a couple of tables with chairs but apart from that no sign of life. We had a look at the pottery on display, then spotted a door with a sign saying shower and toilet. There was still no sign of life so we used the loo (gave the shower a miss although it was a nice idea) and still nobody came.

Then my enterprising friend decided to explore further and knocked on the door to what looked (from the window we could see through) to be the owners' lounge. Still no response but on pushing the door open she could see someone sitting in a chair with his back to the door so she ventured forward and gave him a wee poke. I had to admire her persistence as I think by this time I'd have been out of there! :lol:

The gentleman was watching TV so hadn't heard us, but yes, the cafe was open (it's always open) the only snag being he couldn't locate his good lady wife who normally does the business, so to speak. A quick look into the working end of the pottery confimed she wasn't throwing pots and, considering the isolation of the location, it's difficult to know where she may have slipped away to. It's not the kind of place from where you can nip next door to chat to the neighbour or round the corner to buy a paper and in the time we were there she never did reappear. Hope all that was happily resolved. :-P

But her husband turned out to be an excellent stand in, protesting it was no trouble at all and went off to make us a pot of coffee served with a generous helping of homemade fruit cake laced with whisky and very good shortbread. It went down a treat and we didn't leave a crumb.

Double the amount you'd expect in one helping anywhere else
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It was time to go, but our man had disappeared again. The very reasonable prices were displayed on the wall so we knocked on the door to say we'd left the correct amount on the table, at which point he gave us a price below the one advertised, until we pointed out the price list. When does that ever happen? So, if you're ever passing, do go in. Provided you can find someone to serve you, I think you'll find it's worth it.

That whisky cake had done the job!
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We returned to the parking area for climbing Meall Fuar-mhonaidh from where we got a good view of the hill.

Meall Fuar-mhonaidh
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The rest of the route was along a path at the side of the road or on the road itself and we reminisced about when we walked it with a whole bunch of folk of all ages, plus dogs, which felt like a very long time ago. There were no people this time, just some livestock along the way.

Looks like a Black Welsh Mountain sheep
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Friendly equines
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It might have been the whisky in the cake but at one point I said to Moira "Can you hear talking coming from that post?". She looked at me strangely then we spotted the turkeys doing their turkey 'gobbling' behind the fence. Ah well.

These guys were fortunate to have made it past Christmas
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A very nice house overlooking water
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When we came to the left turn to go down through the woods we discussed shortening the route by continuing on the road. It was tempting but we were good and stayed on the GGW, although it took us further west than felt right and eventually we reached the main road that took us back to the car.

Down through the woods to Drum
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When we reached the car in the car park there was the usual faffing about, taking boots off, stashing rucksacks in boot, and in the general melee Moira had put her camera and GPS unit on the roof of the car and because something distracted her got into the car leaving them there. :roll:

As she drove off she asked me to look back and check if we'd left anything behind. It would appear we hadn't so we swung out of the car park and along a short distance until she pulled in just beyond the post office to check she had her camera and GPS unit. As soon as she stepped out of the car she saw the GPS unit on the roof but the camera was gone. I immediately jumped out off the car and ran back to the car park scanning the road as I went. She turned the car and we both searched the car park but no sign of camera. Not believing it could vanish into thin air I walked back along the route we'd taken - but nothing. :?

Then Moira had the inspired idea to go into the post office to ask where would be the most likely place for something like that to be handed in. Before she'd finished speaking the shop lady said the camera had been handed in by a man who found it lying at the exit from the car park. Big smiles all round and a big thank you to the anonymous gent who handed the camera in! :thumbup:

From now on, for us, Drumnadrochit will always be a good place.
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dogplodder
 
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