Captain's Log

Late Start

I didn’t get up until 09:00 and it wasn’t until 11:00 that I was ready to start today’s walk. I had about 20 miles of the Great Glen Way to cover before reaching its finish in Inverness. Given how easy the trail had been so far, I didn’t really see an issue covering that distance in a day. The problem was that I didn’t have a hotel booked for tonight. Well, not one that charged my sort of prices, and so I would have to split the 20 miles up into 2 days. I settled on a 4 mile walk today, up into the woods above Drumnadrochit, and then I'd finish with a 16 mile walk tomorrow. 

A shower started as I left the campsite and I put my waterproofs on. They would stay on for the rest of the day. I called in at the Co-Op and procured some lunch. There were 3 patio tables outside. I sat at one and ate my makeshift meal in the rain. After my fill, I continued following the A82. I wasn’t really sure whether I was heading into or out of Drumnadrochit. The town seems scattered in patches over quite a large area and it was difficult to pinpoint the centre. I started seeing one or two pubs and cafes and so I figured that maybe I was approaching the hub of the place. I never seemed to reach it though. I came to a junction and the A82 swung right. The Great Glen Way folllowed it.

Nessie

A plaque on the Drumnadrochit Hotel said that the manageress, Mrs Aldie MacKay, saw the beast back in 1933. I suppose at some point we need to discuss Nessie, the Loch Ness monster. I don’t like feeding people’s delusions, but here goes… 

Nessie resides in Loch Ness. Somewhere. Given that Loch Ness is 22.5 miles long and holds 16.5 million gallons of water, perhaps it isn’t that surprising that we don’t see him/he/it more often. The legend actually goes back as far as 565 AD when St Columba (a fellow who reportedly liked a tipple of absinthe) reckons he saw Nessie kill a man. There were a few other sightings over the centuries but with the introduction of photography, it was possible to capture images of this elusive beast. It was 1933 when Aldie McKKay and her husband saw Nessie and reported it to The Inverness Courier. The Loch Ness Monster legend has never since  looked back. And why should it, with it bringing in millions to the local economy. I was rather disappointed that I never saw anything that faintly resembled Nessie during my time walking along Loch Ness. My eyes aren’t the best though. I’ll leave Nessie watching to the professionals and those who like to watch paint dry. 

Crusader

The Great Glen Way followed the pavement alongside the busy A82 out of Drumnadrochit. It wasn’t the most inspiring part of the Great Glen Way with fast, noisy vehicles passing me at arms length. It was only for about 20 minutes or so, before I reached Temple Pier.      

I’m quite familiar with the death of Donald Campbell and his death on Coniston Water as he attempted to break the world water speed record. I’d never heard of the similar fate that befell John Cobb, who died in his boat Crusader on Loch Ness, trying to break the same record. Although he did indeed become the first man to exceed 200 mph on water, Mr Cobb flipped the boat and was killed. Unfortunately, his record wasn’t admitted to the record books because he failed to complete the required distance. Cobb set out from Temple Pier at Drumnadrochit on his fatal attempt on the 29th of September, 1952. It is interesting to note that just 15 years later, Campbell was attempting to exceed 300 mph. That is quite an increase. The current record is 317.59 mph and achieved by Australian Ken Warby in his boat  the Spirit of Australia in 1978. Seven of the thirteen people who have attempted the record since June 1930 have died. I don’t think I’ll be rushing to have a go. 

Urquhart Castle

The trail left the road and gradually headed uphill into the trees. Occasionally when there was a gap I could see Loch Ness and a distant Urquhart Castle on the other side of the bay. The castle was about a mile from last night's campsite last and I did have half a thought this morning about visiting it before setting off on today’s walk. I rather wish I had done now, since it looked quite impressive from this distance. 

St Columba was said to have rested here after his Nessie encounter. Its origin was a Pict fort of 580 AD. The current ruins date back to the 13th century. It changed hands with various English and Scots claiming the freehold at one time or another. The place was scuttled by Government troops in 1692 when they had no further use for it. 

Wildcamp

Krik and Leah, the German couple whom I’d met on the High Route after Fort Augustus, walked towards me and we stopped for a catch-up. They stayed in Drumnadrochit last night. They had planned to visit Urquhart Castle this morning, but had missed the bus there. Instead, they were doing an out-and-back walk along the trail up into these woods. They still weren’t impressed with the Great Glen Way repeating that there were ‘too many trees.’ Their out-and-back from Drumnadrochit meant that they had to return along that pavement next to the A82 again. I didn’t envy them that. I bid them farewell and said that I’d see them on the trail tomorrow. 

The path started to steepen in the plantation and I caught up with a couple who looked to be in their 80s. They were making steady progress up the trail. The man had a John Voigt look about him, although not from his Midnight Cowboy days. The woman told me that they were doing the Great Glen Way too. She said it had been okay, but that they’d found the steep High Level route descent to Invermoriston quite challenging.
‘The Great Glen Way isn’t as hard as the Coast To Coast that we did last year’ she added. My jaw dropped. If I’m still doing 200 mile trails at their age, I’ll be thinking myself fortunate.    

I found my wildcamp spot. There were a couple of fire pits, but I managed to find an area that was reasonably flat and free of charcoal. It started to rain as I pitched the tent, but the surrounding trees provided some protection. It was an early finish as well as an early start to the day. All I had to do now was work out how to fill my time until tomorrow.  

I felt I should have made more of today. I should have visited Urquhart Castle in the morning, but nothing could be done about it now. A lot of the walk had been alongside the busy A82 which wasn't that enjoyable. At least the walk had reduced the mileage I needed to do tomorrow by a few miles. The weather forecast was for sunshine and so I was looking forward to the finale of the Great Glen Way.