Day 62 - South Laggan to Loch Nessie!
Boy oh boy, am I living a dream!! I know that I'd been looking forward to the GGW and it definitely is not disappointing me : after the Scotch Mist weather of yesterday (and yet I was still smiling and enjoying myself), today heralded blue sky and sunshine so back to t-shirt wearing. Received £30 donations before I'd even left my overnight B&B and stocked up on porridge and yet another full Scottish brekkie I set off initially back along the A82 to pick up the GGW where I'd left it yesterday. The first mile was in a small wood alongside the Caledonian Canal before crossing the road and entering Laggan Forest along the dis-used Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway which was built between 1897 and 1903 and designed to be the first stretch of a Fort William to Inverness line. Unfortunately there was stiff competition between the different Highland railway companies and the 2nd stretch to Inverness was never completed and ultimately meant a death sentance for the line. The route ran along the shoreline of Loch Oich and along the way gave a good view over to the ruins of Invergarry Castle.
At the end of the loch I crossed over at the Bridge of Oich to the opposite bank and ran along another stretch of the Caledonian Canal past Cullochy and Kytra Locks. A whole load of cyclists past me going in the same direction and it wasn't until the last rider passed that I saw the 'end to end' message printed on his back - none of them had any sort of panniers carrying their luggage so I can only assume that they have the luxury of a back-up support team doing all the donkey work for them : clearly not doing it properly as I am! For the first time I was 'advertising' what I was doing whilst running as I had tied my long sleeved top to my backpack (another reason was to dry it out from yesterday!) and think I'll do this from now on.
Loads of hikers were out and also lots of boats on the canal - most of them returned my cheery smile and wave but there were a couple of miserable people who couldn't be bothered to give me the time of day...their loss!
Fort Augustus was amazing - after Neptune's Staircase, this is the biggest set of locks lowering boats from the canal into Loch Ness and I spent well over an hour mesmerised by the whole process. One of the last powerboats (#747 Miss Daisy) was making her way down to Inverness : unfortunately she had suffered the loss of one of her engines so the crew were hoping to get to their destination in time to fit a new engine before the next stage of racing tomorrow. I hadn't realised how long it actually takes to get from one end of the canal to another but the locks are only open during certain hours and with a max speed of 5 knots, it takes a minimum of 14 hours over 2 working days.
After my fundraising missed opportunity yesterday, I didn't want a repeat today so publicised my efforts first to the crew of the powerboat and successfully obtained £25! Message repeated at the other 5 boats 'stuck' in the lock and a further £32 banked...easy money. With another couple of donations en-route I've managed to raise £90 today so well pleased with myself!
After Fort Augustus the route took me round the back of the village and back into the forest where once again I was running on fantastic undulating tracks amongst thick pine trees : again the floor of the wood was covered with moss and ferns with the odd stream cutting through them. Apart from the dull noise of cars travelling along the side of the loch beneath me on the A82, the only sound I could hear was bird song and the creaking of trees. At Invermoriston the trail did several loops to descend down into the valley floor and cross the river where there was what looked like a really ancient stone bridge. The road on the other side of the valley went to Skye and there was a sign outside the newsagents advertising 'last shop for 35 miles'. It was then a very, very steep (did I mention it was steep?) lane that zig zagged up the hill back into the forest. My legs started to feel very sleepy at this point which I guess is hardly surprising! However, despite their dull ache I couldn't resist climbing even further up the hillside to a viewpoint overlooking Loch Ness. Fighter planes had been zooming over the Loch all afternoon (plus a Hercules at one point) and whilst I was up there, 2 more came over but this time they were actually below me which was quite a sight to see.
Another couple of miles and I reached the Loch Ness YH which can't be any closer to the Loch : if it was, I'd be swimming! Didn't have any food with me but several people took pity on me and I've ended up with a great banquet....everyone is taking to their heart this poor little waif and stray and admiring me for my efforts!
By the way, Cancer Research have told me that they are nominating me for a 'fundraiser of the year' award!

Mileage 22.8 Time 4.56