Great Glen Way 2008
79 miles
click on the picture to enlarge
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Setting off from Fort William
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Loch Eil
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Which way?
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Nap time at Eagle Barge
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Lunch time, Loch Ness
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Loch Ness Monster?
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Come on, let's play
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Are you going to share?
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Drumnadrochit
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Meeting Toby with sore feet
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Abrciachan Forest 18 miles today
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Inverness Castle
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Wednesday 14th May
Last night Big Guy set up the big tent at Fort Augustus,
I think this is going to be our base for the next 5 days. Because
City Link buses wouldn't let me on their buses (no dogs unless in
pet carrier) Boss Woman had to drive me and Big Guy down to Fort William,
then she drove back to Fort Augustus to leave the car at the campsite
then catch the bus back to Fort William so we could start the walk.
So .... off we go.
It is really warm and sunny and there is a lot of water for me to
go paddling and have a drink, in fact everywhere I look there are
huge lochs full of water. When we stopped for a snack, a big Retriever
came over for some of my biscuits but Boss Woman sent it packing.
Further on I met Dino the Boxer x Labrador and we played chasing round
and round really fast. We walked 17 miles to Clunes, passing Gairlochy,
then we stopped to camp in a Forest at the side of Loch Lochy and
have our tea. There are a lot of signs that say no camping but Big
Guy and Boss Woman just ignored them ! Just hope they don't get arrested.
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Thursday 15th May
I was a bit cold last night, so I was glad that Boss Woman had taken
my bed coat. It was so peaceful where we camped at the side of Loch
Lochy, but this morning there was a lot of midges that kept biting
us. I could smell something I didn't like in the bushes so I barked
at it to let it know I wasn't scared ~ Boss Woman said it was probably
a Pine Marten or something. Boss Woman washed her face in the loch
~ she was very brave because the water was absolutely freezing ! We
did another long walk today ~ 19 miles to Fort Augustus. We stopped
at Eagle barge on the Caledonian Canal at Laggan Locks and had a drink.
I had water and Big Guy had a beer. I think he was really thirsty
because he drank it all at once. We met Paul and Steph from Canada.
I think Steph likes me, she keeps smiling at me and stroking me and
said I was a lovely little dog. She sponsored me £10 for doing the
walk. ~ Thanks Steph. We also met someone from Hawaii who told Boss
Woman all about her dog that had died at the age of 12. I think she
liked me very much because she made a real fuss of me as well.
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Friday 16th May
Big Guy aches a bit this morning luckily we are only walking 13 miles
today, from Aultsigh to Fort Augustus and they are not carrying their
big heavy rucsacks. I met Toby the Labrador today, he is doing the
whole walk with his Boss Man. He is in a bad way, poor Toby. He has
a very sore foot and is limping badly and walking really slowly. Boss
Woman put him some Tea Tree Ointment on (she carries it everywhere)
to help make his foot better. We saw Paul and Steph again and Big
Guy got them all a cup of tea from the shop at Invermoriston. Poor
Steph had huge blisters on her feet. We met loads of other people
that we meet every day walking the Great Glen Way as well. Everyone
makes a fuss of me. We walked at the side of Loch Ness but I never
saw the Monster. Boss Woman said she had been walking with the Monster
all the way ~ I hope she doesn't mean me ! The walk was lovely, through
some nice Forest. For some strange reason, I haven't seen one single
rabbit on this walk. Almost at the end, near Fort Augustus, Big Guy
heard a lot of growling and snarling so he put me back on the lead.
When we got round the corner, there was a slack jawed, gormless fool
(Boss Woman called him that) there with his 2 Rottweillers who were
fighting with each other. When they saw us, the 2 Rottweillers jumped
straight on the top of me and one called Finlay nipped me on my back.
I turned and bit him back and growled really mad at him but they both
still kept jumping on me so Big Guy picked me up and Boss Woman hit
one of them with her stick. They were really big and nasty dogs and
their gormless moron Boss Man tried to pull them off but they weren't
obedient at all and ignored him. I think that Big Guy and Boss Woman
would have gone mad with the guy but they were worried in case he
set his dogs on us so we just got out of there as quick as we could.
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Saturday 17th May
A really long walk today ~ 18.25 miles from Drumnadrochit to Inverness.
We walked through Abriachan Forest and there was also a lot of walking
on the road and we even walked on an old Drovers road that had been
walked on a long time ago by Bonnie Prince Charlie ~ Cool !!! I had
a sniffy sniffy with a farm dog but he didn't want to play, even though
I asked him to. I had a pee on his grass just to remind him that I
had been there. We all were really tired, hungry and dirty when we
got to Inverness. We didn't like Inverness at all, it has a lot of
nasty people there. On the way down there was a strange man in a leather
jacket and a rucsack sat at the side of the path ~ he looked dead
dodgy. When we got to the park, there was a group of 6 men all drinking
beer who were following us and saying nasty things to us, they even
took someone's guitar off him that he had been playing. At the bus
station we saw Paul and Steph again. There was another nasty man came
up to us and asked if he could 'borrow' Big Guys mobile phone if he
gave him 20p for the call. Big Guy got quite mad and told him to clear
off. I think if Big Guy wasn't so tired he would have sorted the nasty
man out. I was glad when I got to go in my comfy warm bed back at
the tent.
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Sunday 18th
May
8 miles walking today from Drumnadrochit to Aultsigh and this is the
last day. On all the days of our walk, it has been really hot and
sunny. We walked through some more interesting Forest and still at
the side of Loch Ness. I kept looking for the Loch Ness Monster but
I never saw it. Boss Woman said that it usually comes out just before
the Tourist Season ~ that way loads more poeple come for their holidays
on the off chance of seeing it. I didn't fancy going for a swim in
the Loch. Not only was the water very deep and cold but I didn't like
the idea of the Monster being in there, just in case it did exist
and it got me !! We met a guy from Belgium who was wearing a kilt.
He needed some water so Big Guy gave him some of ours. On the drive
back home, we called at the Fish Shop for some Fish and Chips. We
were all starving and I got a whole fish to myself.
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TOTAL RAISED £157
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