4th to 11th September 2026
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| Me and Paul on our last hike together |
A trip Brian made without Jackie, but with his friend Paul.
Setting off on the train from Alvechurch at 06:10 in the morning, changing trains at Birmingham New Street (where he meet up with Paul) and changing stations at Glasgow, we arrived in Fort William, Scotland at 16:09.
From there we walked round the corner to the old fort of Fort William making the official start (or end) of the Great Glen Way walk linking Fort William with Inverness on the other side of the country some 80 plus miles away. The route can be done entirely on water, along the Caledonian canal, several lochs including Loch Ness and out to the North Sea, but we walked along the route at its side.
We took 7 days to do it, including the walk of about 7km from the railway station to our first nights accommodation, so 6 days of proper walking. Here's a map of the route with our overnight stops marked in red. The blue markers are points on our route. Click the square top right to bring it to full screen and each marker for more detail.
Here's our daily plan with estimated distances and actual distances below each:
Day 1: Arrive Fort William at 16:09. Walk to the old fort marking the route start and walk on to our first nights accommodation in the Snowgoose & Bunkhouse at Corpach. Estimated distance: 7km. Actual distance: 3.45km, ascent: 20m, time: 41minutes, 4464 steps
Day 2: Walk Corpach to at least Gairlochy. However, our night accommodation was 6km south of this point in Spean Bridge at the Ox Hotel, all off route. Estimated: 17km. Actual distance: 18.63km, ascent: 177m, time: 3:49:46, 23208 steps
Day 3: We got a lift back to the track at Gairlochy so walked from there to Invergarry and Saddle Mountain Hostel, our nights accommodation. Estimated distance 24km. Actual distance: 27.39km, ascent: 499m, time: 5:51:27, 34598 steps
Day 4: Walk Invergarry to Lochside Hostel in Altsigh on the banks of Loch Ness. Estimated distance: 28km. Actual distance: 33.26km, ascent: 704m, time: 7:29:52, 43534 steps
Day 5: Walk Altsigh to Loch Ness Lodge Hotel in Drumnadrochit, another town on the banks of Loch Ness. Estimated distance: 16km. Actual distance: 17.81km, ascent: 394m, time: 4:04:46, 23080 steps
Day 6: A shorter days walk but with lots of ascent up to Abriachan and our nights stop at a little shepherds hut. Estimated distance: 13km. Actual distance: 15.69km, ascent: 544m, time: 3:47:06, 21110 steps
Day 7: The final day to Inverness and then a bus back to Fort William for our last nights stay at the Distillery Guest House. The days walk should have been about 19km but we walked on to where the Caledonian canal opens into the North Sea, completing our walk coast to coast. Actual distance: 25.52km, ascent: 151m, time: 5:27:52, 32968 steps
For a full account of the walk see: Brian's Great Glen Way hike September 2026
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