The Great Glen Way: Day five - Stone Seat, Invermoriston to Drumnadrochit

I was woken at what I assume was shortly before dawn, when the night was still black enough so I couldn't see the time on my watch. A quiet bubbling sound was coming from behind the tent, which I quickly realised was the sound of a black grouse. It seems I had rather stupidly pitched my tent on or near a lek. This is a site where these rare birds perform their courtship display, rather like the red deer stags sizing each other up and battling to acquire a harem of females.

I could hear the birds' wings flapping very close to my tent and although I would have loved to see this wildlife spectacle from a reasonable distance, I resisted opening my tent to have a peek as, truth be told, I was a little scared. I had visions of the fairly big, stocky birds peering into my tent and pecking at me. Well, with all that testosterone flying around you never know what might happen. So I decided to sit tight and not disturb them, eventually drifting back off to sleep.

On our way

My next alarm clock was a song thrush perched on a tree next to my tent, uttering his cheerful if repetitive song and rousing us both from a pretty deep sleep. Again there was a light shower whilst I was getting us both ready for today's journey, but it soon ceased and after stuffing yet again a wet tent into its bag (it is rather difficult) we had a quick breakfast before getting an early start. Unsurprisingly things didn't go to plan and there was to be no hot drink for me, as last night I stupidly put the matchbox (brand new, bought in Fort Augustus) down on the bench, only it landed straight into the pan of water I had ready for boiling. I had flashbacks to that morning at Clunes when my stove only just managed to light, but this time I got not a spark from the matches and eventually decided to give it up as a bad job and got moving.

The Stone Cave

Loch Ness

We soon passed the Stone Cave, which apparently was built as shelter for a washerwoman on her frequent journeys between the villages. Luckily this morning we didn't need shelter as the sun was out. The track once again ran between trees, both deciduous ones such as birch and oak as well as conifer trees. I occasionally caught a wonderful wild, almost spicy scent which I assume came from the pine or cedar trees.

Starting to climb

Looking back over Loch Ness

Another willow-chaff

There were great views over Loch Ness at one point, and turning round as I heard a bird calling high above me I noticed a steep cliff about 400m high clinging onto an impressive amount of trees. I believe the birds were ravens and they seemed to be mobbing a bird of prey that was possibly a buzzard. I didn't have room to take my binoculars on the trip, which was a shame as I'm sure there would have been much more wildlife to see if I had.

Loch Ness

Sunday sailing on Loch Ness

Looking back again

The path started to climb pretty steeply after passing Alltsigh, zigzagging up the hill and amongst the conifers until the views over the loch became better and better. This was easily one of my favourite walks of the trip. The loch stretched away into the distance and also in front of me, indicating that there was still a while to go yet.

Waterfall

At this point another walker passed me, a man not much older than myself also heading towards Drumnadrochit that day. As the path climbed higher and higher we kept overtaking one another as each of us stopped to catch our breath. I stopped to take some more photos before the trees engulfed us, erasing our views of the loch. The Way now wound through trees, passing a couple of pretty waterfall before spitting us out across the loch from Foyers where we stopped to have a rest.

Suddenly I wondered what had happened to the man we passed with the yellow raincover on his backpack. I had already become somewhat fitter on our walk as my body got used to the ridiculous weight of my backpack each day and I had managed to overtake several walkers on some of the days, so how come this guy had disappeared into the blue yonder? Perhaps the Loch Ness monster had eaten him. Or he had just put a sprint on to get away from the likes of me and Sybil.

They smelt delicious

We met a fair few walkers heading in the opposite direction to us today. One of them, also a lone woman walker, warned us that the final day into Inverness was a big road slog. Hmm, something to look forward to then. Well she was in for a treat later today as the views over Loch Ness we had gloried in a couple of hours ago would open up right in front of her, instead of having to look behind her as I had done.

