A real sense of wild Ness
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The huge mass of cloud that sits stubbornly below me is covering something special. Up here in the open sun, surrounding by blue sky and mountains and feeling surprisingly hot for the time of year, it’s hard to believe the frost may still be lingering down there.
Under that soft, cushion-like foam is Loch Ness, and I’m starting to think the serious effort to climb up to this new high route through the Great Glen was really worth it.
Having already enjoyed the new section of the high-level Great Glen Way between Grotaig and Invermoriston in Active Outdoors, I decided to see what the south stretch held in store.
Offering an alternative route much of the way between Invermoriston and Fort Augustus, there’s scope here for a circular route of around 12 miles, so that’s what I decided to do on the mountain bike. In hindsight, there are some long hilly stretches that are literally unrideable, so it would maybe have made a better walk or (slow) trail run.
But once I was up there I didn’t care that I couldn’t ride all the way; I just enjoyed the bits I could and enjoyed the bits I had to get off and push. The riding required some serious concentration, even when I could get moving. I was up here on my own and there was a chance nobody else would come this way today, so I knew I couldn’t afford to come a cropper.
The new path isn’t designed for biking but it does make a huge improvement on the walking route between Fort William and Inverness. In fact, anybody who has done that route should definitely come back and do it again – these new high-level paths have transformed the route into what it should be, with unbelievable views over Loch Ness and to the Monadhliath hills beyond.
Leaving the car park at Invermoriston it was cold and misty but, looking at the Forestry Commission’s maps of the new route, I knew I would be heading uphill for some time, so I was going to warm up quickly. Crossing the river by the road bridge on the A82 I turned right towards Dalcataig and rode through the cold air past a series of holiday houses and other homes.
The Great Glen Way goes left at the start of a cleared area of forest a couple of kilometres down the road, marked by one of the familiar blue posts. This little path cuts steeply up the hill but I managed to cycle all the way up before following the route left as it runs parallel to a forest track that used to make up the official way.
After this nice little run through the trees, a short washed-out section climbs to a new temporary information panel. This is the split between the “old” route and the new high-level route. There’s not much to choose from in terms of distance – the main route is 6.1 miles to Fort Augustus and the high route is 6.9 miles – but in terms of scenery there’s only one choice.
The panel recommends the high route for walkers and the lower route for cyclists and horses, which is absolutely accurate but I knew what I was letting myself in for, so I got off the bike and started the long push up the high route. This was seriously hard work and I think that even without the bike I would have been stopping every so often to catch my breath. Pushing the mountain bike up this steep hillside below Sron na Muic was another challenge but the views looking back got better as I quickly got higher.
Soon I was unexpectedly in the warm sunshine and looking down on the cloud-covered loch.
Eventually the gradient eased in patches and I was able to ride a couple of corners before getting off for another short push, passing through thick trees then emerging to a spectacular sight of Loch Ness – or rather the white cloud above it – stretching southwards down the Great Glen.
There’s a wonderful part of this new path that drops a little to cross the Allt a’ Mhuilinn then pass round the front of Carn an Doire Mhoir, where you feel completely remote from the busy road at the base of the glen and you can see for miles across to the south side of Loch Ness.
This is truly what people who come to the Highlands to walk the Great Glen Way want to see, and I was seeing it on a day like no other. The air was still, the sun warm and, being this time of year, there were no midges to worry about!
It was also good riding for a couple of miles here but my concentration still had to be spot on as nasty dips and cross drains that help maintain the path up here in the wilds are not ideal for novice mountain bikers like me. I was having a great time, regardless, and soon was having more fun on the descent alongside the rippling Allt na Criche, which twists and turns tightly to eventually meet a forest track.
The route goes right here to cross the burn then immediately left again onto a path that is also used as a marked walk from the Allt na Criche car park just outside Fort Augustus. The Great Glen Way high route follows this for a short distance then cuts right along an old forestry track as the walk continues alongside the burn.
Reaching the track junction at the bottom I was now back on the original Great Glen Way, and turned left to return to Invermoriston on the route recommended for cyclists, which passes through the car park before following a forestry track all the way back to the split below Sron na Muic.
By now the cloud had started to break up and there was just a thin line of white hovering above the pristine water of Loch Ness. From the occasional clearing in the trees I had a fabulous view out over the water but, if you’re travelling on foot, I would recommend the high route any day of the week for its fabulous sense of wildness and the open spaces that it offers.
