Day 87: Temple West (Dumnadrochit) to Inverness (17 miles)

Expecting a longer walk today and heavy rain forecast by 13:00, I set off at 8:45. It felt very satisfying to walk out from the cottage and look across to Urquhart Castle. Apparently, built over old Pict settlement, the castle in its heyday oversaw an extensive fertile wheat growing area around Loch Ness as well as the hunting grounds around Loch Cluanie.

The swallows nesting around Temple House where we were staying, were flying parallel with the path. There were plenty of fledglings chirping in the bushes as I walked by and a dog rose in bloom caught my eye.

I looked back one last time at the loch as I knew the path would be veering away and up into the hills shortly. It plunged into the deep forest and little grew in the understorey, bar moss and wood sorrel. But there seemed to be lots of small birds high up into the trees - I could make out the call of chaffinch and Siskin and probably a range of different tits but they were too hard to distinguish against the sky even if I was lucky to see one!  But then a pair of bullfinch flew across the path before me - always a welcome sight.

Throughout the day, I heard cuckoos calling - much later than I’ve heard them further south for some years. I would have to check their migration patterns. The path continually climbed through the forest until breaking out into a glorious area of moorland where I could look over to the mountains over Loch Ness, and admire the isolated house of Corryfoyness.

Walking through Abriachan Forest I attempted to distinguish the different conifers and got somewhat confused - the Scots Pines however are beautifully distinct and a favourite of mine. It was clear the Forest Trust run by local people were working hard to revert the area to natural Caledonian forest. 

The drove road led to some isolated houses and then the hamlet of Ladycain where it then crossed what for me was another glorious stretch of open moorland covered with ling and bell heather, Scots pines and the sound of skylarks singing. There were views northwards towards Ben Wyvis, until the road dropped slightly to cross a stream, where stonechats flew around me, and here was where the path diverged left. 

I was pleased to arrive here ahead of the rain and stopped for some lunch at a wooden stile at 12:30. This was the half way point and the end of any significant climb. The rain began shortly after so I put my waterproofs on but the heavy rain never materialised - it just remained damp for the rest of the walk.

Continuing on, the path gently climbed across the slopes of An Leacain where the mix of trees and flowers were breathtaking - the heathers, prostate thyme along with yellow broom, juniper and Scot’s pines could have been landscaped…

The path then re-entered forest as it gradually started to lose height, flanked by moss-covered old drystone walls leading to an old “lairage” once used as a lodging by drovers. Shortly after, I glimpsed the waters of Beauly Forth to my left and I realised that I was nearing the end of walking across Scotland, with some regret.

Inevitably a view of Inverness in the distance followed, with views of the extensive former Creag Dunain hospital below. Descending sharply, the path dropped down to new development before reaching a short stretch of the Caledonian Canal. As luck would have it, the road bridge started to swing just as I wanted to cross but it was fun to watch the two boats go through, and I was ahead of schedule. 

I enjoyed the route taken towards the River Ness and across to the Ness Islands. As I emerged onto Ladies Walk along the main river again, Martin called trying to figure out where to park. In the end I walked to the castle where the Great Glen Way gives way to the John O’Groats Trail, and walked back to where Martin was waiting. We agreed that, due to traffic, the best thing tomorrow would be for him to drop me off at the cathedral on the opposite side of the river, and I could walk back to where I needed to resume my walk in the morning.

So now I was on the east side of Scotland with just one Trail left to go - and I really wasn’t sure how I felt about that …