Day 70: Loch Ness

Distance: 16.7 miles
Bonus miles: 5.7 miles

We started the day with a leisurely breakfast at the lovely Glengarry Castle.


The rain was still falling, so we were in no rush to get outside. Plus, according to our estimate, it was a short 11 mile day. Luckily, the hotel was warm and dry, so all our soaked gear from yesterday dried out overnight. But we couldn't avoid it forever, so we headed out into the drizzle. It's just like winter in Oregon. The winter in Oregon we hoped to avoid by leaving for 3 months.


Our first order of business was to find the trail. We really wanted to avoid the busy A road, but the track leading up to the trail didn't seem to exist where the map said it did. After a bit of searching, we decided to go along the A road and see what we could find. Not too far along, eagle eye Al spotted a gate in a fence beside a house. It led to a vague trail that was well marked with red and white striped ribbons.


That trail led right up to the Great Glen Way, which was actually a forestry road for most of the day. So it was more clear cuts, since it seems that this part of Scotland has taken a cue from Oregon.


We walked along the next section of the Caledonian Canal between Lochs Oich and Ness. At the Loch Ness end, sits the town of Fort Augustus. It has another cool set of locks, which is useful because there are usually pubs near the locks and it was lunchtime. Sure enough we found The Lock Inn right next to the locks. It was hopping with a lunch crowd of tourists, but service was quick and the food was good and it was out of the rain. Win, win, win. As we ate, we thought the sky looked to be brightening, and the rain seemed to be stopping. After lunch, we discovered that we were wrong.

On our way out of town, we passed many tour buses of all shapes and sizes, but this was the most intriguing.


Still not sure what its all about. We also saw this in someone's front garden.


Yes, that is a giant topiary chicken. Fort Augustus was a curious place.

We continued on the GGW through the forests on the shores of Loch Ness. Luckily, the clear cuts afforded many scenic vistas.


We looked for Nessie, but no sign so far. We'll be walking along Loch Ness for two more days, so we'll keep looking.

As the afternoon wore on and the GGW continued its undulating path through the forest, we began to question Al's pre-trip measurement. A quick check of the map and the Garmin confirmed that. Of course, there was nothing else to do but continue walking. However far it was, we needed to get to Invermoriston. So, walk we did. And walk. Eventually, the path turned inland where the River Moriston flows into Loch Ness, a sign we were getting close. As we got to the edge of town, we spotted a pheasant in a yard. We've seen dozens of pheasants all along our trek, but never close enough for a photo. Michael and Al teamed up to capture this one on pixels and it cooperated very nicely.


But he eventually had enough of that.


We finally reached the bridges into town. We were able to walk over the old bridge which was built by Thomas Telford in 1813.


Our hotel was mercifully close by.


The final reading on the Garmin? 16.7 miles, not 11.

The walk to Drumnadrochit is supposed to be 13 miles. I guess we'll see. And on a literally brighter note, the skies did brighten and the rain stopped late in the day. So, no matter how long the walk is tomorrow, we are hoping it will be drier and sunny than the last few days.

Location:Invermoriston, Scotland