Day 5/6 Great Glen Way 117km - Invermoriston to Drumnadrochit - 24 Mar 2010

23km, 600m ascent, took 5.5 hours

A good sleep, a great B&B breakfast and now came the hard start of today's walk: A steep and narrow zigzag road climbed up a well-wooded slope. We took a constant pace up the hill, hence it wasn't too challenging, or rather, I thought it was quite easy actually. The day was cloudy, slightly humid too, hence perspiration was unavoidable. Not too good for photos, but great for walking. I had to 'borrow' Shyam's camera as my camera had not been working properly for pictures in cloudy settings.










We finally came upon a forest track which made a gentle ascent among closely packed trees. A thinner part of the plantation revealed some of the former heather cover and low rocky outcrops. There were a few stone seats along the Way with fine views over Loch Ness. The village of Invermoriston grew smaller as we looked back over time. An interesting cosy Stone Cave was passed. It was said to have been built to offer shelter to a washerwoman on her frequent journeys between Alltsigh and Invermoriston. It still offered splendid shelter.










The track continued to rise and fall till we reached a concrete bridge over a rocky gorge at Alltsigh. There was a youth hostel where I had intended to stay for the night, instead of in Invermoriston. But it was closed then, hence we stayed in a B&B.



We carried on a series of steeper climbs over Primrose Bay, with views through the glen becoming even more extensive. The village of Foyers could be observed clearly on the other side of the loch. It was indeed a lovely walk, despite getting exhausted from climbs. Cool refreshing breezes blew against our faces, encouraging us to push on. My right leg muscles had stiffened further; Shyam's ankle was hurting. Injuries had slowly set in as the days passed. It was expected and I couldn't be bothered much about them. We were really lucky that the Way had been a straightforward one and paths were all well-built - so no wet soaking boots at all! :)


















The Way then shifted well away from the water, rising further till it reached a road. I was relieved of the change in terrain. Got quite sick of the loches. The road passed isolated houses and farms with views of 2 humped hills behind our backs. The road undulated over 250m on a heather moorland, followed by a forest, before it headed gently downhill all the way to Drumnadrochit.














The final stretch was another forest track, descending at a gentle gradient with frequent glimpses of the village. The relatively longer walk concluded our day and we checked in at Loch Ness Backpackers Hostel. This was the best day so far (out of the 5 days) as we experienced more climbings and a variety of terrains. The first 4 days had been kind of a let-down and ya...had to admit...they were just too easy! Today's walk was more like an average hiking day, and I'm sure tomorrow's walk would be similar too. We visited the Loch Ness exhibition gift shop and also purchased some food from Co-op. Cooked dinner at YHA and sat by the crackling fireplace in the lounge to pen down my thoughts in my diary. One more day...all the way!