Feeling somewhat refreshed after our rest day, we were ready for 3 days of the West Highland Way. Graeme has now joined us until the end of the week.

We left Fort William (Scottish Gaelic: An Gearasdan meaning “The Garrison”). and headed for the West Highland Way. Fort William was originally a settlement and the town grew in size when the fort was constructed to control the population after Oliver Cromwell’s invasion during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and then to suppress the Jacobite uprisings of the 18th century.

We started out on the Old Military Road. This is part of a network of military roads, sometimes called General Wade’s Military Roads, that were constructed in the Scottish Highlands during the middle part of the 18th century as part of an attempt by the British Government to bring order to a part of the country which had risen up in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. Ben Nevis decided to come out from the clouds and show itself and we were blessed with such a lovely day to enjoy the views.

More spectacular scenery as we headed towards Kinlochleven (Scottldi Gaelic: Ceann Loch Lìobhann). We also passed another milestone (we love a good milestone) – 200 Miles completed. The descent down into Kinlochleven was very steep and a rough path so not as enjoyable as the previous few hours.

Steep climbs up through the forest above Kinlochleven and then a short bit of level walking before the climb up towards the summit of the Devil’s Staircase (550m). This was given its name by the soldiers who were part of the Military Road building program, because of the difficulties of carrying building materials up that stretch of the road. Later, however, the road lived up to its name when workers building the Blackwater Dam chose to travel to the Kingshouse Hotel after they had been paid, rather than walking down to Kinlochleven. The journey to the pub often proved to be more difficult than they realised and on the return trip, after a few drinks on a cold winter’s night, the devil often “claimed his own.”. The descent down the Devil’s Staircase was steep, uneven and very long!

On the last leg of our days journey we walked across Rannoch Moor (about 50 square miles of boggy wetland) before finally getting to our hotel in Bridge of Orchy.

Today was a very tough day – we walked 55km, ascended approx. 1,400m and (the hardest bit) descended the same amount on often steep and uneven surfaces. But the views and the weather made up for it in the most part. Tomorrow is forecast to be rain all day so day 2 of the West Highland Way will be a different experience.

Thank you to Chigwell Construction for kindly sponsoring todays leg

Today is a day of rest and recovery in advance of next weeks efforts that will take us down to Carlisle.

We were certainly feeling the effects of yesterdays mammoth effort as we got ready for Day 7 of our journey.

We left Invergarry –  it’s name comes from the River Garry which flows into Loch Oich – by crossing the river and onto an undulating forest track in the North Lagan Plantation.

Sticking to the forest track and then a short road section, we continued plodding along The Great Glen Way (Slighe a’ Ghlinne Mhòir). This is a long distance path that follows the Great Glen between Inverness and Fort William. It is generally walked from southwest to northeast to follow the direction of the prevailing wind but we are walking in the other direction so have the wind in our faces most of the time. It follows a geological fault known as the Great Glen Fault that bisects the Scottish Highlands into the Grampian Mountains to the southeast and the Northwest Highlands to the northwest. The Great Glen Fault is mostly inactive today, but occasional moderate tremors have been recorded over the past 150 years which has meant that seismic buffers are built into the Kessock Bridge carrying the A9 out of Inverness.

As we passed another section of the Caledonian Canal below us, we saw numerous small rivers and waterfalls and headed into Kilfinnan Wood on the shores of the wonderfully named Loch Lochy. This isn’t a Boaty McBoatface type name, the River Lochy runs into the Loch, hence its name.

We started to get glimpses of some large mountains as we continued through the forest – as best I can tell from the map, the mountain in the first picture is Meall an Teanga (918m) (meaning ‘Hill of the Tongue’) which qualifies as a Munro by only 4 metres. The tree in the 5th photo is a Scots Pine (the national tree of Scotland) which typically grows to about 35m in height (see Mike and Paul in the photo for scale).

Finishing up the forest track, and avoiding the wild chickens, we stopped for a lunch break at the swing bridge at Gairlochy on the Caledonian Canal. The Canal was constructed in the early 19th century by Thomas Telford. It finally opened in 1822, having taken 19 years to complete, and cost £910,000. Over 3,000 local people had been employed in its construction. Then it was a long slog along the canal path to reach Fort William.

