Day 86 - Fort William to Gairlochy

Another beautiful day. The wind was a bit chilly this morning but it warmed up and became a super day, just right for a short walk along the canal. We are in a small campsite not far from the canal with a fantastic view of Ben Nevis; the snow is sparkling – amazing to think we were up there yesterday.

I spent some time this morning researching Ben Nevis clothing to commemorate the climb but, as with the West Highland Way, “official “ t-shirts and sweats, they are all a bit boring or garish. Polo shirts with an embroidered logo seem to be out of fashion. 

We had to blog in a car park in Fort William as, once again, we had no internet. We fear that this may be a problem along the Great Glen but will do our best.

 

From Bernie:

Today’s walk  11.6 miles     :     Cumulative  1081.1 miles
 

Another long-distance path for Section 9, another canal & another that we’ve walked before: the Great Glen Way, which was only established in April 2002, just 12 months before we walked it. Already I’ve noticed one interesting development; last time there were information boards at the start & at the end in Inverness whereas now they seem to appear quite regularly, at least that’s the case on the opening day’s stretch.
Historical, geographical, geological & natural snippets of information on smart, colourful boards – good stuff!

Corpach Canal Basin

The Great Glen Way is another Coast-to-Coast running along the Caledonian Canal from the sea loch, Loch Linhe, in the south-west to the Moray Firth in the north-east. When I was at school (only 2 terms ago!) I learned that William Jessop built the canal & took on a young Thomas Telford as his assistant but now even the information boards refer to it as Telford’s canal. Maybe I had a poor education!

Entrance to Corpach Sea Lock - Ben Nevis in the background

Whoever was responsible, it was a cunning plan! Only 22 miles of the canal are man-made, yet it runs across the whole country – the man-made bits simply link the giant lochs of the Great Glen fault!

 

Neptune's Staircase

It starts (or finishes) at the bustling canal basin of Corpach & quickly climbs the 8 locks of Neptune’s Staircase, named by the navvies, before heading out into the quiet loneliness of the Highlands. It’s surprising how soon your only company are the crews of passing boats – no hordes of walkers here!

Moy Swing Bridge

Highlight of the Day: stopped for 15 minutes or so on the lochside at Caol & watched a game of shinty. I couldn’t work out the rules or even if there are any! There was a referee but he seemed to be surplus to requirement, the players apparently making decisions between themselves! Looks incredibly dangerous with the ball, if that’s what it is, flying around at head height & at great speed – none of the players, even goalkeepers, were wearing protective clothing! To take the ball out of the air & control it on a stick or to hit it first-time half the length of the pitch must require a great deal of skill & brilliant hand-eye co-ordination. Thoroughly enjoyed this – pity I had a walk to do!

 

Beer of the Day: back to an end-of-walk bottle today, Tullibardine’s 1488 whisky beer from Perth. Dark amber &, at 7%, a bit strong for casual drinking but I enjoyed this.

Tonight's view from the van & Ben Nevis is still there!

Tonight’s campsite is only a mile down the road from the famous Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge so, despite the fact that I’ve photographed it on countless occasions, couldn’t resist paying it yet another visit – there are still 3 of them standing up there! Could go on for hours here about bus-loads of obnoxiously rude Italian tourists but the manager says I shouldn’t get stressed......

Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge

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