The Great Glen Walk 2009
The Great Glen Walk 14th to 19th Sept. 2009
Past Events..Hadrians Wall Walk This Event raised £23,000
 
The Medieval Castle of Inverlochy
Click Map to Enlarge
Swing Bridge at Laggon

Numbers on the Walk 
Franco has already posted that we have decided to trim back the walking and Logistic team numbers. This is due to the proposed use during this walk of a single Mini Bus by the logistic team, rather than several cars and a need to have a tighter and more easily manageable walking team.
The base camp is to be at the Loch Ness Lodge Hotel which is at Drumnadrochit and situated 14 miles from Inverness on the West side of Loch Ness. It's a very nice hotel and will make for a superb base camp and there are importantly a few pubs and eateries nearby.
There will be a intensive and sustained study of the pubs in the area whilst on a pre-walk recon.
The Logistic team as well as being a vital part of the team with dropping and picking up the walking team, will be expected to blitz the area along the whole walk with collection tins and try to raise as much money as possible during the sta
 
 Initial Report on the Walk
It is intended that the entire route will be recced prior to September 2009 to get a fuller understanding of the challenges that each day's walk will presents us.
Therefore at this stage the mileage mentioned here is just a rough guide and some walks length will be dictated by the limited potential end of day pick up places along the route
The Great Glen Way has been a major transport route up through the Highlands for thousands of years, ever since man first decided to check out the pub & bar maid in the next Glen?
So we will be retracing the footsteps of those that walked before us and hopefully the beer will be better, but probably a little more expensive?
We recommend you grab a map before reading the below so as to get a better understanding of the locations mentioned.
We also recommend that you check out the Gallery page from the Great Glen Way web site which Franco has already posted a link to on his first posting. There you can see some better pictures of the view and sites we will see as we walk along.
The Start. Day One
We kick off the walk in the town of Fort William which lies in the shadow of the Ben Nevis range of mountains.
For the first day we are aiming for the hamlet of Kilfinnan which sits on the northern end shore line of Loch Lochy, around 13 miles distant. However, if all goes well, we will press on to the Laggan swing bridge another 3 miles further and which joins Loch Lochy & the second smallest Loch along our route, to that of Loch Oich.
We will first pass Inverlochy castle and then for the next 5 - 6 miles, we walk alongside the Caledonian Canal which links the Lochs of Linnhe & Lochy.
At the half way stage we leave the canal behind us and travel for a few miles along a rare section of road, that of the B8005, heading for the small one horse hamlet of Clunes situated at the Southern end of Loch Lochy.
We will be unable to see from our walk the evocative memorial dedicated to the Commandos which is close by, but you will see it as you drive up to the hotel along the A82 road, but we do aim to get a picture of all of us together by it during our walk. It's situated near Spean Bridge and was built there due to the first WW2 combat units having been trained in the area. As thoughtful locations go for reminding us all of the sacrifice which our armed forces have made to keep our country free, there can be no equal anywhere in the world
We leave Clunes and any roads behind and travel for the remainder of the day alongside the West bank of Loch Lochy until we come to the hamlet of Kilfinnan. This will be our first pick up point. However, if everyone can still go on, we will as already mentioned, press on to the Swing Bridge at Laggan.
Day Two
Hopefully starting at the Laggan Swing Bridge, we cross over the A82 road and for 3 - 4 miles walk alongside the East bank of the small Loch Oich, passing the long abandoned railway station of Invergarry. We are aiming for the village of Invermoriston on the West bank of Loch Ness which is around 14 - 15 miles distance.
At the end of Loch Oich we again follow for around 4 miles the Caledonian Canal which links the Lochs of Oich & Ness. At the end of the canal is the small town of Fort Augustus and from here we cross over and walk along the West bank of Loch Ness near the A82 main road until we reach Invermoriston.
 
Day Three  
From Day three the walk starts to be more undulating and therefore more of a strain on the blisters. We are looking to cover around 12 miles today and end up near Castle Urquart, which lies on the banks of Loch Ness near the hamlet of Strone.
 
This day's walk follows a path near the A82 which skirts the shoreline of Loch Ness. For these last few miles we climb higher up the hillside which will give us some excellent views of Loch Ness and any long necked aquatic creatures?
 
 
 Day Four
For today we press on past our hotel at the Loch Ness Lodge and hope to cover around 10 - 12 miles. Our aim is to make the last days walk as short as possible as this section after Castle Urquart is a little challenging.
 
Castle Urquart is just a short drive from our hotel and there is also the not to be missed Loch Ness Monster Exhibition Centre, where all good American's and believers of monsters cannot fail to visit, although the price may put off any tight zipped sporran locals?
 
For this days walk we are aiming for the small hamlet, (That's one cottage inhabited by a three legged dog called Douglas) of Balchraggan, which overlooks the eastern end of Loch Ness.
Day Five
This last leg will be around 8 - 9 miles long, or hopefully a little shorter if we have put in the miles during the previous days.
 
As we approach closer to the capital of the Highlands, that being the large town of Inverness, Loch Ness filters into the smallest and last of the Loch's along the Great Glens, that of Loch Dochfour. On this day we have the option of stopping close to the hamlet of Dochgarroch which is at the end of Loch Dochfour, or if everyone wants too, we can press on into Inverness, which will add a further few miles.
 
That's it, a short 5 day stroll along the Glens of Scotland.
A point to note for all of you coming along for this walk.
Get fit now, not later
For a lot of the walk we will be well away from any roads or accessible pick up places. So if you're struggling due to lack of fitness or brand new ill fitting walking boots which have seen little or no action, then its going to make for one bloody long day of pain for you and slow down the whole group.
Those of you who are not fit and struggle on the walk, will have one of three options
1/ To be forced to write and hold a big sign stating "I hate Scotland" and then to be tied naked to a tree and left to be either eaten alive by midges, or for the greater amusement of all passing Locals (ouch)?
2/ To be eaten alive for lunch by the rest of the walking group. Depending on your size, some of your body parts may be left over for dinner later in the day, so not all bad then?
Option 3 There is no option 3.
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