Another milestone – 300km walked – just as we finished passing by a series of locks called Neptune’s Staircase. This is a staircase of 8 locks that lifts (or drops) boats by 20m. And, of course, an ice-cream stop. Finally we left the canal path and walked the last few kms into Fort William and our hotel.

39.3km walked and another 52,000 steps and 7 days of walking completed. after the efforts of yesterday this was a tough one, but with a rest day on Saturday we should be somewhat refreshed for the start of the West Highland Way on Sunday.

Mike Z leaves us today and we do appreciate him taking the time out to join us and walk for Haven House.

For our journey from Drumnadrochit to Invergarry we were also joined by Mike Zehetmayr, so there were 7 of setting out on what would prove to be a challenging day.

The weather forecast would probably be as reliable as ever but it was quite nice as we set out from Drumnadrochit (Scottish Gaelic Druim na Drochaid meaning ‘Ridge of the Bridge’ as the original settlement grew up around a bridge over the River Enrick).

The day’s walking then started as it meant to go on – within 2km we had climbed 200m – the consolation for this effort was some beautiful scenery and a huge rainbow.

Thereafter we started on a well defined route through the Creag nan Eun forest which runs along the shore of Loch Ness towards Invermoriston. Following the path and attempting to keep to the lower of the two paths we came to a dead end.

Rather than backtrack, and add unnecessary mileage to our day, we saw a hint of a path that would see us scrambling, often on all fours, up a steep mossy bank and through sopping wet ferns to reach the correct path up above us. The second photo shows Stef escaping from the forest with Paul right behind. This little deviation was named a Magical Mystery Tour – general consensus, looking back, was that this was a bit of fun, although obviously not so much at the time. Our reward though was to start seeing glimpses of the famous Loch Ness through the trees.

The views – mountain streams, heather, far away hills and the Loch itself were simply stunning. At 56 km² (22 sq mi), Loch Ness is the second-largest Scottish loch by surface area after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth, it is the largest by volume in the British Isles. Its deepest point is 230 metres (126 fathoms; 755 feet), making it the second deepest loch in Scotland after Loch Morar. It contains more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined.

Enjoying the scenery we carried on walking and then started the descent down to our half way point.

Halfway point was Invermoriston which contains the Thomas Telford bridge, built in 1813, which crosses the spectacular River Moriston falls. This bridge used to form part of the main road between Drumnadrochit and Fort Augustus but was replaced in the 1930s with the new bridge used today.

We continued along the path through the woods of Druim an Garbh Leachtrach (‘Rough slope of the ridge“) until we reached the start of the Caledonian Canal and Fort Augustus (called Kiliwhimin until the Jacobite Uprising of 1715 when it was renamed).

We walked along the, thankfully flat, canal path as far as the swing bridge at the Bridge of Oich where we said goodbye to Tom, Stef and Mehdi. We really appreciate them taking the time off work to fly up and walk these two days with us in support of Haven House.

We then walked the last few (it felt like a lot more) kms through Fassie Wood, Drynachan Wood and Nursery wood before a very steep descent into Invergarry and the finish of the days journey.

Today was, literally the Longest Day – we walked 48.3km, some 59,500 steps and climbed 1,177m (higher than the highest mountain in Wales) – the whole event took over 10 hours.

For our journey today down to Dromnadrochit we were joined by Jeremy, Mehdi, Stef and Tom – we really do appreciate folks making the effort to take time out to join us for this walk.

The weather forecast was no rain today so the rain as we left Dingwall was no surprise – it didn’t last long though but would make a few reappearances during the day. Dingwall (Gaelic Inbhir Pheofharain meaning “mouth of the Peffery” or alternatively Baile Chail meaning “Cabbage Town”) was created as a Royal Burgh by King Alexander II in 1226.

We walked past the war memorial and a beautiful church and crossed the River Conon which eventually flows to the North Sea via the Cromarty and Moray Firths.

Walking toward Beauly we passed a lodge house , beautifully kept as usual, that was possibly part of ConOn House grounds originally. Then past a farm with this wonderful Highland Cow and a few Alpacas to keep him company.

