The weather has turned from our early bright, sunny days to cold and damp (and at times wet). We left Edinburgh in a chilly mist, deciding that cutting off 2 hours of tomorrow’s cruise would be worth it. The mist did stop, and the trusty captains motored on. Rachel spent half an hour at the tiller, then popped down below for some knitting – and I brought hot tea up to John.

We made it as far as Ratho, and moored just beyond the bridge leading to the Bridge Inn. Ann made us a yummy dinner of fish, potatoes and Brussels sprouts, which we enjoyed on their boat. As tired as we were, we ventured over to the inn for some libations and sticky toffee pudding. It’s not unusual to see dogs in dining establishments, and this was no exception. Cookie’s owner offered to move him from his couch, but we found an empty table nearby.

Sunday morning was dry, but cold. Our trek the previous evening meant we could have a leisurely morning. John made eggs, bacon and toast and after a second cup of tea we set off for Linlithgow. Along the way we pulled off at our previous Broxburn mooring spot to fill the water tanks. There are water points all along the canal, and we top off every couple of days. When we left Linlithgow a few days ago, we spotted a very nice mooring spot just outside of town. That was our aim for today, and we were happy to see it empty when we arrived. There are designated visitor moorings along the canal, and you can also drive stakes into the canal bank in other places and tie up for the night. When doing this, you often need to put a plank out from the boat to bank, and that can be a bit precarious. This canal is quite weedy along the banks, so those spots are pretty limited. The canal is not very busy now, but some of the visitor mooring have been taken, so it’s a bonus when we can find an easy mooring. We had a pair of ducks that immediately came aboard. It looks like they have learned that boats and people mean food – but they had to settle for a photo shoot from us.

Linlithgow is a small town with a lot going on. Everything is an easy walk from the canal. We had some time to relax before heading in for dinner at the Four Mary’s pub. Dinner was delicious, with huge servings. My roast beef dinner came with potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, and carrots. We wanted something with a real pub feel, and this came close. The interior walls were stone, with pictures on the walls about the palace and Mary Queen of Scotts (she was born in the castle down the street), and folks with dogs playing games in the bar area. The Four Mary’s Were the Queen’s ladies in waiting.

Another good sleep on the boat and we woke to bright sun and loud bird songs. Walking into town I turned the Merlin sound ID app on and caught these birds in the course of a few minutes. 

Our morning excursion was to Linlithgow Palace. The palace was built in the 1400’s rebuilt in the 1600’s and then destroyed by fire in the 1700’s, leaving it in the present condition. On approach, we could see that it was just the shell of the palace, but once inside we found a maze of passages and stairways. It was so much fun to have free roam of the place! This is our 3rd castle/palace of the trip and we all agreed that it was the best. No crowds, and so much to see. We made it all the way to the top of the tower for a spectacular view of the neighboring loch and the town. We finished off the visit with a 2+ mile walk around the loch. It was a beautiful day to be outside.

After lunch we set off to find our next mooring spot. We need to be at the Falkirk Wheel top locks at 10am tomorrow, so we want to be close enough so we don’t have to rush in the morning.

As we approached the Avon Aqueduct – the longest and tallest aqueduct in Scotland – Ann and I jumped off the boats to take some photos of the view and get a different perspective of the boats driving past. Then we hopped back on at the end of the aqueduct.

Shortly after going through the Falkirk Tunnel, we pulled into a visitor mooring spot. This was a different kind of mooring for us. Instead of tying up along the canal, this is a small basin with a set of docks. We pulled in and tied up fine – we’ll see how the backing out in the morning goes! We took a short walk through the woods to fing the Battle of Falkirk monument.

Then it was taco night on our boat. We were able to squeeze everyone around our table for a good dinner and a toast of Irn Bru! 

Tomorrow will be a busy day with locks, the Wheel, and moveable bridges. Stay tuned!

On towards Glasgow!

We had a more leisurely morning, not leaving for our walk until 9:30. We walked along the canal and then up a wee hill to catch some more views. This time we could look up the length of Loch Ness and see those great hills we climbed yesterday. Heading down the hill, we passed through some farm fields encountering a handsome Highland cow. He posed nicely for us, but we kept our distance.

The hills are covered in yellow flowers. Most seems to be gorse, but there is also broom. It takes a close look to tell the difference. The broom tends to be a brighter yellow, with softer greens – the gorse is more prickly. And the gorse smells like coconut when you’re surrounded by it.

