Total miles: 15.4
Elevation gain: 440 ft
Time walking: 11am – 5pm
Miles to date: 1,193.2
As I start to write this blog I find myself thinking I don’t have much to say about today. I think my feet are aching so much they are drowning out the memories of the walk! After a beautiful morning at my lochside campsite the walk itself just seemed to go on and on – the scenery was beautiful but the incessant pounding along hard tracks made the day seem samey and I was so relieved to make it to Fort Augustus. With the benefit of hindsight and the comfort of a leather sofa and a cup of tea I can reflect and know that it was actually a very beautiful walk, but as a friend wisely put it, I may be suffering from “BSS” – Beautiful Scenery Syndrome…I’ve seen so much incredible scenery that I’m getting used to it, and after the absolutely stunning high level walking of the Pennine Way and the latter part of the West Highland Way low-level walking doesn’t seem quite as exciting! The killer for me today was the monotonous gravel tracks/unsealed roads, no twists and turns, uneven ground or ups and downs to shake up my gait a bit so my muscles and feet are really feeling the repetitive strain tonight.
I woke up this morning very early to the sound of rain after a very wet and windy night where I don’t think I got too much sleep. The wind was howling on the loch most of the night, frequently catching the trees and making them rustle and groan and occasionally reaching the tent and giving it a good shake. In moments where the wind eased a little I could hear the red deer roaring on the hill and all in all it made for a somewhat uneasy night! I distinctly remember two dreams that woke me with a start – one where the loch overflowed and flooded my tent and another where the red deer came down from the hill and stumbled over my tent! Despite the disturbed night’s sleep when I woke up for a second time at a more reasonable hour the rain had stopped and the air was still. I ventured out of my tent to find a promising looking morning, a weak but present sun and fresh but not too cold air. I was in no rush to get going as it was a shorter day today with a hostel at the end so I let the sun dry out my tent while I enjoyed a lochside breakfast. A cute little red-breasted robin flitted about, seeming quite companionable. I’ve seen lots of robins in Scotland, I like to pretend it’s the same one following me! The unease I’d felt overnight melted away and I felt happy and so so lucky to be out camping in such a beautiful spot. The sun was lovely and it was a real treat to be able to put the tent away completely dry!
The first couple of miles continued along the forest track above the loch before coming out into slightly more open sheep and holiday hut-populated land at the end of the loch. Time for the canal to recommence, at the Laggan Lochs, where there was an intriguing cafe/restaurant on a boat. It seemed a bit early to stop and the map said there was a cafe a few miles further on at the edge of Loch Oich so I continued. The stretch along the canal was pretty and my favourite bit of path for the day – a little forest path above the canal, covered in a soft coating of pine needles, a slight uphill and then emerging at the Lagan swing bridge. Here the path passed the Loch Oich Water Park, where there are lots of triangular holiday huts which looked cute but also mostly unoccupied…I guess it’s end of the season now. I popped in to the holiday park cafe which was empty but I was grateful for a sit down and the coffee, cookie and banana. Especially as it had just started to rain! I waterproofed up to head out and the rain promptly stopped, and it was a waterproof dance for the next few miles.
Just on from the holiday park was the old Invergarry station, just a platform and some track now, part of the never fully completed Fort William to Inverness railway which later fell in to ruin. I think here the path must have forked as although I took the obvious track which was signposted as the cycle path, a bit further on I saw a much prettier and more interesting path down below, running along the loch edge. The track I was on was the old railway and it was straight, flat and dull, with limited views of the loch and frequently running through cuttings in the rock. The path below kept coming into view but at first I thought it was a private track as there was a fence between it and the track I was on. This straight track really felt like a slog and I resorted to singing songs out loud to myself to make the journey more interesting. I think it was worse, knowing there was a prettier and kinder-to-the-feet path below! About halfway along the (comparatively) little Loch Oich (it’s still 4 miles long…!) there were some pretty views across to the ruins of Invergarry castle and tiny islands in the loch. I also came across another trailblazer campsite, this one with unlocked toilets! It was a pretty site and it’s a shame it’s so close (only about 8 miles) to the last one. The next one is on the wrong side of Loch Ness so is no good for me sadly. The path I’d spotted before went straight through the site and I debated following it to see where it went but I still wasn’t sure it wasn’t going to end me in a dead end so I headed back up to the tedious cycle track. After a while I changed my mind and made use of a hole in the fence to pick up the lower path, instantly wishing I’d done it sooner! It was such a relief to not be on that cycle track! Unfortunately I was nearly at the other end so soon I had to rejoin the track, although there was at least an interesting railway tunnel to liven things up a bit.
My feet were starting to ache a lot so I took a quick break by the Oich Swing Bridge and noticed that the river was flowing the wrong way. Then I remembered reading that Loch Oich was the highest point on the Caledonian Canal, which meant I was now heading “downhill”! The wind picked up and it started to spit with rain again so I didn’t stop long, I only had a few miles to go now! The last four and a half miles were once again along the canal, lovely and wide and wild-feeling, with a couple of lochs along the way, but I was feeling so tired and footsore by this point that I was struggling to appreciate it fully. There were lots of blackberries along this section though, in fact all along the Great Glen so far I’ve had some lovely big juicy blackberries, I don’t know if it is the location or just the time of year, but they make for a nice treat (and vitamin boost!) along the way. I even found a couple of late raspberries today! I wasn’t the only one enjoying them either, a gorgeous little mouse ran across the track in front of me and then sat nibbling at a berry at the side of the path, not seeming to notice me gradually trying to creep closer to it. I managed to crouch down right next to it as it happily munched away on its snack, it only jumped and ran away when I struggled noisily to get back onto my feet again!!
Touched by the appearance of the mouse, and then shortly afterwards mountains on the skyline, I plodded on feeling a little more content, albeit still in pain (more so actually, after the crouching…bad idea to try to crouch down with a pack on your back when your knees hurt…!). Then the rain came! It was forecasted, but it was sudden. I had to dive into a block of trees for shelter while I quickly put my jacket back on, finding a frog trying to hitch a lift as I went to put my pack on again! The rain was heavy but quite refreshing and it was amazing how it changed the landscape around me. I passed a very wet-looking couple on a boat at one of the locks and we waved cheerfully through the rain. Fellow nutters! The rain persisted for a while, eventually easing off slightly but never completely stopping. But then the happy sight of buildings! I felt like I was almost limping at this stage, but definitely hobbling, I must have looked a funny sight to all the tourists who were wandering around the impressive series of locks that take the canal down into Loch Ness.
As I came into the tiny town the delicious waft of fish and chips came through the air and all intentions of cooking myself a wholesome and healthy dinner vanished! I figured if I ate now, I could spend the rest of the evening sitting down and relaxing…! I located the fish and chip shop and ordered takeaway, figuring I could go and eat them by the loch. Just as I was about to leave the shop the heavens opened and I ended up eating the whole lot standing in the shelter of the doorway! Not quite a gourmet dinner, but it filled a hole and tasted amazing!
This evening has been spent enjoying a good hot shower, drinking tea, eating biscuits and doing a bit of onward planning, followed hopefully by an early night. Tomorrow is a long day – 23 miles, and I’m dreading it somewhat! I’m just praying that my feet, ankles and knees feel a bit better tomorrow and that the path is a bit more varied, otherwise it could be a tough day! The morning is supposed to be wet but drying out by evening, which is great as I’m planning on camping again tomorrow, at a campsite this time though!