Beauly is named so because, as local tradition has it, Mary, Queen of Scots once visited Beauly and had exclaimed: “Ç’est un beau lieu”, whereby came the name Beauly. The town is also known for the Beauly Shinty Club, its shinty  team, who have won the Camanachd Cup  three times and have been World Champions once. The memorial commemorates the members of the Lovat Scouts who gave their lives in the Anglo-Boer War (or South African War) (1899-1902). Anyway enough of history – it was also time for an ice-cream and a very short rest. As we crossed the Beauly River we could see fly fisherman hard at work.

As we closed in on Ardendrain, passing by yet another well kept gate lodge, we passed another milestone of 200km done so far. After this there is nothing of any historical significance to report just some more fabulous scenery to admire.

Keeping going, into some often quite strong headwinds, we continued to enjoy the scenery as we neared the end of todays journey.

The lake is called Loch na Ba Ruidhe, meaning the Reddest Lake, and looked very calm as we approached the descent down into Drumnadrochit – we had been warned it was steep! The long 15% gradient was really tough, especially at the end of a long day.

Finally we reached Drumnadrochit after 37.3km and some 44,500 steps. Tomorrow sees us join the Great Glen Way. A huge sense of achievement at having done 5 back-to-back days, it feels as each day gets harder and the aches and pains don’t subside. Two more days and we get a day off in Fort William which will provide some much needed rest and recuperation.

Total donations continue to rise, £33,808 at the time of writing. Please donate if you haven’t yet done so (or donate again – it is allowed) and encourage friends and family to do the same.

Thank you to The Media People for kindly sponsoring today’s leg

We had planned a nice quiet route today – well away from the A9 and all the traffic that comes with it.

It was a nice sunny morning as we left Tain – whose name derives from the nearby River Tain, the name of which comes from an Indo-European root meaning ‘flow’. The Gaelic name, Baile Dubhthaich, means ‘Duthac’s town’, after a local saint also known as Duthus. On our route out we passed Mansfield Castle Hotel on the way out of town – a sign of the type and size of buildings we would see throughout the day.

Our route took us past swathes of arable land before taking us through Morangie Forest, very peaceful and enjoyable as the trees afforded a break against any wind and toned down the sunshine (hot sunny days are not a walker’s friend).

Wild Scottish Raspberries taste fantastic – a pity today’s find was so small – hoping for larger ones as we keep moving inland. So many fields full of sheep just enjoying being sheep in the sunshine and quite a few bridges over small rivers – wonderful sound of running water on a quiet day. Then we had our first view of Cromarty Firth and all the oil rigs stored there. Due to Covid and the decline in oil consumption many oil rigs were closed down. To disassemble the machines is not just costly, it also might prove to be a mistake should the market rise again, so the massive rigs, weighing around a thousand tons each, are towed into the bay of Cromarty Firth from the North Sea. This is not popular with the local residents!

The first castle of the day came into view – Newmore Castle. It was once a three storey building with the remains of a stair turret which once led to the top floors being visible from the road. The castle is mentioned in records from as early as 1560 and belonged to Andrew Munro, 5th of Milntown and remained in various branches of the Munro family until falling into disrepair during the 19th Century. The combine harvester in the picture was so loud that we couldn’t hear any traffic noise and were very surprised when a skip lorry “materialised’ about 5 yards behind us. Then a momentous milestone as we approached Alness – we passed the 100 Mile mark of our journey – at that stage only 774 to go!

More nice river views as we meandered on – at this stage it was sunny and hot and we were starting to feel it – day 4 being the first time of 4 consecutive days walking – added to the tiredness. We walked past the entrance to Novar House. This is an 18th Century building built on the site of an earlier castle. As befits the area this was also, and still is, owned by a branch of the Munro family. The current house is the creation of Sir Hector Munro, 8th of Novar. Early maps call it ‘Tenuer’ (Gaelic Tigh ‘n fhuamhair – house of the giant). Then on the way to Dingwall we passed the Evanton War Memorial to the residents of Evanton who died in the First (32) and Second (8) World Wars.

