The view from our B&B just outside Fort William - overlooking Loch Linnie. The clouds soon lifted and it became another warm sunny day.
Ben Nevis towers above the Fort William area.
River Lochy near to Gairlochy, where my walk finished today. This is on the Great Glen Way 10 miles north of Fort William.
Neptune's Staircase, on the Caledonian Canal at Benavie, a flight of 8 locks which is a local tourist attraction. Jean can be seen in the bottom right of the picture. We had lunch in the hotel next to the Staircase. You will remember that yesterday I took on the rather more challenging Devil's staircase in the WHW!Although I know that I will not have followed every yard of either the WHW or the Great Glen Way, today was the day when I finished the WHW and started the GGW. Looking at the maps this morning I noticed short cuts that I could take both to finish the WHW and to start the GGW. As my objective is to get to JOG I had no problem in taking both short cuts saving me about 3 miles in total.
The walk today was fairly uneventful. I did have a few twinges from my right shin this morning, but after putting some gel on it I had no problems this afternoon. It is however a reminder that I must not take things for granted. I now have 185 miles to go, and while it might seem easy compared to the 945 starting figure I have reminded myself that it is still the distance from Coventry to London and back!
The highlight of today was seeing Ben Nevis from many different angles. I am always surprised to see snow on a British mountain in June! I did take several photos of the mountain showing the snow but unfortunately I uploaded the wrong photo - you will therefore have to believe me about the snow!
Jean had a cruise on Loch Linnie this morning, seeing seals, gannets and cormorants. She also enjoyed driving the hire car down the single track roads which are prevalent in these parts.
Tomorrow I carry on the GGW to Aberchalder which is 5 miles south of Fort Augustus. This part of the GGW is fairly flat and on good surfaces. This has restored my belief in my fitness because the hills and poor surfaces on the WHW were starting to make me believe that my legs were becoming worn out. However after 10 miles on flat canal paths, along the Caledonian Canal, I now believe that I am still in reasonable working order.
The change of Way has heralded a change in scenery from the rugged and desolate areas through which the WHW passes to the the much softer pasture land and gentle hills of the GGW. However I only had to look over my shoulder this afternoon to be reminded of the Highlands as Ben Nevis is still dominating the views even from 10 miles away.
I have had some new eating and drinking experiences whilst in the Lochaber district. Last night I had a vegetarian haggis (think about it) and tonight I had a pint of beer (yes, only 1!) made from heather - it was surprisingly tasty and dispelled the thought that the Scots had been winding me up when telling me that heather was used to make beer.
"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go." - Robert L Stevenson
Cheers
Keith
