The Great Glen Way – A Walk Across Scotland

August 8 – 19, 2022

“There’s no present like the time.” 

• Maggie Smith, The Second-Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

After a wonderful experience hiking the West Highland Way in Scotland in 2017, Lynn and I decided to take on another Scottish trek as a retirement celebration. We researched some options and decided on the Great Glen Way for a follow-up. Both are included in Scotland’s Great Trails.  The advent of these trails is recent, with the West Highland Way opening in 1980 as the inaugural trail. The trails are designed to promote international tourism by featuring high quality footpaths that must share certain characteristics – a minimum of 25 miles long, clearly marked, <20% on tarmac, ready access to public and private transportation, availability of facilities and services, etc. As of 2018, there are 29 trails in the network totaling 1900 miles. They weave their way between many economically fragile communities that rely heavily on the tourism industry. Lodging options are often very limited along the trail, and I wouldn’t contemplate making this hike without prearranged lodging and meal arrangements. Having said that – all our accommodations were great.

We booked the trip through Wilderness Scotland, the same company we used for our West Highland Way trip. Different packages are available; we chose the self-guided package that includes overnight lodging, breakfast, and luggage transfer to the next night’s lodging. The trails are sufficiently well marked that there simply isn’t a need for a guide. We were provided with a daily itinerary in advance with detailed maps, instructions for each day, and pre-arranged shuttles where necessary. We originally booked the trip in 2019 for a 2020 excursion, but this was before the term “Covid” entered the lexicon. After two years of postponements, we finally made the trip in August 2022. I can’t say enough about how satisfied we are with Wilderness Scotland.

As a sidenote for anyone interested in a more bohemian approach, in 2003 Scotland passed the Land Reform Act that codified responsible public access to most land in Scotland. We saw a few backpackers and tent campers but otherwise little evidence of anyone using this level of self-guided hiking.

The Great Glen Way joined the network in 2002 (“glen” is Scottish for valley). The hike follows a nearly straight line from Fort William in the west to Inverness in the east along the Great Glen Fault, dividing highlands to the northwest and southeast.  This is one of the longer trails in the system at 77 miles and has about 12,000 feet of elevation gain (this can vary depending on optional high and low routes available at different points).  Unlike the other trails, the Great Glen Way has provisions to be biked or canoed/kayaked.

We arrived by train from Glasgow on August 8 to start our hike in Fort William. Already a couple of weeks into our European vacation, we chose to stay a few days in Fort William. Our accommodation at Craiglynne Court was perfect with a full kitchen, washer/dryer, beautiful view of Loch Linnhe, and a short walk to the shops, restaurants, grocery stores, and train station of downtown Fort William. In addition to giving us a chance to clean up and rest up before starting our hike, it gave me a chance to summit Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British Isles at 4406 feet. Having just completed the Tour du Mont Blanc a few weeks before, I foolishly dismissed this as a trivial hike.  This summit is climbed essentially from sea level in 4.9 miles of increasingly rocky trail with foul weather and stout winds as the norm. I was lucky with limited cloud cover and modest wind. As honest a day’s hike as any other I have taken – I tip my hat to big Ben.

We officially started the Great Glen Way hike on August 12. The trail began by following the shoreline of Loch Linnhe through town before heading northeast along the Caledonian Canal. The canal, originally built in 1803 to boost trade and create jobs, connects the Atlantic Ocean on the west with the North Sea on the east through a combination of 22 miles of manmade canal and 38 miles of the natural waterway of Lochs Lochy, Olch, and Ness. It’s still in use but limited mostly to pleasure and tourist craft.

Our travel along the Caledonian Canal was peaceful, even tranquil with good weather and few other hikers. We encountered Neptune’s Staircase early, a series of eight locks that raise the water level 64 feet over a short distance of 1500 feet. We also passed the only remaining original bridge, the Swing Bridge of Moy, a hand operated swing bridge only used by a local farmer. At Gairlochy locks, we took a detour off the trail for a two-mile hike to The Old Pines Hotel, our lodging for the first night. Accommodations were fine, but dinner was next level – a splendid five course meal with roast carrot velouté with shallots and pine nuts, wild mushroom risotto, and pan roast cod. Yum! (I didn’t know what a velouté was and had to look it up – it is made from a roux and a light stock, and is one of the “mother sauces” of French cuisine along with espagnole, tomato, béchamel, and hollandaise. Velouté is French for ‘velvety’). This was one of a few nights on the hike where there were no alternatives for dinner.