Getting every closer to our destination, we passed by Foulis Castle – a white washed mansion that incorporates an old tower house with gun loops. The castle is mentioned briefly on records that date back to the 14th Century although the original Tower of Foulis was believed to have been built in 1154. and, yes, it was and still is, owned by a branch of the Munro family, starting with Robert de Munro of Foulis. As we passed Mountgerald the views of Cromarty Firth were quite stunning – handily there was also a cafe here and ice creams were very welcome in the heat.

Finally we reached Dingwall and our residence for the night – Birches Bed & Breakfast.

Today was a tough day, as mentioned before, even though it was “only” 37k, and little niggles, aches and pains are starting to appear. Hopefully a good nights rest will see us raring to go again tomorrow. The scenery and overall tranquility of today was really enjoyable and we really enjoyed the change of scenery and the lack of traffic.

Total donations are creeping up steadily, £32,459 at the time of writing. Please donate if you haven’t yet done so (or donate again – it is allowed) and encourage friends and family to do the same.

Having driven up the A9 from Inverness to John O’Groats and seen the volume of traffic and narrowness of the road in places, today was a day where we were all slightly apprehensive – but more of that later.

As you can see, despite being exhausted yesterday, we were in good spirits this morning and raring to go!

The town we stayed in, Brora, has its name derived from the ancient Norse meaning “River with a Bridge”. When operational it had the most northerly coal mine in the UK and has the Clynelish distillery and a baronial style clock tower serving as a war memorial which was dedicated in 1922.

After an hour or so we passed by Dunrobin Castle on the “outskirts” of Golspie – it even has its own railway station.

Dunrobin Castle is a stately home in Sutherland and is the family seat of the Earl of Sutherland and the Clan Sutherland. It’s origins are in the Middle Ages but most of the present building and gardens were added by Sir Charles Barry between 1835-1850. It is the largest house in the north of Scotland and is open to the public.

Next up, Golspie itself (name in Norse means”gully village”) – what is noticeable is how much pride folks up here in Northeast Scotland take in their houses and gardens – quite beautiful to see as we walk past. The 30m high statue on the hill, erected in 1837 on the summit of Ben Bhraggie and known locally as “The Minnie” is that of George Leveson-Gower, Marquess of Stamford and first Duke of Sutherland – he became notorious through the part he played in the Highland clearances.

Through yet more countryside (we didn’t see any otters) and past The Mound to an area called Clashmore – some nice scenery and time for a selfie. Interesting how varied the scenery was today, mountains, seaside, estuary and arable land.

We then walked across the Dornoch Firth bridge – very long and a strong headwind – nice views either side though and then entered into Ross & Cromarty.

Passing the Glenmorangie Distillery (unfortunately closed until tomorrow) we finally arrived in Tain and the Royal Hotel.

We walked 36.4km today and 44,500 steps so We decided, as the sun was actually making an appearance, to go to the Dornoch Beach for a paddle (Nice cold water foot therapy)

Finally back to the traffic worries mentioned earlier – thankfully the traffic was ok and not too many articulated lorries passing – only one instance where Paul had to bring out his dance moves to avoid a very close wing mirror. The politeness, and space given to us, by the vast majority of drivers over the last few days has been very impressive.

Total donations received by the end of today stands at £30,115 – great stuff. If you have managed to read this far and have already donated – a big thank you. If you haven’t donated yet, please do so and also encourage friends and family to do so as well – many thanks in advance

Today was a long one – by any standards!

Anyway, before getting into that, being Sunday, breakfast was a little later which meant we had some extra rest time and left the hotel ready for the 2nd longest (distance) day of the whole journey.

Early Sunday morning meant quiet roads from the start which was helpful. Walking through Latheron and onwards and enjoying the scenery, a rainbow and the first of many bridges.

Nice memorial to First World War soldiers and then a road sign that didn’t seem at all helpful – 30 miles still to go! More stunning scenery and then we got to the strangely named Latheronwheel.

Plodding along at a steady pace we passed through Dunbeath, birthplace of Neil M. Gunn, and a view of a huge White House built on the cliff edge and, of course, another bridge.

Neil Miller Gunn was a prolific novelist, critic and dramatist who emerged as one of the leading lights of the Scottish Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. With over 20 novels to his name, Gunn was arguably the most influential Scottish writer of the first half of the 20th century.