Jo and I collected loose wool that the sheep had left behind, thinking we’ll do something with it when we get home – I have some ideas.

We came out of the pasture alongside another lock and had fun watching tourists poorly maneuver their boats. These locks are very big, allowing 4 boats to pass together. Cam gave us a little history lesson about the abandoned machinery at the lock (boat stopping methods of the early days), and then we continued our walk along the canal tow path. 

At noon, we came to the Fingal docked at the locks above Loch Oich and we hopped on board for lunch. Darren had quite the spread set out for us – platters of sandwiches (at least 4 kinds), sausage rolls, charcuterie board, and salad.

Once we were sufficiently stuffed, we set off on foot again and the Fingal set off for the night’s docking at Lagan Locks. The afternoon walk was a flat walk (phew!) along the canal and on and old railroad path along the length of Loch Oich. More sheep, a game of Poo sticks on a suspension bridge, great scenery, a bit of railway trying to be revived, a glimpse of Fingal as she passed us, and another afternoon filled with laughs brought us home for the evening. It was very hot today, so I opted for a cold drink instead of tea on our return, and some fresh shortbread cookies.

Parked across the canal from us is the Eagle, a floating bar. We couldn’t pass up the chance to visit that, so we headed over and sat on the deck with drinks and more great conversations. 

Time for another delicious dinner from our chef. Tonight was Scottish venison stew with vegetables and banoffee pie for dessert served in individual glasses. What is banoffee pie? Besides being delicious, it is a British dessert made with a crumb crust, topped with bananas, dulce de leche, whipped cream and chocolate pieces.

After our nightly map session, most of us turn in fairly early. We’ve made it through 5 days of walking with 2 more to go. It looks like we’ll make it to the west coast!

Bagels and Lox for breakfast, along with the usual cereals, porridge and fruit, while we cruised back up the loch to rejoin our path. There is always the option to stay on the boat, but we all want to be able to say we walked across Scotland. 😁

Today was the hardest day of walking for us. We had two hills to climb, each with a low route or high route option. Obviously, the low route would be the easier route, but the high route has much better views. The entire group opted for the high route in the morning and we definitely enjoyed the views. Just as we began our descent, we came upon the “Viewcatcher”. This structure is made from local wood and stone and was a good place for a rest stop and lots of photos.

We continued our descent into the small village of Invermoriston. We popped into a small cafe for some tea and coffee (and to use the facilities), and visited the Clog & Craft Shop, with lots of nice leather products. Our lunch stop was a local park in the village, where we devoured our yummy lunches from Darren.

Now the decision had to be made as to who was hiking the high and low routes. A few local folks we met all said the high route is the one to do, but a few walkers felt it would be too much. Cam armed them with a map and we split into two groups. Yes, the high route was high and hard! It was quite steep and every time we thought we were at the top, another rise would appear. We took our time and took many short rests for water and view appreciation. The views were spectacular! We were pretty sure Nessie was following us along our walk – there was a long line of ripples in the water that moved along as we did. One of the walkers was pretty sure he saw her tail just before it went under the water!

As long as the route was up, it was long going down as well. My legs were getting shaky and achy, but there was no choice but to keep going. Two of us ended up ahead of the group and helped keep each other going. We did pass through some beautiful forests and mossy areas, and the changing scenery made for a pleasant walk. Once we starting hearing cars, we knew we were near the finish line – for today.

As always, fresh baked sweets and hot beverages were waiting for us on the barge. Today was gingerbread and shortbread cookies.

Dinner was a delicious fish pie – salmon, cod and smoked haddock in a cream sauce, topped with piped mashed potatoes – almost too pretty to cut into, but we did! We also had minty peas, and leeks. Dessert was croissant bread and butter pudding with whiskey custard!

Fingal had moved to the other side of the locks in Fort Augustus, and we spent another night in this little village. There are a few pubs and shops here, but we really have no reason to leave the boat.

We had a lovely breakfast cruise back to the point where we ended our walk yesterday. We had the usual porridge and cereals, then tatty scones (potato flatbreads) and sausages. Our chef is incorporating local foods into the menu, which is very nice. We arrived at our launch point and donned buoyancy aids for the short trip to shore. Rules are that we wear these any time we get into a boat smaller than Fingal, which means we can sit up on the deck unencumbered.

Two trips in the tender and we were off for another day of walking. We took a few minutes to stop in the local village, pop into a shop or two, and even an ice cream cone was purchased.

