Day 105 Drumnadrochit and the Loch Ness Monster

Our walk today was shorter than it would otherwise have been as the hostel was on the Inverness side of Invermoriston. After breakfast we walked back to join the path, noting as we did so that Alltsigh was where the last she-wolf in the Great Glen was killed. It didn’t say when though.

The path wound steadily, but mostly not too steeply for a couple of miles until we reached the point where the high route joined us. Today’s walk was not as good as yesterday’s. The views at the top weren’t as spectacular and there was more forest walking. There were areas of native woodland which were open and pretty but a lot of the route was in plantation forest.

We passed a sign for a pottery that had a small cafe but we were both still feeling the benefits of our hostel breakfast (only cereal and toast but both Marmite and peanut butter) and passed by. We met a family who were wild camping and would leapfrog them for the rest of the day. We didn’t see Meeta and Peter, nor Tim today. A little further on we were starting to flag when we saw another sign for a shop.

You can imagine our disappointment when we walked up to the shop (it was on a small holiday park) only to find it was shut. There was a bench just outside it though, so we sat there and had our elevenses.

There was quite a bit of road walking sometimes with a separate path for walkers, and sometimes without. We did manage to find quite a few blaeberries though – Matthew’s first of the trip.

Just before descending into Drumnadrochit we detoured off the road. It wasn’t the best of detours, the track became a stony road with loose stones followed by a long boring walk through Lewiston, past the school (it might have been Bank Holiday Monday elsewhere in the UK but not in Scotland), the petrol station and the Co-op. Were we there yet? No. Eventually we arrived at the rather pretty green and made for the Ness Deli where we sat outside and had our lunch.

Drumnadrochit’s – the locals call it Drum- claim to fame (apart from the floral model of Urquhart Castle on the Green) is that it has become the centre of all things Loch Ness monster. There is Nessieland “ a monster adventure on the shores of Loch Ness” as well as the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition which was just by our hotel. You can also take a boat trip with sonar- just in case anything should move in the depths… Of course, Drum isn’t actually on Loch Ness but inland about half a mile inland.

We spent the afternoon-the day was only eleven miles -mostly lying on our beds with feet up in anticipation of tomorrow’s nineteen mile day. However I did take a photo of some impressive river engineering works that were going on (flood defences?)

We had a substantial dinner at the Fiddlers restaurant on the green (whisky sponge with ice cream and butterscotch sauce for those who are concerned about the lack of puddings) as tomorrow we are setting off without breakfast in order to get to Inverness at a reasonable time.