Day 51: Fort William to Drumnadrochit, Highlands

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

24th February 2021: 102.75km walked today taking the total to 5321.60/8868km. 13.5% of 110 entries submitting 761.11km.

We make our way north along the Great Glen from Fort William to Drumnadrochit today, calling in at Fort Augustus and Urquhart Castle en route.

Route 15: Oban to Fort William

Route 16: Fort William to Inverness

We have already finished 2 of our walks in Fort William but this time we walk across the bridge over the River Nevis where it flows into Loch Linnhe and head up the River Lochy before reaching Old Inverlochy Castle. This castle was built about 1280 by the ‘Red’ Comyns, lords of Badenoch and Lochaber. It was built here so they could command the southern entrance to the Great Glen as well as Glen Spean. It originally had a moat but was in a good defensive position due to the River Lochy. The Comyns were dominant in this area at that time and were key supporters of King John Balliol, which meant that they were enemies of Robert the Bruce. When Robert the Bruce became King in 1306, he made it a point to destroy the Comyns and the castle then passed to the supporters of Robert the Bruce and changed hands multiple times. There were 2 major battles here, the first in 1431, and the second in 1645. After the second battle, where it was the Campbells who were then holding the castle, they were slaughtered and, shortly after, the castle was abandoned.

From here we make our way further up River Lochy to visit the Ben Nevis Distillery. This distillery is one of the oldest licensed distilleries in Scotland which was established in 1825. It has a visitor centre, ‘The Legend of the Dew of Ben Nevis’, where visitors meet Hector McDram, a mythical giant who will reveal the secret legend!

Not far from here is the last aluminium smelter plant still in operation in Scotland. It was opened in 1929 and was situated here because it requires a lot of electricity which could be produced by the Lochaber Hydro-electric Power Station, the largest hydro-electric power station in the UK.

From the Ben Nevis Distillery, we retrace our steps past Old Inverlochy Castle and then cross the River Lochy over the Soldier’s Bridge. This bridge was built by the army in the 1960s, hence the name, and has recently been upgraded. We then follow the River Lochy down its north side before reaching the village of Caol, which sits at the head of Loch Linnhe near to where it joins Loch Eil. Here we reach the start of the Caledonian Canal at Corpach which we will follow for almost 100 kilometres up the Great Glen, a geological fault in the Earth’s crust. The canal connects the west coast at Corpach with the east coast at Inverness.

The Caledonian Canal was completed in 1822 by Thomas Telford, but only about a third is actually man-made as the rest is formed by 4 lochs: Loch Lochy, Loch Oich, Loch Ness, and Loch Dochfour. It wasn’t initially a success, as it was too shallow to take the larger boats but was improved between 1844 and 1847 to manage the larger boats, who could then avoid the long and hazardous route around the west of Scotland and the Pentland Firth.

At Corpach there is a Pepperpot lighthouse that marks the start of the Caledonian Canal and where there is a sea lock where the canal meets Loch Linnhe. Following the canal, we must cross the railway and road at Banavie, both of which cross the canal on swing bridges that can be opened to allow boats through.

If we cross the bridge over the canal into Corpach itself, we can visit Treasures of the Earth. This was founded over 20 years ago, in what was previously a Catholic Church, and contains one of Europe’s largest collections of crystals, gemstones and fossils.

Continuing up the canal though, we reach Neptune’s Staircase, a series of 8 locks which raises boats to a height of 20 metres above sea level over a distance of 500 metres. From here there are great views of Ben Nevis and the cliffs on its north face. After climbing up the towpath beside the locks, the path flattens out and we should be able to see the River Lochy below. There are a lot of native trees fringing the towpath such as birch, willow, oak, rowan, and Scot’s pine.

We pass the remains of Tor Castle, whose name comes from Torr a Chaisteil (mound of the castle), which was built on the site of an Iron Age vitrified fort. The castle was rebuilt about 1530 by Ewan MacAllan, the 13th Cameron chief but not much of it is left. Just after this, the towpath crosses the Sheangain Burn on a 3-arched aqueduct, before we pass Strone which is on the other side of the canal. Strone was where there was a sawmill and carpenter’s workshops and was extremely busy when the canal was being built, as a lot of wood was required.

We then pass the Glen Loy Aqueduct, which also has 3 arches, carrying the canal over the River Loy, before we reach the Moy Swing Bridge. This is a unique bridge on the canal, as it is made of cast iron and was constructed in pieces in North Wales before being assembled here in 1821; it is the last remaining hand-operated bridge on the canal. For it to be opened, the lock keeper must open the south side and then use a dinghy to cross to the other side of the canal to open the north side.

