The Way out of Fort William

Off we go again with all the gear washed, repaired, replaced, whatever. A second parcel has been despatched home, as we seek to lessen our load, following which dad found the hotel key in his pocket and had to scamper back with it.

Down to the remains of the old fort after which the town was named by its perpetrator, William of Orange, who wanted to quell any rebellious thoughts in the area. Here begins the Great Glen Way that follows the line of the Great Glen Fault a natural geological phenomenon that forms a navigable waterway between Fort William and Inverness. Partly river, partly loch and partly canal.

Today's walk takes us to Gairlochy and after negotiating the outskirts of FW we eventually joined the canal at he bottom of Neptunes Staircase a series of 8 lochs that raises and lowers craft from sea level to the level of  the ongoing waterway. At the base of the staircase runs a main road and a railway which both have swing bridges to allow boats to pass through. A fascinating combination, and mum was thrilled to get a picture of dad and I watching boats passing through the lochs at the same time as the Jacobite steam train (runs from FW to Mallaig) was going through. Admittedly, she was precariously balanced on one leg on a tree stump at the time....all in pursuit of art as they say.

Halfway up the lochs was a small building selling coffee and tea. It is also  the nerve centre for Caledonian Bears (google them).These bears are just delightful, made of tweed, and clothed in some wonderful outfits, also made of tweed. All hand made, and whilst we sat on the wall to drink our coffee in the sunshine, the lady continued to finish off bears. I was given some treats for which thank you, and thank you also for your contribution to our funds.

Thankfully, although the GGW is popular it is nowhere near as busy as the WHW and we have been able to thoroughly enjoy a walk through some absolutely stunning scenery, on a delightful early summer day, and with the additional entertainment provided by the water traffic.

This afternoon, we came to another swing bridge at Moy Bridge where a loan British Waterways operative; maintains the grass, keeps all the 'furniture' painted, and closes the bridge for the occasional passing farm traffic, opening it afterwards to allow the boats access. He was very friendly and even allowed mum to use his facilities for which she was hugely grateful. Does make you wonder about the economics though?

We have met some lovely people today who have been most interested in our little adventure. Tonight, we are spending the night near Spean Bridge, home to the Commando Memorial.

Laggan tomorrow.

Keep spreading the word.

M
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