The Great Glen Way - Thoughts in Conclusion
Crossing Telford's Bridge at Invermoriston - the walk visits here on Day 4
As is customary, we thought we would put together a few comments that may help in the planning & execution of walking The Great Glen Way. Most of these points are pretty generic to long distance walking and are therefore much the same as in previous blogs we have written. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and the advice given is not exhaustive. The best form of research is other people’s blogs, guide books and using plain old common sense.
The walk itself
At just over 83 miles with a 6 day itinerary, The Great Glen Way provides the walker with a relatively easy walking experience with which to cut their teeth on a long distance path. It is extremely well waymarked and with no real ascent and difficult terrain of note, it should be within most people's capabilities to complete with ease. That doesn't mean to say you should take this walk lightly - there are some long sections and despite the good signage, as always an ability to navigate is a must. It is also worth mentioning that in addition to having a map & compass (and knowing how to use them) a back up navigation system should be a priority also. The walk is an absolute delight and we thoroughly enjoyed the variety of terrain and landscape.
Unlike its near neighbour The West Highland Way, the route itself is not very busy at all. Apart from the intervening villages and small towns, on the walk itself we met only one other person who was undertaking the walk on a day to day basis.
Having now completed The Great Glen Way we would heartily recommend it to other walkers as it is has variety, historical interest and the scenery on the whole is fantastic, particularly during the second half of the walk.
Give it a go and see for yourself.
Unlike its near neighbour The West Highland Way, the route itself is not very busy at all. Apart from the intervening villages and small towns, on the walk itself we met only one other person who was undertaking the walk on a day to day basis.
Having now completed The Great Glen Way we would heartily recommend it to other walkers as it is has variety, historical interest and the scenery on the whole is fantastic, particularly during the second half of the walk.
Give it a go and see for yourself.
Planning & Accommodation
We did a fair bit of research as to how best to accommodate and move ourselves along the route. In the end we decided to utilise the excellent and regular bus service that runs along the A82 between the start at Fort William and the finish at Inverness. This meant that we needed to find a holiday cottage roughly equidistant between the start and finish. After a search on the Internet and discounting the ridiculously expensive ones we plumped for a lovely 1 bedroomed bungalow in Drumnadrochit. Whilst this was at the northern end of the route, the bus service meant we could move easily between each leg. For the first day of the walk, we stayed at a B&B in Fort William and caught the bus back from Spean Bridge - this also worked very well. It should be noted that the Citylink Bus Service does not allow Dogs therefore those people travelling the route with their furry friends would have to utilise other accommodation. We found the best way of ensuring we had a seat on each journey was to book our seats a couple of days before - this worked very well. All in all buses were timely and reliable.
Kit & Medical
Medically, we used a fair bit of Vaseline on our feet and micro porous tape that resulted in no blisters. In a nutshell, each morning tape up any areas where you have had blisters appear in the past and then rub a light coating of Vaseline over the rest of each foot and in between your toes. It really does pay to rub your feet at night with some foot lotion and also buddy up getting your feet ready in the morning. No matter how much training you have done before the walk, your feet will hurt at some stage. When resting up or whilst having lunch, get the boots off and air your feet and change your socks if necessary.
After about 20 minutes walking have a stretch of the hamstrings, calves, groin and quads. Repeat this before and after any lengthy stop and on completion of the days walking. This stretching routine will pay dividends.
It goes without saying that a basic first aid kit is a must.
After about 20 minutes walking have a stretch of the hamstrings, calves, groin and quads. Repeat this before and after any lengthy stop and on completion of the days walking. This stretching routine will pay dividends.
It goes without saying that a basic first aid kit is a must.
Rucksacks
Apart from your Boots this is the second most important piece of kit you have. Make sure it is comfortable and fits your needs. As stated earlier, we used a couple of Osprey Daysacks (with rain hoods) and these were just the job. One thing we would say is fill it up and test it out before you start - make sure it feels comfortable and get out and walk with the weight in it. Additionally, make sure you have dry-bags in your kit for those rainy days.
Water
There is a link below to Refill - a website giving information with regard to water refill points etc. Another thing you could do is just apply common sense - if you get the chance then top up. Cafes, pubs and shops you visit will more than likely help you out.
Mapping
We carried the relevant OS Maps, two Compasses and a GPS. Suffice to say we did not get lost. Additionally, we have the OS Locate App on our phones and should the GPS have failed the App would give us a 6 figure Grid Reference which could then be plotted on the relevant paper map. As mentioned above, it pays to have a navigation back up system.
Useful Links & Further Reading
The Great Glen Way Trailblazer Guide by Jim Manthorpe - we can highly recommend this extremely informative guide book. The Trailblazer guides are excellent publications full of useful information ranging from accommodation to food providers. It should be your "go to" guide book to plan your itinerary and ensure you do not miss anything of interest along the route. The book can be purchased online from Amazon and the link is here
The Great Glen Way website - The Highland Council run website which is a must read for anybody thinking about undertaking this fabulous walk (and this blog of course!). Digital mapping is not available direct from the website however I can provide these for free therefore please get in contact if you would like them sent to you. The website also provides up to date route information on the home page. The link to the website is here
Walk Highlands - another source of information which details the route and also provides links to other people's walk reports. The link is here
Accuweather - a very good weather update service.
www.accuweather.com/en/gb/united-kingdom-weather
Refill - a national, practical tap water campaign to aid you in topping up your supply on route. Well worth "tapping in to" (nyuk, nyuk).
refill.org.uk
Citylink Buses - a link to the Journey Planner is below
https://booking.citylink.co.uk/#/
Charity
Last but not least, thanks to the generosity of friends, family and people we have never met, we managed to raise just under £4K for Spaniel Aid. This amount of money will make a huge difference to this wonderful charity and therefore we would like to give our heartfelt thanks to those who donated. If you would like to read more about the wonderful work they do or after reading this blog you would like to make a donation then the link is below.
spanielaid.co.uk/
spanielaid.co.uk/