Our second day resumed along the western shore of Loch Lochy through beautiful mature beech trees. Ben Nevis summit maintained a prominent spot on the horizon for a second day.  Historical landmarks were common. We passed one location by the loch where WWII Marine Commandos practiced landing craft exercises.

Most of the hike was through open highlands and dense forests, but some sections do go through recently cut forests. This was a reminder that timber is very much an important and managed resource in Scotland, creating over 30,000 jobs and adding over £750 million to the economy.

After hiking the entirety of Loch Lochy, we had a beer at Eagle Barge Inn, a floating restaurant at Laggan Locks while waiting for our cab to pick us up for our delivery to Glengarry Castle Hotel. This is a luxurious Victorian Castle dating from 1866 on 60 acres on the shore of Loch Oich. Lodging choices were limited in many of the small villages we stayed in, but we certainly didn’t suffer staying here as we pampered ourselves. Dinner included such indulgences as wood pigeon breast, Aberdeen filet, and clotted cream with currants and meringue for dessert. 

The carefully groomed grounds include the remains of Invergarry Castle dating back to 1602. Over the next 150 years it was the subject of repeated attacks during conflicts with the British and was left in its ruined state after being partially blown up following the Jacobite uprisings in 1746. Its sole purpose now seems to be for passersby to admire and reflect on the ancient and frequently violent history of Scotland. One bus driver noted the Scots were known to take pleasure in “cracking a few heads” from time to time.

The traditional English breakfast was offered each morning everywhere we stayed – eggs, grilled tomato, mushrooms, back bacon, beans, and black pudding. A full breakfast weighs in at around 800 calories. You won’t need a morning snack with one of those under your belt. I went full on one morning, just because, well, I was in Scotland, and I always go for full dining experience when travelling. The other mornings I pared back some. Scottish salmon with scrambled eggs and toast and Eggs Benedict with salmon substituted for Canadian Bacon are other popular options.

Our cab driver returned us to the trail at Laggan Locks the next morning, but not without honoring my request to make a brief stop at one of the more macabre tourist attractions I’ve seen. The “Well of the Seven Heads” is a monument erected in 1812 that is topped by a hand holding a dagger and seven severed heads. This was erected in the memory of revenge killings that took place in 1665 over two brothers that had been killed two years earlier. Ian Lom, responsible for the savage revenge murders, took the seven severed heads, wrapped in plaid, and dunked them in a well by Loch Oich to properly clean them before taking them to display in Edinburgh. I was amazed both at the brutality of the revenge and the fact that this was deemed worthy of a monument 150 years later!

Refreshed with that bit of history, we resumed our hike along the shores of Lock Oich. This was our last day of mostly flat terrain. We ambled along, enjoying the landscape and ripe raspberries along the trail. Leaving Loch Oich behind us, we resumed travel along the Caledonian Canal, passing Locks Cullochy and Kytra before reaching Fort Augustus where a series of locks lower the water level to the shores of Loch Ness. After enjoying pristine weather to this point, we picked up our pace to arrive at our lodging ahead of approaching storms. Fort Augustus was the first population center of any size since leaving Fort William, still, it has a population of under 700 people. None of the hotels arranged by Wilderness Scotland were chain hotels and the Lovat House was no exception. Each was a unique local establishment that had its own special charm. Our room looked out over Loch Ness in the distance, and we relaxed in a big clawfoot tub after dinner.

We headed off the next morning for our first climb into the highlands. The sky was gray, and rain threatened but did not materialize. After three days and about 32 miles of mostly level hiking, we began about an 1100-foot climb in the highlands along the Great Glen Way High Route (a low route option is available for bikers and hikers that choose that route). The highlands at this point are also known as Scottish moors or heather moorlands, uncultivated tracts characterized by high rainfall, acidic soil, and low, scrubby vegetation. A low cloud cover obscured the view some, still, the view of Loch Ness shrouded in cloud seemed perfectly appropriate.  This was the only time I experienced any problem with the infamous Scottish midge (a tiny biting insect), and that was only when I was crawling on the ground taking pictures as I am wont to do on occasion.

