Facts of the Day:
Date: 15/July/2002
From: Fort William
Via: Glen Nevis
To: Strontian
Miles: 88
Midges: 50 (Estimate)
Weather: Early rain, sunshine later
Mood: Changing

From Fort William it is only a short drive to Glen Nevis, the glen around Ben Nevis, Britain's highest peak. As the day had started with quite a lot of rain I didn't expect too much. And I was right, Ben Nevis was nowhere to be seen behind the clouds. As I didn't have enough time to make it up to the summit anyway a very good excuse to not even think about it ;-) Instead I had a walk in Glen Nevis:

A great walk commences from the end of the road at the top of Glen Nevis. It follows a very rocky but good path through a dramatic gorge for about a mile or so. This part already has a few nice views back into Glen Nevis and down to various waterfalls and rapids. But the best is still to come...

At the end of the gorge it opens into this beautiful secret hanging valley with the high waterfall at the end. With the sun coming out soon after I arrived in the valley the place had something magic to it. I just walked around in the valley and enjoyed the views, loving every minute of it. At some point I crossed the burn on something that vaguely resembled a bridge. Basically it consists out of three steel cables, one you walk on and two "rails". It was fun to walk over it, especially when it started to sway when I was about half way (that's not me on the picture though, that's somebody else using it). After about two hours I returned to my car to drive on, having had a very good time. On my way to my next stop I had a rather unpleasant experience, having to follow a group of French motorhome drivers. They were only driving about 30-40 mph and in particular one of them was swerving all over the road. Not exactly easy to pass...

I didn't find the monument that exciting, but the view at Glenfinnan down Loch Shiel is very nice. And the place obviously has a historic significance as the place where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard to signal the start of the Jacobite uprising of 1745. For me other things were more important though: By now it was late afternoon and I hadn't found a place to sleep yet. I started making my way towards Lochaline where I intended to catch the ferry to Mull later, but then decided I should arrange something now. I consulted my Rough Guide Scotland for their recommendations. One of their recommendations was Kinloch House in Strontian with stunning views over Loch Sunart. I gave Kinloch House a call and luckily they had a room available. And the Rough Guide was right about the stunning views. Almost as good as the one at Glenfinnan, or is this view over Loch Sunart better? I can't really decide...