After a very wet night I had packed away my tent by 8-30am and headed off out of the forest. After walking along a section of road lined by expensive looking big houses the Great Glen Way follows the shore of Loch Lochie. This was a very pleasant spot and easily the highlight of the day.
After rejoining the Caledonian Canal at Gairlochy I walked along a 7 mile stretch of towpath being buffeted by headwinds and light showers in the shadow of Ben Nevis. The towpath takes you to Neptune's Staircase. It's quite a sight, a series of 7 locks that bring the canal down to sea-level.
After a couple of confusing miles the Great Glen way brought me to its end in the centre of Fort William. I had managed the journey in two and a half days, the guide books suggest it should take six.
After stopping for lunch in a large supermarket I made my way to my accommodation. The room was basic, but I was delighted to find I had a bath rather than the usual shower cubicle. My legs were soon enjoying a well deserved soak as I contemplated my next task, The West Highland Way.
GPS data click here
Mileage today; 17.85 miles, walking time 4 hrs 33 mins, average walking speed 3.9 mph
Weather; Overcast and breezy, light showers. Max 16C
Cumulative mileage; 208.04 miles
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| Neptune's Staircase viewed from the bottom |
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| Looking back at the Clunes Forest, far left, where I camped through a very wet night. |
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| Loch Lochie shoreline walk |
The guide books may suggest six days, but I assume they don't expect most people to be averaging a marathon each day! You're doing well.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Glen Way was my first LDE (at an older age than you are) and, I'm ashamed to admit, the first I did not complete due to injury. I managed 4 days (out of a planned 6) from Inverness to Laggan with the last two of those days in extreme pain. Unfortunately I had to take the bus to Fort William, however I did get to walk the last part twice (from Fort William up to the Soldier's bridge and then back). Since then, I've done a lot of walking (the most recent a 3 month tour of Northern England and Scotland) and likely matched the pace you set (one day I averaged 6.7km/hour on the Borders Abbey Way), although to do that day after day might require some focus. I've begun blogging about my adventures at https://ramblingryk.blogspot.com/ if you are interested.
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