Thursday, 22 May 2008

Coastwalk

Corpach → Fort William

view-from-corpach.jpg

Distance: 3.83 miles
Ascent: 5 metres
Duration: 1 hour 29 minutes

In the shadow of the Ben
« Not walked | Not walked »

This week has been all about Ben Nevis so it should be no surprise that May's coastwalk is in the shadow of the Ben. It's the first coastwalk I've done in Scotland so serves as my public answer to a common question: when I said I'd be walking round our island, I meant all three territories: Wales, England and Scotland. (I'll probably finish them in that order too.)

The cottage in Banavie backs on to the Caledonian Canal so we picked up the Great Glen Way from the garden gate. At the foot of Neptune's Staircase the Way continues on to Corpach where it meets the coast, then turns south following the coastline to the trail's end in Fort William. Here then is another long-distance path I'd like to complete one day: seventy-three miles more-or-less in a straight line from one side of Scotland to another.

percy.jpg

After crossing the River Lochy we stopped off to explore Inverlochy Castle, a ruin which feels surprisingly overlooked despite its proximity to the tourist magnet of Fort William.

A short distance later I dropped down to the stream to rescue a toy Percy the Small Engine from the water. We left him a few metres further on keeping watch from the grass. I wonder how far he's travelled in this manner - all the way from Inverness at the other end of the glen, perhaps?

Posted by pab at 21:39 | Comments will be back later in the year. Please email me instead!