Monday, June 27, 2005

GGW Day 5

Drumnadrochit - Inverness (18 miles)

The final stretch! It was to be a tiring 18 miles through some pretty barren terrain, but knowing that this was our final day was more than enough incentive.

Once again, the day would begin with a big climb, and as always with a great payoff. This time it was a view of the castle across Urquhart Bay.

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We walked through plantations and farms before joining a road which we followed for many miles through especially barren but scenic terrain.

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The path then took a turn through a lovely stretch of forest which allowed us to escape the wind for a spell.

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Once emerging from the forest, we were able to see Inverness (our final destination!) in the valley below. As is always the way, it didn't look far but it would be hours before we actually got there. At first we thought that whomever designed the route must have been having a bit of a laugh at the end since we were sent walking through car parks and the suburbs for no apparent reason. But it all became clear with the final mile, a beautiful stretch through the wooded Ness Islands and then along the banks of the River Ness before climbing to our final destination at the foot of Inverness Castle. 74 miles and 5 days later, we had done it!

We had faced danger...
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...and had experienced pain...
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...but it was all worth it when we saw this...
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...but especially this!
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GGW Day 4

Invermoriston - Drumnadrochit (14 miles)

No easing into this day. A very steep climb up and up first thing to get the juices flowing. A great payoff as always though with a panorama of Loch Ness and the surrounding hills, complete with a natural stone seat to rest on.

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After a quick decent, we joined a forest road for more climbing. Zigzagging to and fro up the hills proved to be a hell of a workout.

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But at various points we treated ourselves to a wee rest and admired the view. Or posed for pictures.

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After a stroll through woodland, we then hit mercifully flatter terrain through a series of old farmhouses then ruggedly beautiful moorland awash with heather.

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A few miles on, we began the decent to the town of Drumnadrochit (on my Top Most Scottish-Sounding Places list, beaten only by Auchenshuggle). Had a great post-walk day here. Great dinner at Fiddlers (which was also our B&B, run by a bloke who knew his whisky), and pints at this pub off the beaten track with the locals. We were convinced to stay for the pub quiz, and were convincingly beaten by every other team. The quizmaster even gave us prizes for being so bad. All this, plus a pre-dinner visit to Castle Urquhart which was just down the road. Good times all around!

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Monday, June 20, 2005

GGW Day 3

Fort Augustus - Invermoriston (8 miles)

Something a bit more leisurely on this day, walking along a forest road with some killer views of Loch Ness.

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It took just over 4 hours to get to our destination of Invermoriston, so we had some time to explore the village that afternoon. An old bridge built by Thomas Telford in the early 1800's (he built over 120 in the Highlands alone) was especially picturesque.

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Our accommodation was fabulous - Lann Dearg Studios - which provided studio apartments with great views (the photo below taken from our window). After three solid days of walking and eating from pubs, it was nice to have a simple meal of pasta and a couple of beers (I much enjoyed my Aviemore Sheepshaggers Gold).

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On an unrelated note...
The Weezer show was great. A total love-in from a great crowd. The band might never produce another Blue Album, but the live experience shows they are still one of the best. They seemingly enjoyed it as well!

Monday, June 13, 2005

'Tis The Season

The concert season is finally heating up after a bit of a slow few months (with the notable exception of the Teenage Fanclub gig a few months ago - great tunes, love the harmonies, and great new album).

The line up for T in the Park is now complete. Can't say I was as excited about it as previous years at first, but looking at the line-up in its entirity I'm certainly excited now. Keane, The Killers, The Coral, Doves, James Brown (good gawd!), Super Furries, Travis, Athlete, Bloc Party, The Dears and Art Brut are my initial picks - but lots of potential wildcards.

Have also booked two shows for T on the Fringe, The Pixes with Teenage Fanclub and Idlewild as well as a great double-bill featuring Franz Ferdinand and Arcade Fire.

And this Friday marks my first time seeing the mighty Weezer in concert. But at what a cost! I had to give up seeing Buck 65 at King Tut's the same night....

GGW Day 2

Gairlochy - Fort Augustus (23 miles)

We started the day off with a walk along the banks of Loch Lochy. It was one of those Scottish mornings where the mist and fog hangs over the hills to create that quintessential celtic atmosphere. The vividness of colour in the forests, especially along the Kilfinnan Wood section, was something straight out of Tolkien.

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Near the north end of the loch lies Kilfinnan Farm. Perched right on the loch-shore, under the towering hills, and surrounded by lush farmland, it was a pure delight to behold.

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After crossing the Laggan Locks, we followed the stretch of canal which connects Loch Lochy to Oich. From here the path follows a dismantled railway line right along the banks of the loch. The weather earlier this year had been quite volatile, and could be witnessed along this stretch as many sections of the track had been covered by landslides. It was melancholic following the old railway line as we could see the bridges, tunnels and old houses train staff would have used now all abandoned and never to be used again. We never met a single person on this stretch.

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We rejoined the canal at the north bank of Loch Oich, and finished the day at Fort Augustus located on the southern bank of Loch Ness.

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A long day and very tiring, but entirely rewarding. Every imaginable bit of terrain over 9-10 hours. The pub that night, coal fire and home brew, was most enjoyable.

Saturday, June 04, 2005

GGW Day 1

Fort William - Gairlochy (11 Miles)

The day began with a trip from Glasgow to Fort William on the always spectacular West Highland rail line. From the starting obelisk at Fort William, we quickly came to the 13th-century built Inverlochy Castle.

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The first few miles weren't of much note, but did provide great views of Ben Nevis.

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The majority of our first day followed the Caledonia Canal. The canal, completed in 1822, connects Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy thus permitting water travel from Fort William to Inverness. There are a total of 29 locks in all, and the first we came across was one of the more impressive. Neptune's Staircase - a series of eight locks in total, large enough to accommodate sea vessels.

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We spent our first night in the town of Gairlochy, located right on the south bank of the magnificent Loch Lochy. We took it easy that night as our biggest day was to be the next!