Loch Ness is certainly the most famous of the lochs, and it is impressive. Besides the fanciful tales of the elusive monster, the loch itself is a wonder. At 23 miles long and an average depth of over 600 feet, it contains more water than all the lakes and reservoirs in England and Wales combined. We hiked for several miles without seeing a single other hiker, sheep, cow, barn, or homestead. Only Lynn and I with the winding highland trail and expanses of different species of blooming Scottish heather. Legend holds that a scar on the land across the Loch called Horseshoe Crag is the remnant of a ploy by locals to lure Nessie from the loch by placing a bottle of whisky on the hill. Nessie came for the whisky, leaving behind her trail on the hill.

In the afternoon, we descended into the town of Invermoriston. Town is a generous description – there isn’t much there and we did not find a single open business on our arrival. We filled in some time waiting for our hostess at the Glenmoriston Arms Hotel to let us in by checking out the Summer House, a small hut in the woods overlooking the River Moriston where J. M. Barrie is said to have drawn inspiration to write Peter Pan. The Summer House, the falls of Moriston, and the old 19^th century Telford Bridge make for a very scenic spot.

The town of Invermoriston owes its existence to the lumber industry, dating back to about 1600. With the timber industry no longer providing jobs in the town, tourism is a mainstay for the local economy. I chatted with the owner of Glenmoriston Arms Hotel for a while. She has put in a lot of work to make her establishment a warm, comfortable lodge and done an excellent job. I’m happy she survived the Covid pandemic. We enjoyed another wonderful dinner (I really enjoyed the wild mushrooms on toast) and for a change of pace for breakfast we had some belly busting Scottish pancakes loaded with berries and whipped cream.

The hike out of Invermoriston to Drumnadrochit presented another low road – high road option. I took the high road that included the high peak for the entire trail at 1350 feet. Low clouds and fog shrouded the forests with an occasional view of Loch Ness. I hiked in a steady mist, but never quite enough for me to put on a raincoat. Hikers were again scarce. Lynn took the low road, which was actually more of a not-quite-as-high-road. After about 5 miles of hiking separate through a mix of open highlands and conifer forest, we joined and continued our steep decline into the town of Drumnadrochit, a slightly larger village of about 1100 people with several tourist attractions including the Loch Ness Center and Urqhuart Castle. We stayed at the 160-year-old Loch Ness Inn. The repeated notices about staffing shortages at our hotels never seemed to impact the quality of the dinners.

With twenty miles remaining to Inverness and no lodging in between, we had a two-night stay at the Loch Ness Inn.  A scheduled shuttle delivered me to a halfway point the next day, where I hiked the trail backwards for the second night at the Loch Ness Inn.  Lynn decided to take a zero day, a concept I totally endorse. My shuttle driver delivered me about 12 miles up the trail to the hamlet of Blackfold. That’s what the itinerary called it – I couldn’t see anything besides an occasional home along a winding highland road. But the sun had returned after two soggy days. The trail was good, the scenery divine. I was happy. I meandered, sauntered, lollygagged, ambled, strolled, dawdled, pondered, reflected, and investigated to my heart’s content as I followed the trail through the rolling landscape. The moorland passed through spectacular expanses of blooming heather before giving way to managed forest land as I approached Drumnadrochit from the east. I was able to get a clear view of sunlit Loch Ness before dropping back into the forest. Sunbeams lit the shamrock covered forest floor. I passed a herd of uninterested furry Highland Cattle as I neared town and harvested newly ripened blackberries before joining Lynn at the Loch Ness Inn for a well-deserved beer. Just a thought (and an American opinion at that) – whatever advantage the UK has in beer variety/quality, they lose in coffee.

Our shuttle driver returned us to Blackfold the next morning for the final 7.5 mile walk into Inverness. This was a gradually declining trail. I continued my berry harvesting as I plucked ripe blueberries along a stone wall we followed for a few miles. We drifted into the outskirts of Inverness, road walking for the last few miles through business and residential areas and along a golf course before rejoining our old friend, the Caledonian Canal, for the first time since Fort Augustus. The trail led us through a lovely park in the center of town on an island in the River Ness, just a short walk to the trail endpoint on the grounds of Inverness Castle.

We took a selfie at the endpoint. I was a little sad to see the hike end, but not too sad to pass up a celebratory treat of my favorite ice cream in Scotland, Scottish Tablet. Make that a triple scoop!

Our last official night on the Great Glen Way was spent at Rocpool Reserve, a boutique hotel in the heart of town. It’s hard to say which hotel was our favorite – they all had their own element of charm, and none were chain hotels – but this was certainly near the top. We ventured into town for a wood-fired pizza for dinner before heading out the next morning for the next leg of our journey.