Day 08 – Clunes to Fort William – 21 Miles

I slept rather well in the tent, despite being on quite an angle.  I slept so well in fact that I didn’t get up until 6am, rather than the usual 5am that is required in order to pack everything away and make an early start on the trail.  Tim’s tent made it through the night somehow without collapsing on him as it was precariously pitched and held up mainly by the weight of his rucksack and a few twigs where the pegs wouldn’t stay put.  As we readied ourselves for the off, clouds of midges descended from the surrounding forest getting into our eyes, mouth nose etc. and being a real pain.  It was time to put to the test the Baby Oil/Detol homebrew (as advised by Mark Moxon – End to End guru).  In theory the mixture traps midges in the Baby Oil, then they die in the Detol.  I can confirm that it does indeed do this and you end up with a Baby Oil/Detol/dead midge thin slime on your body.  However, it does not appear to do anything to prevent the clouds of midges following you up and down the trail, so for me the jury is still out on this particular concoction.

The route today was thankfully pretty easy going, following the Great Glen Way (marked with blue posts and a thistle symbol) along the edge of the Caledonian Canal, all the way to Fort William, taking in some amazing lakeside views and equally impressive residences.  The biggest problem was that there is not a single shop along the entire 21 Miles between Clunes and Fort William where we could get any food or water.  This meant that the small provisions that we collected at Fort Augustus had to last us for the whole days walk.  By the time we reached Fort William, we were both right out of food, Tim had finished all his water and I was on my last swig.  With hindsight, we could have filled up at one of the mountain springs that were labelled as drinking water supply.  Instead, we just about made it and hit the first café we came to for a “Belly Buster Breakfast”, which was true to its word and exactly what we needed.

Fort William sitting in the shadow of Ben Nevis is an outdoor sports magnet, so after finding a B&B, we headed into town to visit the outdoor shops.  Tim bought a new pair of boots that are a size bigger than his current pair because he thinks that he is getting “trench foot”, despite the regular stops during the days to apply copious amounts of foot powder and bandage.  He has found (similar to myself before in the week before we set off) that his feet have expanded and are touching the end of the boot.  To be safe, he’s going to carry the old ones for a couple of days in case the new ones are even more painful.

Imagine having a view like this from your house!

Statistics

Distance: 20.6 Miles

Moving Time: 7 Hours 07 Mins

Cumulative Distance: 201.84 Miles

View the route for day 08 here.

Day 07 - Balbeg to Clunes - 30 Miles

Today was a hard day!  The reason being that the Great Glen Way kicks in with a vengeance from Balbeg.  The first day on the Way from Inverness is pretty rolling and doesn’t really get tough.  However, from the moment we set off this morning from our rough camp, it was steep hills and switchbacks all the way through Invermoriston and beyond.  Fort Augustus marks the end of Loch Ness and the beginning of the Caledonian Canal and it seemed to take ages to get there.  When we finally did, we needed to eat, so headed for the building that had “Bar, Restaurant, Lounge” in big un-missable letters on the wall.  We ordered a pint, then were informed that “sorry we don’t do food”.  They didn’t have a lounge either, but rather than argue about it we drank up and found somewhere that clearly did do food.

The Way from Fort Augustus onwards is a complete contrast to the first half of the walk as it follows the highly impressive Caledonian Canal which makes the Grand Union Canal look as if it should just be called the “Union Canal”.  The walking was therefore much easier and we set about covering the remaining miles along the pleasant banks.  By the time we made our final rough camp, we were both exhausted and it was getting late.  We managed to find a spot in the pine forest that was just about big enough for two tents, but it was far from being flat and soft.

We can now take comfort from the fact that we have survived the first week of this walk and tomorrow is only 20 Miles to Fort William where we should be able to get a B&B and repair our aching limbs.

The Caledonian Canal is pretty impressive!

A "Blair Witch" style rough camp in the woods.

Statistics

Distance: 29.2 Miles

Moving Time: 10 Hours 36 Mins

Cumulative Distance: 181.24 Miles

View the route for day 07 here. 

Day 06 - Inverness to Balbeg - 27 Miles

Last night it took all our combined will power to leave the Hootanany pub in the centre of Inverness after just one pint, despite the landlord informing us that it was jam night around the big table (which wasn't big at all) and anyone could join in.  Instead we returned to our accommodation early to recuperate for the start of the Great Glen Way the following morning.

The start of the Great Glen Way was again a wet affair, heading out of the suburbs of Inverness and steeply into the pine forests.  Having gained some height, the gradient levelled off and the walking was pleasant, if a bit wet and a million miles from the A9 which is now a memory as the thundering juggernauts head off towards Perth.

After 15 Miles or so, the Way provides views of Loch Ness (no sign of Nessie today).  A momentary lapse of concentration saw us miss a turn and we dropped down to the A82 that follows the edge of the Loch.  A coach driver at the Nessie Hotel reminded me to call it a Loch, not a lake as we surveyed the vast amount of Nessie souvenirs available in the shop and found a suitable postcard to send home.  From here we followed a path into Drumandrochit and grabbed something to eat.  It was too early to finish the day’s walk, despite the numerous places to stay, so we hung around for a pint and stocked up on provisions before pressing on the Way again.  After a little difficulty, we eventually found a spot to rough camp in the woods.  It was here that the midge armistice was officially ended as clouds of them descended whilst we pitched tent.  I quickly dived inside trying not to take any with me.  Tomorrow I may be forced to try out my homemade repellent consisting of 2/3 Baby Oil, 1/3 Detol to see how effective it is.  Veteran Scot Andrew Miller is highly sceptical that this will work.  I will let you know the results.

 Evening on the Great Glen Way.

Statistics

Distance: 26.1 Miles

Moving Time: 9 Hours 00 Mins

Cumulative Distance: 152.04 Miles

View the route for day 06 here.