The last stretch of track through the trees was easily the most amazing smelling, even stronger than earlier on in the day's walk. Several of the trees had been chopped down; I wonder if that's why the scent was so strong? Either way, I could stand there all day and bask. Sadly though I didn't as Drumnadrochit was waiting for us.

View of the hill Meall Fuar-mhonaidh (bless you)

We soon reached the tiny civilisations of Grotaig, Balbeg and Ancarraig where the fun ended. Onwards from here the road went on, and on, and on...so much so that I took my guidebook out twice to check we were heading the right way. Thankfully the road wasn't busy, but Sybil was still on-lead and with our water running low and our feet complaining we started sniping at each other. It was a huge relief when I finally spotted a sign directing us off the road through a wood, where Sybil gleefully disposed of her lead and I spied an welcome sight in the distance:

Lewiston and Drumnadrochit

The village of Lewiston was the nearest to us and it was here we would hopefully camp for the night. Both villages are pretty tiny so are all just one really, but it felt slightly bigger than it should whilst I was looking for the campsite. Yet again just as we reached the village the heavens opened. Sybil quickly dove for cover in a nearby bus shelter and I put on our coats as we waited for the rain to ease a little. Unable to find Borlum Farm I asked a local couple, who said I was heading in the wrong direction and wanted the other side of the village. Well, what's a couple more miles to us seasoned walkers?

We found the farm with little more trouble and I booked us in at reception, whilst skilfully blocking Sybil's view of the rider-clad horses. I pitched the tent in a field where there were two other campers. Returning to the campsite that evening after tea I noticed two more tents had been set up in our absence. Before turning in for the night I was half-hoping for a Great Glen Way sing-a-long around a cosy campfire, but we had no such luck.

The Great Glen Way: Day four - Fort Augustus to Stone Seat, Invermoriston

I woke up in a nice, soft bed after a great night's sleep. I quickly showered and dressed before packing up my bag and leaving Sybil with the TV on, I headed down to the breakfast room. I was staying at the Kettle House B&B and the breakfast was delicious with veggie sausages amongst all the usual breakfast items. The owner, Natalie, also gave Sybil a treat and one for the road as we bid our goodbyes and started off on our walk again.

Lush forest

Woman of the woods again

The Way left Fort Augustus by threading through several more B&Bs before turning off onto a forest track. The rain was only coming down lightly, so I left just my fleece on as the temperature was quite warm and I didn't want to swelter inside my waterproof.

Loch Ness

Looking over Loch Ness

After climbing through the lovely trees we finally gained a great view of Loch Ness. The Loch is huge and we would never see the whole of it in one go; in fact the next two and a half days would be spent walking mostly alongside it.

Sybil likes the view

Loch Ness

The path wound round the loch just above the road, with trees sometimes blocking the view of the loch but nonetheless still making it an enjoyable day's walk. As I was standing reading an information panel, I heard voices to our left and Sybil cocked her head then came and sat at the side of me as I have trained her to do when someone is passing, but impressively this time without me asking her to. I took hold of her harness in case a dog was coming, but instead it turned out to be a group of horse riders. Sybil is fine passing horses in a field, but for some reason she usually freaks out if someone is riding one. This time however she sat quietly if a little tense.

There were some lovely waterfalls

Watching the boat

Towards Invermoriston

Praising her enthusiastically when the riders had trotted off, we carried on with our walk, passing several beautiful waterfalls. Suddenly out of the trees a man appeared with his dog. Sybil greeted her cautiously and they had a little play while us grown-ups chatted about our walk. The lucky man had moved to the area from near Manchester a few years ago and now ran a B&B. He wished us luck with our walk, also warning us about the wild board that lived in the area. Apparently they are more shy than aggressive and unfortunately we didn't see any, which may have been just as well for Sybil's sake.

Sorry Sybil, no squirrels here

Plenty of these though

The rest of the walk was peppered with diversions as forestry work was being carried out. We followed the first sign down a rather steep, slippery path and back up again before carrying on along the main path. As the path turned inwards away from Loch Ness we had to follow two more diversions, both of which again were muddy and pretty steep.

