The Great Glen Way

Arrived safely on Friday after a long delay sat on the runway in Bristol!! Inverness is very pretty, but it was quite cold. We managed to walk 9 miles out of Inverness that day which we were really pleased with. We walked through forestry which was amazing. We pitched up camp on the side of the road waiting for a taxi at the end of the day and hardly saw a car pass us. We felt like we were out in the wilderness. Tracey our taxi driver that picked us up from the airport was a welcome sight coming over the hills as we were freezing sat there on the verge, even with our kettles whistling away.

The next morning after a wonderful breakfast we were collected by Tracey again and taken back to the spot we had finished the day before to continue our trek. It was quite sad saying goodbye to her as we had become fond of her and her tales. We headed on our way through fantastic countryside that you wouldn't believe. We had been told the day before about this weird and wonderful 'hillbilly' style cafe in the middle of nowhere, but had slipped our minds...... Until we were merrily strolling down this country lane and heard a load of dogs barking and a woman dressed in camos came to her gate and asked us if we were walking the great glen way. We said yes and she replied that it was a shame that we had strayed off the path!! She then said that we could walk through her land and meet up with the great glen way if we wished. We were a little dubious as the alsatian at her side didn't look particularly welcoming and the sound of the braying hounds in the background was a little offputting. She assured us that the dogs were completely harmless and liked nothing more than being stroked and spoken to. We took her word for it and said 'hello' to the dogs and followed her in through her gate. The trees opened out to a clearing where we then saw her dwelling. There stood an old static caravan covered in tree bark with a massive chimney coming out the top, obviously housing a wood burner. By the side there was a shelter with a Harley Davidson in and two in another shelter being worked on. We then met the other dog, whose "puppies" were jumping wildly inside an enclosure, they were enormous! But they were extremely friendly. We then walked through and found several chickens roaming around the place. The worrying part was she informed us the chickens were more likely to draw blood than the dogs, so give them a wide berth!! The 'refreshments' were served on a hill mound on patio chairs! It was a sight to see! But we were glad she found us and we were soon back on track.

The weather got decidedly warmer that day and we were all very soon zipping our trousers into shorts and taking off fleeces. After lunch climbing up over a hill, we got our first view of Loch Ness. What a wonderful sight, especially in the sunshine, making the water look navy blue with mountains and forests in the background. We followed the Loch all afternoon, but at an incredible height with fantastic views from one end to the other.

We came down into Drumnadroichit and found a Sports bar hoping to watch the Bristol City match, but as Rangers were in the Scottish FA Cup Final that same afternoon, we were unlucky. Dave, John and Clive huddled around a little radio and sat there with long faces hearing that City were 1-0 behind. It could have spoilt our day until we found our B & B for that night!!

We were welcomed by Alastair of Glen Rowan Bed & Breakfast in Lewiston and shown to our rooms. Lovely rooms with everything you could imagine. We were then told to meet Alastair in the lounge for tea where he wanted to speak with us. We imagined a run down of the house rules and headed for our meeting with dread. We sat down to afternoon tea and he informed us that evening meals were hard to come by in Drum as it was Bank Holiday and we had to make a quick decision where we were going to eat and he would book for us! He telephoned the The Cobb Hotel and Restaurant and then informed us that the Owner would collect us at 7.45 and return us at the end of the evening - how good is that!! He then carried our tray of tea into the garden and placed it on the table sitting looking out over the fresh water stream running through the end of the garden! Of course, the men had to climb down and get in. It was a wonderful setting with the mountains climbing out of the ground all around us and the sun still very warm.

The meal that night was superb and we even had a live bank playing highland music in the background. We were delivered safely back to our B & B that night by Fraser who was pleased that we had enjoyed ourselves so much in his establishment.

Breakfast the next morning was unbelievable!! Everyone skipped the fried breakfast as the choice was endless. Porridge, followed by either, smoked haddock with poached egg or smoked salmon and scrabbled egg was consumed with passion by all.

We said our goodbyes, although all of us would have been very happy to have spent a week with Alastair in his tartan suit. We continued our trek with a very strenuous, long climb up the side of the mountain.

It is now 8.30am on Tuesday morning and we are going for breakfast. I will bring you up to date hopefully tomorrow when we get to Nick and Heathers and also put some photos on for you all to see the wonderful sights were are experiencing. Bye

---

---