These last two autumn holidays, I've spent a chunk of my time cycling the Great Glen. You can read about my solo trip last year HERE. This year I was joined by my friend, Graham. As well as going back for great cycling, I also wanted to experience again the enjoyable, and fantastically cheap, camping opportunities along the route.
This year we paid ten pounds to rent a key from Scottish Canals when we started our route at Corpach near Fort William. This allowed us to access the toilet and shower blocks along the Caledonian Canal which runs through the Great Glen, and therefore to use some of the informal canal-side camping. These were wonderful places to pitch and spend a night.
Our first night, and last night on the way back, was spent at Gairlochy. There's an idyllic patch of grass right on the canal-side which overlooks the basin here. It's a wide open space with a backdrop of Aonach Mor and Ben Nevis and a foreground of incoming geese and fluttering bats. The toilet and shower block is on the opposite side of the canal so it was a wee bit unnerving after dark walking across the top of the lock here with the inky black water below every time nature called. Next morning the waters were not black but the peach of the rising sun.
Last year I used another idyllic spot a little further on from Gairlochy on the banks of Loch Oich at the old ruin at Leitirfearn. It's a quiet spot, only accessible from the cycle path along the old railway line here. But Graham and I pressed further on from Leitirfearn and used a wild camp spot in the woods above Foyers. A pretty spot by the river, it's most appealing feature was the short run down to the cafe in Foyers in the morning for coffee and hot rolls. It's also close to the lovely woodland walks around the waterfalls here, the Falls of Foyers.
Our next cheap canal-side camp spot was a little bit quirky at Seaport Marina in Inverness. I say quirky because the informal camping was on a strip of grass behind the security fence overlooking the boats in the marina. It was noisy with city traffic but the showers were great and hundreds of geese came in at dusk.
Cycling south from Inverness, we used the route of the Great Glen Way. At one point you are deep in the woods when suddenly hand-painted signs start to appear beside the trail advertising coffee and lemon cake. Then a side trail welcomes you into the Abriachan eco-cafe and camp site. We didn't camp as it was only early morning and we'd many miles ahead but we did sample the coffee and Graham had a huge slice of cake.
Our only miserable camp spot of the trip was just south of Invermoriston. Late in the afternoon, we had lingered over coffee in the cafe there as heavy rain began to fall. We eventually forced ourselves on southward along forest trails above Loch Ness. But the rain didn't cease as the afternoon moved into evening and we struggled to find a nice camp spot. In the end a patch of grass by the side of the track had to do. It's funny how wet and miserable you can feel after a few hours in the rain but that feeling is banished quickly by getting the tent up, unravelling a cosy sleeping bag, changing into dry clothes and getting a cup of tea going on the stove.
South of Invermoriston, we headed again to a night at Gairlochy, our favourite spot of the trip, before an early morning cycle to Fort William for our train home.
Fact File
Start/finish: Fort William
Public transport: Train from Glasgow to Fort William
My route: We followed the Caledonia Way cycle route north out of Fort William which uses the canal for much of the way to Fort Augustus. At Inverfarigaig we left the cycle route and cycled instead through the Pass of Inverfarigaig which took us up into high ground with quiet back roads and a cracking tailwind. We dropped down onto the route again just beyond Dores and followed it into Inverness. We rejoined the canal to head to Seaport Marina then next morning double-backed a little to pick up the Great Glen Way south. We followed it back to Fort Augustus to repeat the cycle route into Fort William, alhtough we did detour for a few days up in Glen Strathfarrar, Cannich and Tomich which can be dome easily from Abriachan by following some lovely quiet back roads.
Info: The key from Scottish Canals to use the toilet facilities along the Caledonian Canal can be picked up at either end, at the Scottish Canals offices in Corpach or Seaport Marina.