The last diversion met with a path which then took us down to Invermoriston where the rain once again decided to soak us. For some reason this was starting to become a pattern; just as we reached the outskirts of a village, the rain would come down hard. I wasn't complaining, as long as we stayed dry for most of the walk.

Slow worm

I spotted something lying still on the road and crouched down for a closer look. It was a slow worm. I gently picked it up and moved it to the grass verge, where it slithered away to safety. I was pretty excited as I have never seen one before.They are not a species of snake but rather a legless lizard, and perfectly harmless.

Packhorse bridge

We had a quick hot drink and snack stop before heading out of the village to find somewhere to spend the night. The shop claimed it sold hot pies and pasties, including delicious cheese and onion. Lies, all lies. There was nothing hot save the drinks, so I settled for a hot chocolate and a sausage roll for Sybil.

Just as the Way climbed steeply into the woods, a B&B sign beckoned to me, claiming that it was dog friendly and had vacancies. I hovered for a bit, extremely tempted to go and ring the doorbell. I eventually decided not to as I was probably just spoilt after last night's luxury.

View from the Stone Seat

View from the Stone Seat

Amazing view from the Stone Seat

As we were walking along I noticed a sign pointing slightly off-route to the Stone Seat. Slightly curious, I decided to go and have a look. It was a short but steep climb up a heather-clad path and the views from the top were amazing. I sat there for a good while and decided this was where we would spend the night, as just behind the seat was a tent-sized cleared area and the remains of a campfire. It was still pretty early, only half past two, so I waited a while before pitching the tent and instead aired my sleeping bag and waterproof things as the rain had finally stopped.

Thank you, Kettle House, for the chew

Guess I'm sleeping alone in the tent, then

The cuckoo was calling constantly and provided a nice soundtrack as I set the tent up. I opened both the entrances up to let the flysheet and groundsheet dry inside. I sat on the bench and just relaxed, enjoying the fantastic views and listening to pure nature around me. From this spot you could only see forest, Loch Ness and the mountains beyond, no signs of civilisation at all save the tiny boats that kept appearing on the loch from time to time.

Ready for bed

Stranger in the night

Turns out it wasn't such an idyllic spot after all, as when stroking Sybil whilst sat drinking in all the nature I found a tick buried in her flesh. Luckily I had come prepared and used a special tick remover to get the little beast off. I hate killing things but I really had no choice as I didn't want it to make Sybil or myself poorly. Tucking my trousers firmly into my socks we eventually retired to the tent, where I found two more ticks climbing on Sybil's fur. I removed these as well and we watched the night draw in. Two large black beetles wandered towards the tent but I'm afraid there was no room at the inn.

The Great Glen Way: Day three - North Laggan to Fort Augustus

Last night was quiet and peaceful in my little tent. When I finally managed to make Sybil come in, anyway. We had walked around ten miles the day before, yet whilst I was setting my tent up and for around two hours after she was investigating and sniffing the long grass and trees nearby and ignoring me when I called her, which is not like her at all. At least she seems to be enjoying the holiday.

Do we have to get up, mum? It's raining.

I heard more tawny owls calling to each other again during the night. Sybil also kept growling quietly whenever a nearby pheasant crowed, even though she's heard them hundreds of times before. Townie dog.

We awoke again to the sound of rain at quarter to seven, but hoping it might just be a quick shower I washed and started to pack ready for an early start. Sure enough the rain stopped soon after we set off and the sun started to shine through the broken clouds.

View opposite our campsite

I really enjoyed the first part of the walk through a lush, green nature reserve. My guidebook says it is called Leiterfearn Forest Nature Reserve and it was here we saw our only roe deer of the trip. I startled it on the bank to the left of me, where it bounded up the slope and stopped to look back. I fumbled for my camera but unfortunately the deer was already disappearing into the trees before I could set the darn thing up. Never mind, to see it was a privilege in itself.