The village of Drumnadrochit

Then we set off to join the Great Glen Way, heading up and up. Along the way we passed a farm with cows, horses and pigs. As we were admiring the pigs, the farmer came out and chatted with us. She was very friendly, as all of the people we have met have been. She did warn us about the wild boar – they have babies now and will attack! Luckily, we did not encounter any.

Our lunch stop today was at a little pottery shop/cafe. They have tables set out in the yard and we enjoyed a leisurely lunch in the sun. Even with the amount of lunch Darren packs for us (egg salad sandwich, frittata, cookies, juice, chips), we still found room for cakes and hot drinks. John and I had ginger cake and shortbread, and also snuck in a taste of the pineapple whiskey fruit cake – all delicious! And the pottery was lovely – 2 new tea mugs are coming home with us. Two potters were busy at their wheels – one of them was practicing for her appearance on the British Pottery Showdown, so look for Emily from Loch Ness.

We were more than halfway through our daily walk, but still had some elevation to gain. We were rewarded with some fantastic views of Loch Ness!

Once again, we had to head back down to the Loch to meet our boat. The wind was cooperating, so Steve was able to pick us up on the shore and deliver us back to Fingal. Our afternoon treat today was delicious lemon cake and shortbread cookies. No one loses weight on this trip!

Tonight’s docking spot is in Fort Augustus, about an hour and a half cruise from our pickup point. I went up to visit the wheelhouse, and Chris let me drive for a bit. I’d say it was easy, but I had the wide open loch around me. Seeing Chris pull up to the dock is where the real skill comes in.

Dinner tonight was chicken stuffed with haggis and wrapped in bacon with a whiskey sauce. I was going to be the only one to opt for the second choice dish, but Darren said he would stuff mine with vegetarian haggis. I’m just not that daring! Mine was delicious, and everyone else said the same thing about theirs. Dessert was individual vanilla pana cotta with fruit compote.

Tomorrow is bound to be our toughest day on the walk. We have two hills to climb, each offering a low route and a high route. As much as I dread it, I plan on doing both high routes to see the best views. Check back later for tomorrow’s report!

Our day starts with breakfast at 8, although tea and coffee are set out for us at 7:15 (the engine is off from 10pm to 7am, so no electrics other than necessities during that time). Cereals and fruit are set out, bowls of yummy porridge come around, and then the bacon, eggs and toast come out. Did I say we were being spoiled?

We have about half an hour to get ourselves ready for the walk, grab our packed lunch and snacks and meet up to begin the day’s walk.

Since we start and end each day on the canal, we hike up to meet the Great Glen Way and then drop back down at the end of the day. Today’s walk took us through such varied and beautiful landscapes – meadows, forests, past sheep pastures, and moss-covered forests. It was magical walking through these areas. The day started out chilly and we walked through a few rain showers (even a little sleet at one point). We donned our rain gear and carried on. The sun did poke through a few times, which was very welcomed. Just past the halfway point, we stopped at a campground to have our lunch – getting rained on a bit more, making the stop shorter than it might otherwise have been. Luckily, none of the rain was enough to soak us, and we were able to dry out between sprinkles.

Views along the way…

We came upon a croft with lots to offer. They keep a food cabinet stocked with goodies and an honesty box, offer drinking water, and have a small camping area. Some hikers along the Great Glen will camp, others will stay at hostels and B&B’s, and then there’s us on the boat.

And we finally got our first view of Loch Ness. I wish the photos could capture the true beauty of all we saw.

14.6 miles and 1,650’ of elevation gain later, we had dropped down to the Loch Ness Lifesaving Station. Our boat was just off shore, and our bosun, Steve, collected us in the small tender.

Once back on board, we set off for our night’s mooring spot across the loch. Our path took us past the ruins of Urquhart Castle. It was nice to have a little cruise along the loch before dinner. Darren did not fail us, setting out tea and coffee and cookies fresh out of the oven for our afternoon snack.

Dinner was a delicious feast of Scottish cod and plenty of vegetables, followed by an apple rhubarb crumble with custard sauce. Once the table is cleared after dinner, the big map comes out for a review of the day and a glimpse of tomorrow’s walk.

While long, today’s hike was not as bad as I had expected. The uphill sections were gradual, and having company along the way made the time go by nicely. We were out for just under 7 hours, and the groupings of walkers was constantly changing. My fear going into this was that I would be the slowest in the group, but that wasn’t the case today. It’s a pretty well matched group and no one is trying to break any records.😁