Day 88 - July 6th - Fort William to Laggan - 20.6 miles
We had an early breakfast with Elspeth and Charles before they headed off to Edinburgh and Sally caught the bus to Glasgow airport.
I caught the bus to Neptune's staircase, a chain of 8 locks on the Western end of the Caledonian Canal on the outskirts of Fort William.
From here I'll walk the Great Glen Way, 79 miles North East to Inverness. It was raining but at least the wind was behind me.
I watched a starling feed its very demanding chick.
and admired a very smart traditional gaff- rigged German yacht
waiting to descend down the locks out to sea. Apparently, it originally would have taken half a day to descend the locks but since they were mechanised, the whole process can be done in 90 minutes.
With strong winds forecasted for the day, I suspected they may have been just delaying their departure to enjoy the peace and calm of the canal before heading off.
The walk along the canal path in the rain was easy and comfortable walking.
At Moy Bridge, I met Ricky, from Scottish Canals.
He's a Mechanical Engineer and one of the team maintaining the canal and its locks and bridges.
Moy Bridge is the last remaining cast-iron swing bring in the UK - designed by Telford and cast at the Cefn Mawr foundry near Ruabon by the same company that made all the cast-iron for the Pontcyssyllte viaduct.
Ricky invited me to have a go at closing the bridge -.
...you can tell I'm no professional but (the lock gate) is beautifully engineered, smooth, well balanced and amazingly easy to operate
I left Ricky doing the job properly.
I caught the bus to Neptune's staircase, a chain of 8 locks on the Western end of the Caledonian Canal on the outskirts of Fort William.
I watched a starling feed its very demanding chick.
With strong winds forecasted for the day, I suspected they may have been just delaying their departure to enjoy the peace and calm of the canal before heading off.
The walk along the canal path in the rain was easy and comfortable walking.
At Moy Bridge, I met Ricky, from Scottish Canals.
Moy Bridge is the last remaining cast-iron swing bring in the UK - designed by Telford and cast at the Cefn Mawr foundry near Ruabon by the same company that made all the cast-iron for the Pontcyssyllte viaduct.
Ricky invited me to have a go at closing the bridge -.
As I continued a short distance along the canal, I passed this large ship
steaming towards the bridge and dwarfing the canal. I hope that Ricky was well out of the way before it arrived - it'll have been a squeeze!
At Gairlochy, the trail then traverses the North side of Loch Lochy and initially passes through some lovely Beech woodland
on the shores of the Loch where I stopped for a picnic.
At Bunarkaig, I walked off the trail to visit the tiny St Ciaran's church at Achnacarry.
Amazingly atmospheric, it was only built in the early 20th century and paid for by a public collection.
At Gairlochy, the trail then traverses the North side of Loch Lochy and initially passes through some lovely Beech woodland
At Bunarkaig, I walked off the trail to visit the tiny St Ciaran's church at Achnacarry.
Amazingly atmospheric, it was only built in the early 20th century and paid for by a public collection.
Gradually the weather improved and by the time I arrived at the top end of the Loch it had stopped raining.
A pleasant walk along the South side of the canal, through the trees
led to the Great Glen hostel and a welcome rest for tired feet.
A pleasant walk along the South side of the canal, through the trees
Fortunately, they were offering hot meals and I treated myself to their special burger and chips and it had haggis in there as well! Delicious - the best since Lands End!
Total distance walked so far = 1087.5 miles
Total ascent so far = 126 120 feet
If you'd like to leave a comment, correct me on any detail or just nudge, it'd be great to hear from you. If initially it comes up as Anonymous, please just add your name at the bottom so I can see who it's from.
email: david.LL.thomas@gmail.com
mob: 07850109100
If you'd like to contribute to any or all of the three great charities I'm supporting, here are the relevant links.
- Parkinsons UK - My dad had Parkinsons in his latter years and the research work this charity funds and the support it provides to patients and their families is invaluable. - https://www.justgiving.com/
- Just Wheels UK - this is a small charity set up to provide wheelchairs in a rural community in Tanzania. It does this through funding training, education and the local fabrication and servicing of bespoke wheelchairs. My nephew uses a wheelchair and as he grows I can see the life changing freedoms that proper wheelchairs can bring to both users and their families.-
- RNLI - these are the brave guys who selflessly head out to sea to help others. I volunteer at Littlehampton RNLI shop and often meet families of those who’ve had first hand experience of their loved ones being saved from the sea. Having sailed for years I can say thankfully we’ve never had to call on the RNLI's services but it’s amazing what it does to know they are there
Just caught up sitting in glorious sunshine at home and worn out just reading about it! You do seem to be having an amazing time -what a heroic effort - well done cousin xx
ReplyDeleteHi Jane. Any chance you could send some of that sunshine in this direction? At least while it's raining we don't get the midges. Hey ho!!
ReplyDeleteI’ll do my best - todays sun sitting includes an excellent g and t - but by the sound of it you won’t be needing me to to send one of those…
Delete