Not long after this, the canal runs close to the River Lochy again before we reach Gairlochy at the south end of Loch Lochy. Loch Lochy is the third deepest loch in Scotland and is said to be the home of the monster, Lizzie, sister of Nessie. At Gairlochy, we cross the swing bridge over the canal before following the road around the southwestern end of the loch, before going down to the lochside and walking on footpaths towards Achnacarry. At the start of the footpath, we should be able to see the Pepperpot lighthouse, which marks where the Caledonian Canal enters Loch Lochy.

Near Achnacarry we rejoin the road which continues along the side of the loch. Achnacarry Castle is the ancestral home of the Clan Chief of the Camerons, situated on the isthmus between Loch Arkaig and Loch Lochy. The first Achnacarry Castle was built in the 17th century when it was decided this was a better position than the location of Tor Castle which we passed earlier. This castle was lived in by the Cameron’s until the Battle of Culloden. At that time Donald Cameron was the Clan Chief and he fought on the side of the Jacobites. After the defeat, he watched from hiding as Achnacarry was burnt to the ground by Government forces before he escaped to France.

Over the years the Cameron’s made their way back to the UK, and after paying a fine to the Hanoverian Government, they regained their estates and the new Achnacarry Castle was built in 1802 by Donald Cameron, 22nd Chief of Clan Cameron. During World War 2, Achnacarry Castle was handed over to the British military. As many as 25,000 English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, French, Belgian, American, Dutch, and Norwegian soldiers would undergo commando "basic training" there. Achnacarry was known to the soldiers as "Castle Commando."

Near Achnacarry, a detour can be made to the Eas Chia-aig waterfall, which featured in the Rob Roy film where Liam Neeson evades capture by falling down a series of waterfalls. The last part of the waterfall falls into the Witches Pool.

After leaving Achnacarry we join a forest track at Clunes, which we follow for the rest of Loch Lochy. The woods here, as well as having commercially planted conifers, have a mixture of oak, birch, elm, rowan, and hazel. Above us are the 2 Loch Lochy Munros, Sron a' Choire Ghairbh and Meall na Teanga. Eventually, we reach Kilfinnan where there is a graveyard of the Chiefs of the Macdonnells of Glengarry before reaching the head of the loch where we reach Laggan Locks. For here we have good views back down Loch Lochy with its Munros on the west side. We follow the track which goes up into pinewoods above the canal which passes through a deep cutting at this point.

Near Laggan Swing Bridge, the Great Glen Way splits in 2, one way which follows the old railway line (the rail line was from Spean Bridge to Fort Augustus) along the east side of Loch Oich through the native woodland of the Letterfeirn Nature Reserve, and the other which follows the west side of Loch Oich, which is the route we take. We follow the A82 for a short way and then turn left onto a track that climbs steadily through the forest before descending to join the road at Mandally. Here we turn right to head back towards the A82 to visit Invergarry Castle. This castle was the seat of the Chiefs of the Clan MacDonnell of Glengarry, a powerful branch of the Clan Donald. The castle was built in the 17th century overlooking Loch Oich on Cragan an Fhithich, Rock of the Raven. Cragan an Fhithich is the MacDonnell’s clan motto and the raven is in their clan crest. After the 1745 Jacobite rising, the castle was sacked, and partially destroyed by troops under the Duke of Cumberland, as part of the suppression of the Highlands.

From the castle, we head north past Glengarry Castle Hotel. This was originally called Invergarry House and was built in the 19th century for Edward Ellice Junior by the architect David Bryce, who also designed Fettes College, the old Royal Infirmary, and the Bank of Scotland buildings in Edinburgh. Edward Ellice Junior was the son of Edward ‘Bear’ Ellice, a Director of the Hudson Bay Company, who bought Glengarry in 1860.

We then follow the River Garry west to meet the A82 again, before turning left on the A87, then right onto a path that climbs the hill through forest, before turning east back towards Loch Oich. Eventually, we head down towards the north end of Loch Oich but, before we reach the A82, we keep on the path to go over the original Oich Bridge, a double cantilevered bridge built by James Drudge in 1854. We then cross the new Oich Bridge over the canal and rejoin the Great Glen Way on the east side of the canal. We follow the towpath until we arrive at Cullochy Lock where we cross over to continue along the towpath on the other side. At this point, we are walking between the River Oich and the canal. The next lock we reach is the Kytra Lock, where the canal broadens, and after another 3 kilometres, we reach the first of the 5 locks at Fort Augustus.

Fort Augustus sits at the southwestern end of Loch Ness. It takes its name from a fort that was built by General Wade, after the defeat of the 1715 Jacobite rising, and was named after the Duke of Cumberland, William Augustus. Before that, it was called Kiliwhimin. Nothing much remains of the original fort, but some of it was incorporated into a Benedictine Abbey when the Benedictine order acquired the site and land in 1876. It ran as a school until its closure in 1993 and has now been converted into luxury apartments.

