The Great Glen Way - 28 March to 3 April 2025
Introduction
This walk has been on our radar for quite some time and has always been high up on the "routes we'd really like to do" list. The route was opened in 2002 and its official length is 79 miles (127 kilometres) and starts in the west of Scotland in Fort William and finishes in the east at the Highland capital of Inverness. As stated in the title, the walk follows the length of the Great Glen which is one of Scotland's most significant landscape features. The glen is both a fault line and glacial trough and effectively cuts the Highlands in half with North West Highland on one side and the Grampian Mountains on the other.
The route is considered one of the easiest long distance paths and for the most part is on low level paths although in the latter part of the walk there are options to climb via high level or low level options. Notwithstanding its easy reputation the walk can be made as hard or as easy as you want - for instance, if 79 miles was a bit short for you then walkers can always tag it on to the West Highland Way which comes up from just outside Glasgow and finishes in Fort William. Either way, it is a delightful wander through glorious countryside and basically follows the route of three major lochs which are linked together by the Caledonian Canal. Logistically, the A82 links the start and finish and with its excellent bus service can be used to link various days together should you wish to stay in one place during the walk - more about that later.
From the start the route heads along the Caledonian Canal which links Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness and visits Laggan, Fort Augustus, Invermoriston, Drumnadrochit and finally Inverness. The paths are a mixture of canal towpath, forestry tracks, disused railway lines and an old Drover's road and whilst some people may consider this monotonous walking, the scenery on offer is fabulous. Waymarking is very good and it would be difficult to lose ones way on this route although obviously an ability to navigate via the medium of Map & Compass with a suitable back up should always be paramount in your planning.
For anybody wishing to experience a multi day walk over less difficult terrain then The Great Glen Way is an ideal starting point. It is not overly difficult either navigationally or physically, however it still provides the walker with a fantastic walking journey through a beautiful landscape.
Read on to see how we fared walking this fantastic route.
The route is considered one of the easiest long distance paths and for the most part is on low level paths although in the latter part of the walk there are options to climb via high level or low level options. Notwithstanding its easy reputation the walk can be made as hard or as easy as you want - for instance, if 79 miles was a bit short for you then walkers can always tag it on to the West Highland Way which comes up from just outside Glasgow and finishes in Fort William. Either way, it is a delightful wander through glorious countryside and basically follows the route of three major lochs which are linked together by the Caledonian Canal. Logistically, the A82 links the start and finish and with its excellent bus service can be used to link various days together should you wish to stay in one place during the walk - more about that later.
From the start the route heads along the Caledonian Canal which links Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness and visits Laggan, Fort Augustus, Invermoriston, Drumnadrochit and finally Inverness. The paths are a mixture of canal towpath, forestry tracks, disused railway lines and an old Drover's road and whilst some people may consider this monotonous walking, the scenery on offer is fabulous. Waymarking is very good and it would be difficult to lose ones way on this route although obviously an ability to navigate via the medium of Map & Compass with a suitable back up should always be paramount in your planning.
For anybody wishing to experience a multi day walk over less difficult terrain then The Great Glen Way is an ideal starting point. It is not overly difficult either navigationally or physically, however it still provides the walker with a fantastic walking journey through a beautiful landscape.
Read on to see how we fared walking this fantastic route.
"The Viewcatcher" above Invermoriston - the walk visits here on Day 5
(Links to each individual day are below, however just click on "Itinerary" below to start the story of the walk
GGW Itinerary
GGW Day 1 - Fort William to Spean Bridge
GGW Day 2 - Spean Bridge to Laggan Locks
GGW Day 3 - Laggan Locks to Fort Augustus
GGW Day 4 - Fort Augustus to Invermoriston
GGW Day 5 - Invermoriston to Drumnadrochit
GGW Day 6 - Drumnadrochit to Inverness
GGW - Thoughts in Conclusion
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