Day 92 - Drumnadrochit to Inverness - 20.1 miles

There's something about hotels used by bus tours Aaaaaaaargh!!!
I've seen images of happier Americans on Death Row!! With grumpy service it wasn't what I needed over breakfast.

So, out in to the beautiful sunshine.
The last lifeboat station I'd visited was Barmouth so it was good to see the RNLI flag proudly flying again. 
Loch Ness lifeboat station - what an amazing setting overlooking Urqhuart Bay.

There was a welcome breeze as I walked up the steep path through the forest - pine, then birch, then pine again.

Above the treeline, I met Graham, Kirk and  Bernie who'd I'd met a few evenings ago at Invermoriston. They were going to split this last leg into two sections and had arranged an early taxi so they could walk back to Drumnadrochit
Kirk served time in Afghanistan as part of British Army reserve.
Bernie was in IT before retiring and has since set up a company making 'small batch' ciders in Suffolk. We'd had an interesting chat about suitable evocative names for ciders.
Graham meanwhile has refound his long lost love from university and after separate lives over 43 years they'll be getting married in August. A happy man!
Bernie and Kirk teased that he was getting in some fitness training for his honeymoon!!!

And then Simon and Alison walked up with Marie who I'd met yesterday. Steven unfortunately had acquired some blisters yesterday and had decided not to walk this morning - so Simon and Alison had taken Marie under their wing.
Alison, Marie, Andrew, Simon, Kirk, Bernie

Simon and Alison, GPs from Castlemain in Australia retired on the same day last year. We'd met briefly in the rain a few days ago and compared waterproofs....it being the sort of thing you do when walking in the rain.
They're keen walkers and excellent conversationalists.

We continued on our way and after 7 miles stopped off at the Abriachan Forest cafe which claims to be the highest occupied croft in Scotland.
A quirky place  but the cake was good and it went down a treat with a massive pot of Earl Grey tea. We shared a table with Fred from Denmark who was enjoying some extended leave from the Danish navy.
He modestly showed us the name of the ship on which he serves, which I found out later is one of the biggest warships in the Danish navy.  Impressive!

With 11 miles to go, we all decided it was time to push on and in the heat of the day, 
I could feel the heat of the tarmac through my walking boots.
Well here I am with only 150 miles to go and I've developed a blister on my heel which didn't make for comfortable walking over that final 11 miles.

To lift our spirits I saw a beautiful red squirrel with a gorgeous fluffy tail dancing along a tree branch before disappearing into the cover of the forest.

It's that man again!!

As we came out of the forest we had our first view of Inverness still some 4 miles away.

The river at Inverness.

The finish line of the Great Glen Way is supposed to be the inverness Castle but, they've obviously 'got the builders in' , 
it was surrounded by builder's hoardings so we celebrated at the Castle Tavern instead.

After a quick beer, I limped to my hotel, opened all the windows to try to cool it down, carried out some 'running repairs' to the blister and went to find a shady spot.

Late, after supper I went across the street to Hootananny's for some great live music - Calum McPhail is a local songwriter and accordionist. 
A great atmosphere with a very international audience. At one point he asked for the audience to call out where they were from...Spain, Denmark, Ohio, Kansas, New York, Texas...Wales and a lot of local support.
A brilliant end to the evening.


Total distance walked so far = 1144.6 miles
Total ascent so far = 131 356 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/fundraising/david-thomas215


- 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 

https://www.justgiving.com/

Comments

  1. Maria Moxham (Lloyd)12 July 2022 at 11:34

    David you’re amazing. What an adventure. And such a remarkable achievement. I am in awe of you. I’ve been following your progress, last few miles. Keep going!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13 July 2022 at 06:03

      Hi Maria. It's great to hear from you. TT keeps me posted on your regular contact. The walk has been a great adventure for me and I've really enjoyed it. I could do without these last minute blisters but hey?? I do have the other leg to stand on...perhaps I could just hop the last 150??.
      >

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