Another wildlife encounter occurred shortly further down the path as I nearly stepped on a tiny mouse. Luckily I saw it at the last second and I stood to one side while it scurried away into the grass.

Goose family

There were swallows flying low over the grass and swerving just at the last second so they didn't crash into me. Back on the loch I noticed a goose family, I think they were Greylag geese, swimming on the water. They were quite far away so excuse the poor picture, but they were still lovely to watch.

Bridge of Oich

Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

We soon reached the main road and crossed, first making a short detour to see the Bridge of Oich. We were back on the canal towpath now, having come to the end of Loch Oich, and an oystercatcher flew down to land on the opposite bank. Other birds I saw often flying low over the water with their three-note call were sandpipers.

Cullochy Lock

Willow-chaff?

So far today we hadn't seen a soul but not long after stepping onto the towpath we saw two young men with a Labrador heading in the opposite direction to us, also camping by the look of their backpacks. Sybil was fairly happy to see another dog, as we hadn't met many during our walk so far.

The birds in the nearby trees were pretty tame, and I managed to stand and watch the above bird for quite some time. Willow warblers and chiff-chaffs look almost exactly the same to the untrained eye, and it is only by their song you can tell the difference. Unfortunately this one didn't feel like singing today, so I named it a willow-chaff.

The Caledonian Canal

Kytra Loch

The sun was well and truly out now and we enjoyed strolling along sans waterproof coats for a good few hours. We passed Kytra Lock where the lock-keeper was tending his garden and stopped to have a pleasant chat with him, whilst Sybil said hello to his dog. Luckily I've learned the technique of relaxing the lead if a dog comes over to her whilst she's on-lead, as otherwise she will kick off and try to eat the dog, as she's a tad reactive.

We carried on along the towpath with the canal on our right and the River Oich on our right. The guidebook states that today's walk is excellent with the glen close either side; frankly I found the beginning of the walk through the nature reserve much more pleasant, and not just because of the encounters with the mouse and deer. I found that my favourite walks of the week were those that included plenty of forest tracks.

More canal slogging

The Loch Ness Monster

The waterway became more interesting to look at as we wandered along as we came to the part where the little Kytra Loch had been made part of the canal. There were little islands and the water took on a less uniform shape.

By this point, my feet were really suffering from the last three days' walking and felt like they were on fire. I was hobbling along, thankful that today's distance was fairly short and I could rest for the rest of the day. Sybil seemed to have slowed down a little too, and took the opportunity to lay down whenever I stopped to take photos or rest myself.

Having drank the last of my water, we were sat at the side of the towpath when a woman and a younger lad came towards us. She said I was looking a bit forlorn, so I explained that we were both tired and a little thirsty. She immediately offered me some of her water but I refused as she was walking to Kytra Lock herself. We had a quick chat about the wildlife and she told me that Fort Augustus was only twenty minutes away, which cheered me up a little.

Fort Augustus

The start of Loch Ness

Sure enough it didn't take us much longer to spy the first of the houses in the village. Just as we reached the outskirts though, the heavens opened and I quickly took out our waterproofs again. Rain accompanied us for the last ten minutes of the walk, but we soon got to shelter and the rain eased a little. I visited a shop for a couple of souvenirs to celebrate reaching the halfway point of the walk.

Swallow

We managed to secure a room in a dog-friendly B&B for the night. Looking forward to it, we passed a little time in the village centre before our room would be ready. I found being among so many other tourists a little uncomfortable. Up on the GGW and on walks in general, I've found, the walkers are so friendly and go out of their way to make sure they are pleasant and help you if you need it. However in Fort Augustus, I stood to one side with my large backpack and Sybil to allow a big group to pass. Not one of them thanked me or considered stopping just for a second so Sybil and I could pass. I found myself appreciating the attractive buildings and shops, but also looking forward to the morning when I could get away from the hordes again.

Our home for the night

The room was gorgeous and a much-appreciated luxury. We settled down for the evening with a couple of films. Sybil was more than ready for a nap:

Within five minutes of checking in