Great Glen Way Summary

The Great Glen Way
By Mark Walford Homeward bound Date: Saturday September 10th 2011 Prev

You gotta go there to come back ....

We had arranged for a taxi to take us back to Fort William and we enjoyed our last full English breakfast with as much indulgent delight as our hangovers would allow. I had slept well and felt surprisingly fit and agile despite the miles. This was a new experience for me as usually I was shuffling around like a ninety year old by the end of a weeks walking. I like to think that this was due to an improved level of fitness, and perhaps it was because I had managed to keep my walking up fairly consistently throughout the year, but I also have to acknowledge that the Great Glen Way was less challenging then previous walks. It treated the walker kindly, with moderate gradients and short distances and only at the end did it approach anything that might be considered challenging. That’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable because it was a superb route with unforgettable walking and enough stop-and-stare moments to satisfy us all. On balance I would say that the West Highland Way provided the more rugged and untamed scenery but then one had to work all the harder to be rewarded by them. The Great Glen Way offered the best of Scotland with relatively little effort, so it’s a fair trade-off.
Our cab arrived on time and so we said goodbye to our hosts and their proudly Scottish guest house (7.0 on the Pat Pending Rating System in case you were wondering) threw our gear into the trunk and sat back for the hour-long journey back to Fort William. Our driver, John, was born and bred in Inverness and was a useful source of knowledge on the journey home, pointing out local landmarks and buildings with a tale to tell for each one. We travelled back through many of the places we had walked through during the week, tiny Invermoriston, Fort Augustus, Spean Bridge, until we eventually pulled into a rainy Fort William where we had time to stretch our legs before the long drive home. I arrived at my house at 8 pm that evening, tired, bearing gifts of wine and chocolate, and entirely ready to sit in my reclining chair and revel in the seductive sinfulness of being a Couch Potato.
So there’s another long distance route completed, and another little bit of Scotland walked across. I can now boast, rather pointlessly I suppose, that I have walked from Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William; a claim to fame which, perhaps, only fellow hikers might appreciate, but one that I regard as a personal achievement. We haven’t finished yet of course, there are several other Scottish routes to be tackled, which will see us head south from Inverness, wandering down the eastern side of the country and eventually reaching the borders. It may be a few years before I head back north of the border but, legs and pocket willing, I’ll be there with a repaired rucksack, new boots, and a new improved version of the Pat Pending Rating System at the ready.
The Great Glen Way scored a very respectable 9.1.

 

In memory of Mia ('Little Me') and all our walks together

Daily Tweets

Twitter from @Corriepaw (Colin)
Went out last night for a few celebratory ales & ended up necking several pints. I therefore felt a bit various, first thing. There was loud, live music & the Friday night peacocks & hens came out to flirt & get messily arseholed. There was even a kilted laird.

Twitter from @Corriepaw (Colin)
I'm back in Brummie land. Took us about eight & a half hours travel, since we set out from Inverness this morning.

Twitter from @Corriepaw (Colin)
Now it is over for another year. Bod is back in Southport, @darkfarmowl is in Sheldon & I'm spending the night at mom & dad's.

Twitter from @Darkfarmowl (Mark)
Home again. Adventure over. Lots of photos and videos to sort out and a journal to write. Brilliant week.
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