The Great Glen

I am now sat in what must be described as the noisiest coffee shop in the world. I have become spoilt by natural silence. I may have some adjustment to make when I finally get home!

I managed to get back to the youth hostel in Glen Nevis by 09:10. Four hours up and down was pretty good going I thought. I had originally planned on being down by mid-day, so this afforded me a very real possibility of getting to Inverness, where there is another hostel that I could transfer my booking to from tonight. That would mean another 70 odd miles, but it was worth try.

I forget what time I got going, so wrapped up was I in looking back over my shoulder at the hills that I had so recently stood astride. The view of the north face of Ben Nevis improves the farther away from it that you get, which is shame because the camera can't cope with that kind of distance.

Heading out of Fort William I intended to pick up the Great Glen Way at it's beginning. An impressive series of locks take the shipping/boats up into Loch Lochy from where they traverse from there to Loch Oich before then being let loose on the enormity of Loch Ness. The latter I was to discover goes on, and on and on. It is huge.

For some inexplicable reason I took the wrong turning out of Fort William, ending up on the hideously busy and rather dangerous A82. Heading now for Spean Bridge, I had no choice but to stick with it, diving into laybys to let some of the bigger lorries and frequent busses past.

The reward, however, was a visit to the Commando monument near Spean Bridge. The Commados spent a good while training in the Cairngorms and surrounding hills and are remembered here for their bravery and skill.

From Spean Bridge I was able to rejoin the Great Glen Way, though the section from here to Laggan Lock is not ideal for road/hybrid bikes like mine. Mountain bikes would cope better, though sections that have been repaired using fist sized stone, make cycling across cattle grids feel like cycling on cotton wool. None-the-less the views of the Loch as you can see are amazing.

It is of course possible to make this journey any number of ways. Cycling is the obvious, by boat would be another, walking is now very popular and of course you could do it the RAF way in about 6 seconds. I have infact flown the Glen myself during flying training and remember the sight of a Tornado coming at us from the other end of the valley...very briefly. Spot the birdy.

At Laggan Lock I discovered a gem. Well a pub actually. Try this for size. From the outside it looks rather cramped, but get below and the barge opens up into a spacious bar, dinning area and home. They also serve excellent beer and were a boost for tiring legs.

The Caledonian Canal, that connects the three lochs of the Glen together has a good towpath that can be cycled easily. The good thing about canals is that they are flat. I was soon at the southern end of Loch Ness where I was faced with a simple choice. The A82 which is flattish and busy, or the B862, which is anything but. No choice really. After a day of climbs, why not add another!

Four miles of climbing gives you a great perspective...on many things. Loch Ness was one of these. A steep climb is a good climb if followed by a slow decent. 25 miles of gradual decent with the occasional blump and lengths of flat road next to the loch would have me do that again. The headwind and cold not ideal.

Anyway, at 9pm I struggled into Inverness. I'm cutting this short because the coffee shop I'm in is due to close. More soon. JB