In Fort Augustus, we will find the Caledonian Canal Heritage Centre, which has information about the history and the operation of the canal, as well as a gift shop and cafe. Another place to visit is the Clansman Centre, where they have recreated the interior of a Highland turf house and you can see what clan life was like 500 years ago.

From here, we will walk down to the viewpoint of Loch Ness which is the second-largest Scottish Loch, after Loch Lomond, when measured by surface area. However, due to its greater depth (the deepest point is 230m) it is the largest by volume in Britain and contains more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined. It is also home to Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. More about her later.

From Fort Augustus, we follow the A82 before turning left along the road called Bunoich Brae. Just before we get back to the A82, we turn left on a footpath that takes us up the hill, through giant pine trees, before we turn right along a forest track. The trees obscure the view but soon we come across a break in the trees where we can see down to Loch Ness. From here, we can see the only island on Loch Ness called Eilean Muireach, also called Cherry Island. This was actually man-made, as it was originally a crannog before a castle was built on it during the 15th century. This island used to be about 50 metres across but is now much less, as the water level in Loch Ness has increased due to the construction of the Caledonian Canal.

At this point, the Great Glen Way splits into 2, a high-level route and a low-level route. We are going to take the low-level route. The walk descends to the Allt na Criche waterfall before climbing again to contour around the hill above Loch Ness. We keep on this track until we see a Great Glen Way marker which points us downhill into Glenmoriston, then we follow a minor road into Invermoriston.

Glenmoriston is where Bonnie Prince Charlie escaped to safety. He took refuge in a cave up in the hills and was protected by the Seven Men of Glenmoriston, who didn’t give him up even though there was a £30,000 reward for his capture. It was also here where Roderick Mackenzie was killed by the Redcoats. After being shot, and while dying, he pretended to be Bonnie Prince Charlie by saying, “You have killed your Prince”, giving the real Prince time to escape.

When we reach the A82 and cross the bridge over the River Moriston, we can see the old Telford stone bridge, built in 1813, which crosses over rocky rapids. Turning right before the Glenmoriston Millennium Hall, we walk down to see the Invermoriston Falls. The best day to visit these falls is a Tuesday as the dams are opened upstream at Dundreggan.

After leaving Invermoriston Falls, we follow the road round to the left and then turn right at the Glenmoriston Arms Hotel, a drover’s inn, dating from 1740. The Great Glen Way then zigzags up the hill to where the Great Glen Way splits into 2, the low route and the high route. This time we take the high route, so continue to climb up the hill, before turning right along the forest edge, then cross a footbridge over the Allt Cuinneag Burn to continue uphill through scattered birch trees. We soon pass a sculpture, called the ‘Viewcatcher Wheel’, made of Caledonian pine and local stone, which frames a group of Munros north of Loch Cluanie.

After climbing between 2 hills, Meall Doire Bhrath and Meall na Sroine, we descend to cross the Allt Saigh Stream before walking through the forest. We then climb again to the edge of the forest to reach another stream called Allt Ruighe Bhacain where there is a new bridge, called the Troll Bridge. This bridge was inspired by drawings created by local schoolchildren and is decorated with troll-themed poems and limericks from the local schools.

We then head around the side of Creag Dhearg and reach a curved stone shelter with stunning views over Loch Ness. This is the high point of the Great Glen Way at 420 metres. The path continues through trees, meeting the low-level Great Glen Way route, before reaching Grotaig where we can have a coffee and a well-deserved cake at the Pottery. We then continue along the path, across a plateau, before descending to the River Coiltie which we follow down to Borlum Bridge before heading along the A82 southwards. Opposite Borlum Farm there is a path that we can take so that we walk beside the main road towards Urquhart Castle.

Prior to Urquhart Castle being built, this site is where St Columba is said to have worked miracles in the 6th century. The castle was built in the 13th century on a rocky promontory, in a very strategic position as it guarded the entrance to Glenmoriston as well as the western shore of Loch Ness, protecting the lowlands of the Moray coast against assault from Argyll and the Isles. It changed ownership multiple times over the years between England and Scotland and then later, in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, between the MacDonalds, Lord of the Isles and the Crown. In 1509, the Barony of Urquhart was given to the Grant family and they built the Grant Tower. After the Jacobite rising in 1689, the castle became a garrison for government forces and, when the last soldiers marched out of the castle in 1692, they blew it up. After that, it was abandoned and was mainly used as a convenient source of stone for local buildings. In 1913 it became Government Property and is now one of the most visited castles in Scotland looked after by Historic Environment Scotland.

We then return to Borlum Bridge to make our way to Drumnadrochit.