Some more stunning scenery, through Berriedale Braes (a brae is a steep bank or hillside) and into Berriedale itself with views of Berriedale castle before descending a long hill and, consequently, ascending a brutal hill back up out of the valley. Berriedale Castle (meaning rocky ground) was developed from a 14th Century stronghold of Sir Reginald Cheyenne.

We then crossed the border – from Caithness into Sutherland and walked down into Helmsdale for our lunch.

Helmsdale was planned in 1814 to resettle communities that had been removed from the surrounding straths (broad mountain valley) as part of the Highland Clearances.

Finally our destination, Brora, came into view at the end of a long sandy beach – what looked so close was in fact a very long way away! But, as always, we arrived at our end point – the Royal Marine hotel.

55.1km and 64,200 steps later it was very welcome to sit down and have a nice cup of tea and some huge shortbread biscuits. I’m sure we all look as fresh as when we started the day

Total donations received by the end of today stands at £29,425 which is amazing but still a long way to go to reach our target

Today started with breakfast and picking up our packed lunch and we said goodbye to the Seaview Hotel. Just about to start walking and the rain started – so on with the waterproofs. Luckily the rain didn’t last for long but the cold wind persisted so the waterproofs stayed on for a while longer. Eventually the sun put in an appearance which was most welcome.

The road was reasonably quiet – bursts of traffic on the other side which we presumed was traffic from the Orkney ferries. We kept walking, through Freswick and Auckengill with some wonderful scenery to keep us company.

Next up was a ruined castle – Keiss Castle which stands on sheer cliffs overlooking Sinclair’s Bay. The castle was built in the late 16th century by George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness. The large house in the picture is Keiss House, a category B listed baronial mansion that is in private ownership and not open to the public

Continuing on our way, through Reiss and into Wick. Noticeable along the way were the numerous memorials to fallen soldiers. Lunch stop in Wick, in the salubrious surroundings of a Poundstretcher car park and then off again for the second half of the days walking

Past Thrumster and Ulbster, finally the sea was in view again and we could see the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm dominating the horizon

The Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm is in the Moray Firth and 13km off the coast. This is the fourth largest offshore wind farm in the world and cost approx. £2.6bn to build. It has 84 turbines and generates enough power for 450,000 homes.

More scenery, many more fields of sheep, cows and even Llamas (or Aplaca – who knows) and through Mid Clyth, Occumster, passing a very lonely cemetery and finally into Lybster and the Portland Hotel.

Today was a long day – 49.2km and over 56,000 steps but good to get day one under our belt. Being Sunday, breakfast isn’t too early tomorrow, so probably setting off for Brora (approx. 53km) around 0830 in what will be an even longer day.

At time of writing, total donations are at £29,105 – thanks to all who have donated.

Here are some photos from when we arrived in John O’Groats last night.

Today is our final day of rest before starting out tomorrow morning.  Interesting how hotels interpret Covid regulations – we ordered breakfast (ticking items of a list) the night before and it was all set out on our table at 7:30 this morning. Given that we have another 29 hotels to stay in on the walk it will be fun to see what they all do for breakfast.

The day started out with nice sunshine but a very cold wind so we headed off to see a couple of Lighthouses.

This is Duncansby Head Lighthouse – built on the most north easterly point of the British mainland in 1924 by David A Stevenson (of Robert Stevenson decent) – it stands only 11 meters high but is 67 meters above sea level. This is one of 200 Lighthouses located on Scotland’s wild coastline.

Then we headed west to Dunnet Head Lighthouse – built on the most northerly point of the British Mainland in 1831 by Robert Stevenson – it stands 20 meters high but is 105 meters above sea level.

On the way back to John O’Groats we passed by the Castle of Mey. It, and its gardens, were closed so just a couple of long range photos. The castle was built between 1566 and 1572 by George Sinclair the 4th Earl of Caithness. The castle was used as an officers’ rest home during the Second World War and by 1950 only the tower was inhabitable. In 1952 Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother purchased the estate. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall usually stay there at the end of July, otherwise it is open to the public during summer months.

A need for some coffee and cake took us into the metropolis of Wick where we found Wickers World and a large selection of cakes.

Currently our sponsorship total stands at over £28k which is an amazing total. Hopefully more will flood in as we progress south!