Day 7 Fort Augustus to Kings House (part 1)

A day of real contrasts with the fastest and easiest section of the whole trip at the beginning, and the highest and hardest at the end. And all in decent (but cold) weather.

For the first part I simply followed the Caledonian Canal down the Great Glen. As you can see, it was a perfect still morning.

The route is a mixture of canal towpath, wooded tracks, minor roads and the disused (and never completed) Fort William to Inverness railway line. It only took a couple of hours to whizz the 30 odd miles to Fort William.

Ben Nevis towering above the town.

This is a place I know well, usually arriving bleary-eyed early in the morning after driving all night to come climbing. In the middle of the day with the sun shining it's actually quite nice.

First thing I drop into Nevis cycles for a new inner tube to replace the one that mysteriously keeps going soft even though it's not punctured.

Then it's into Nevis Sport for some lunch and also to get some warm socks and a sleeping bag liner as I have had enough of being cold at night.

I take the very steep little road south out of town for a few miles before joining the West Highland Way.

This section is on an military road, these were laid down by the English generals in the 1700s to enable troops and equipment to be moved around to slaughter the relevant locals. Before that, there were no roads in northern Scotland.

This one is rough and rocky but it takes a sensible line over the first of today's passed. Lairogie Morire meaning simply big pass. The tiny island at the back of this loch was supposedly the home of Macbeth, king of Scotland in 1040 something.

The pass is mostly rideable, but the descent into Kinlochleven is rather disappointing as it is too steep and rocky to enjoy with constantly rock gullies across the path.