The Great Glen Way: Day two - Gairlochy to North Laggan

Wednesday night wasn't the best night's sleep I've ever had. After shivering in my sleeping bag for an hour or so, Sybil and I both nearly jumped out of our skins as a huge roaring sound came out of the sky right above our heads. It must have been an RAF jet to be flying that low and fast (and loud!) but it didn't half give us a fright. The jet, or whatever it was, soon roared away over Loch Lochy and we settled down again.

What a view to wake up to

After I had dried off and warmed up a bit I finally drifted off to sleep, only to be woken at just past 10PM by a strange noise. Listening carefully, I realised that it was two tawny owls calling to each other. Now that was a sound I could fall asleep to.

I also heard someone walking past my tent during the evening; perhaps a late dog walker or someone out to watch the stars? When I woke up I realised that someone else had set a tent up just down the path from ours and was up early fishing in the loch. On the plus side, it had finally stopped raining.

Bit of history

We made our way up to the road to discover we had camped just outside Bunarkaig. It was roughly half an hour's road walk to Clunes, where I found a picnic bench and unpacked my stove and hot chocolate sachets for a warm breakfast.  The sachet I'd chosen refused to open, so I took out my penknife and managed to slice my thumb whilst cutting the packet open. It can only happen to me. Luckily I had several plasters in my bag so wrapped one around my thumb and carried on making the drink.

At Clunes Forest School

However I had to use every single one of my stormproof (!) matches to light the stove. In yesterday's downpour the box had gotten damp, even whilst being tucked away inside my rucksack. The box, apparently, wasn't stormproof and it was only with a bit of persistence that I finally managed to strike one of the matches on a tiny dry section of the box. Making a mental note to buy some more matches at the next village, I drank my hot chocolate and we continued on our journey to Laggan.

A distant mountain

A sign at the forest school announced that Laggan was only seven miles away. I figured I may even be able to make it to Fort Augustus that day as it was still only ten in the morning. It would be nice to have a little rest day to explore, but we shall see.

As it turned out, the sign lied. It was an enjoyable walk on a wide track through forest, with occasional glaces of Loch Lochy to the side and snow-covered mountains in the far distance. We met a fair few walkers today, some on their way to Laggan and others coming from the other direction.

A cheeky smile at a mini waterfall

The track wound through the trees at the side of the loch, sometimes gaining a little ground so the views across to the other side were fantastic.

The rain continued to hold off and thankfully we hadn't met any of the infamous midges yet. My main reason for doing this walk in early May was to avoid them, as I've heard a few horror stories about how people have run out of their tents in the night, clawing desperately at their flesh and eyes as the little blighters ate them alive.

Plenty of chaffinches along the route

The trees were alive with birdsong, which is one of the reasons why spring is my favourite season for walking. After hearing my first cuckoo of the year on Tuesday, I was now hearing them constantly throughout each day. I never understand people who walk or run with earphones in, listening to music. I actually saw a couple of people doing this on the GGW. Nature's soundtrack is the best one you could possibly listen to, so why cover it up with music you can listen to any other time?

Best buds

The Great Glen stretches out in front of us

And again

We reached a junction where a sign pointed up another track directing walkers to the nearest Munro. No thanks, I think this walk is enough for me. Perhaps another time. A Munro is a mountain over 3,000 feet high for those who aren't sure. Some people are insanely fit and like to jog up them before breakfast.

South Laggan

It was nearly half past one before I finally saw the beautiful sight of South Laggan to my right. Hmm, perhaps I wouldn't be getting to Fort Augustus tonight after all. Sybil's lead was clipped on due to the sheepies on the road and we looked for somewhere dog-friendly to have a hot meal. A sign fastened to a fence claimed the Eagle, a boat that also happened to be a pub serving meals, was open 11am til late at night. More lies. I got there and it was closed.

Hmm, never mind. We continued on to North Laggan, another two and a half miles away, where we found the Great Glen Water Park. I tied Sybil up outside and asked the lady on reception if they had any free dog-friendly rooms for the night. Unfortunately not, as the lodges were booked through Hoseasons. We were welcome to use their restaurant though. I ordered cheese panini and salad for us both and, thinking I would be able to get accommodation of some sort in Fort Augustus, asked the lad if there were any buses running through the village. Yes, there would be one pretty soon.

Invergarry Castle

Hmm, bet they don't have blisters

We finished our meal and made it to the bus stop in the nick of time. The bus pulled up and opened his doors, then informed us that unfortunately dogs were not allowed on the bus. At first I was rather offended, but then I realised he meant Sybil. With no choice but to carry on walking now, I was just hoping we would strike lucky again and find another suitable wild camping spot.

Home for the night

As luck would have it there was a perfect spot just a couple more miles down the route, complete with bench and well-used campfire. The bench came in handy for spreading my sleeping bag and fleeces on to air them a little, after the damp day yesterday. The pitch overlooked our second loch of the trip, Loch Oich. I borrowed a bit of the water from the loch for some washing before retiring to the tent for the night. A pretty enjoyable day with a fair amount of solitude and pleasant forest walking. I was beginning to realise that even though most of the track to either side was surrounded by trees or a drop to a loch below, there would usually be a suitable grass verge somewhere of a big enough size to pitch the tent on. I decided to just stop worrying about such things and enjoy the trip for what it was, a bit of freedom.