Week 15 and a Bit - To Inverness and Beyond!

Apologies for yet another late blog post, first of all Carne Burke and Duncan Allen turned up as unexpected visitors on Friday, so instead of working on the blog after Sandra’s swim on Saturday as I’d intended we went to a very nice bar in Inverness and sat in the sun all afternoon.  After Saturday’s day of rest the next few days were full on walking as I sped northwards and then I ended up in an area without internet connectivity and limited phone signal.

To recap the story so far, the last blog saw us not particularly enjoying the delights of a very wet and windy Fort William after a rather mixed saunter along the West Highland Way, where the weather went from dry, cool, breezy and bright to howling, wind driven rain.  One the West Highland Way was finished it was straight up the Great Glen Way (GGW) to Inverness, springboard for John O’Groats.  I was looking forward to the Great Glen Way which runs the length of the Great Glen from Fort William to inverness; from the wet west to the dry east, from flesh stripping clouds of midges to midge free heaven, from the end of the West Highland Way to the start of the John O’Groats Trail.

Looking North East along Loch Lochy, Inverness is about 5 days away.

I’ve driven up the Great Glen many times so was looking forward to taking my time and enjoying the scenery.  For anyone not familiar with the Great Glen it’s that prominent slice across Scotland from the Atlantic to the North Sea, a deep trough following an ancient geological fault exploited and deepened by glaciers during the ice ages.  The glaciated fault line’s now filled with three lochs, Loch Lochy (forever known to generations of school boys by it’s English name of Lake Lakey [sorry to all Scots]) in the south east, Loch Oich in the middle and finally the big daddy, Loch Ness.

Loch Ness from the Great Glen Way, it took me two days to walk its length and I didn’t get a decent picture, it’s too big!

 In the late 18th century these three lochs were linked by a series of canals to provide a safe route for ships between Fort William and Inverness, saving the long and dangerous trip around the top of Scotland.  The Caledonian Canal is still in use and there is a constant stream of boats, now mostly leisure, along its length.  I was walking what the map called the Great Glen Way, but there is also the Caledonian Way which I followed for three days to Fort Augustus.  After that the two paths parted company, the Caledonian Way sticking to the shore of Loch Ness while I followed the Great Glen Way through the forest on the norther shores of Loch Ness.

Walking along the towpath of the Caledonian Canal

The week’s walking fell into two halves, south of Fort Augustus the path ran along the shores of Loch Lochy and Loch Oich linked by the Caledonian Canal.  The paths were almost flat (canal engineers not being in favour of hills) and the walking was fast and easy.  From Fort Augustus the path forsook the lochs and canals to climb through mature pine plantations above the A82.  There was little to choose between them, the canal and loch side section offered easy walking and views along the Great Glen and its lochs while the forests offered walking through cool still pine forests where the air was quiet and smelt of clean pine and cool water.

Not only was the walking pretty easy but the weather improved steadily as I moved up the Great Glen towards Inverness, the sun came out, temperatures rose and the waterproofs came off as I sped steadily north-east wards.

I didn’t know what to expect from the Great Glen Way so was pleasantly surprised by how nice it was, the views varied from pretty to stunning and the terrain from quiet canal side to open hill tops, I found the Great Glen a much more satisfying walk than the West Highland Way and talking to other walkers they agreed.

 Two highlights of this walk weren’t views of mountains or lochs, but encounters with people, the first was a chap called Robin who was walking Land’s End to John O’Groats in sections over a number of years.  While the second was a fantastic lady called Sandra D who owned the highest croft in Scotland and runs a backpackers campsite and vegan restaurant.  We were too early to enjoy lunch, but the cake and coffee were excellent and fortified me for the last miles before Inverness.

The amazing Abriachan Eco-Campsite and Cafe - serving hungry walkers since 1999.

 Inverness is a lovely city, the sun shines, the pubs are friendly and people come and visit.  First to arrive was Carne Burke who came up for the weekend before she and Sandra went off for their own adventure, travelling by train, bus, taxi and ferry from inverness to Majorca via London, Paris and Toulon!

One of Inverness’s many beautiful foot bridges

The second person visitor was Duncan Allen who arrived after an epic journey in his vintage Land Rover, 300 miles from Kendal to Inverness; it was a great effort and both his and Carne’s company was much appreciated.

Saturday was a “Day of Rest”, at least for me, Sandra had booked a place on the Kessock Bridge swim, an open water event that was being revived for the first time in about 50 years.  The weather was fantastic, the event great fun and Sandra enjoyed herself enormously.

 Despite the fine weather, good beer and excellent company I was on a schedule and Inverness marks is both the end of the Great Glen Way and the start of the John O’Groats Trail (JOGT).  This is a relatively new route which runs from Inverness to John O’Groats following foot paths, forest tracks, and minor B roads up the coast to John O’Groats, with only occasional forays onto the notorious A9 to cross the various firths that cut deep into Scotland’s east coast between Inverness and Dornoch.

Definitely a sign the The End is Nigh!

 From the centre of Inverness I walked over the magnificent Kessock suspension bridge then crossed the Black Isle on forest tracks and minor roads to the Cromarty Firth and the splendid A9 road bridge.  Once over the firth the route left the busy road, following farm and forest tracks to the Cromarty Firth and on day three the Dornoch Firth.  Three days of magnificent walking before dropping Sandra and carne off at Inverness station to catch the sleeper to London.

Cromarty Firth Bridge

Dornoch Firth Bridge

Without Sandra’s support and with Arthur in the van any serious walking towards John O’Groats was going to be difficult so Duncan and I went over to Kinlochewe near the west coast; I was looking forward to a few days rest before the final push north and Duncan had some roads he wanted to visit.

I’ve now walked just over 1140 miles and have about 100 to go, after three and a half months it feels like the end is in sight, a prospect I’m facing with decidedly mixed feelings. 

Not far to go now!

Here are the week and trip totals.

 Week’s and a bit Total :-          118 Miles           7,395 Feet of Ascent,       253,972 Paces,  42.5 Hours of Walking.

 Walk Total to date:-        1144 Miles          116,749 Feet of Ascent, 2,549,560 Paces,      502 Hours of Walking.

 Land’s End to John O’Groats walk approximately 91% completed.