Right. So we had driven the The Long High Road to Bunree, then continued north past the town of Fort William and its immediate environs. Now we were approaching the village of Spean Bridge.
The village itself sits at the bottom of a steepish hill, which will not trouble you as a tow jockey so long as a: you select the correct gear and b: you have a car with enough power to pull your caravan safely. Be warned though - the hill can present a problem to camper vans - especially those of a vintage VW nature. If you happen to be behind such a vehicle make sure you give it a head start - it'll need it.
At the bottom of the hill the Spean Bridge Hotel, as well as providing all the usual hotel type services, also contains a small museum dedicated to the Allied Commandos who trained in the area during world war two. At the top of the hill, gazing out across the landscape stands the Commando Memorial.
These three Bronze figures commemorate the men who trained at the Commando Training Depot established at Achnacarry Castle in 1942. The base of the bronze carries the legend "United we Conquer", while the bronze plaque mounted to the plinth explains that the memorial is dedicated to the "Officers and Men" of Commando units who fell in the Second World War, further explaining that "This Country was their Training Ground".
To the side of the monument a small memorial garden has been established. Over the years this has filled with personal tributes to the men who fell in the Second World War, to their commando comrades who survived, but are now leaving the world through old age and illness, and perhaps most poignantly of all, to the men and woman of the armed services who have fallen in more recent conflicts, from the Falklands, to the Gulf and Afghanistan.
Considering that it's on top of a windswept hill and always filled with tourists the memorial is a remarkably tranquil place. Reading the messages in the memorial garden and gazing out over the land where the whole concept of "The Commando" was essentially born is a moving experience and a reminder that wars might well be fought between countries, but they are fought by incredibly well trained, incredibly courageous young people who risk everything, and sometimes lose everything without ever knowing whether their sacrifice achieved the objective.
If you're towing, unless it's very early in the morning or quite late you'll have to view this remarkable landmark as you pass by - when the car park is busy there's no way you're getting a caravan in and out of there. It's well worth a visit if you're spending a couple of days in the area though.
Once you're past the memorial you descend past the entrance to Glen Gloy - where we tend to joke that anyone venturing down there will come to a sticky end, because we're from the eighties* - and then down into the Great Glen proper as the road takes you along the shores of Loch Lochy. Presumably this is the most loch like of all the Scottish lochs, (because it's really Lochy - you see? oh, never mind...) and it is certainly quite an impressive looking stretch of water. There are invariably some boats - all of the lochs in the Great Glen are linked together to form the Caledonian Canal allowing boats to cut all the way across Scotland so there's a lot of through traffic - which if you choose you can stop and watch from a vast lay-by at the southern end.
Good lay-bys aren't all that hard to find in this part of Scotland but some are better than others and this one is exceptional. Large enough to drive into and park up with a caravan, easy to get in and out of , excellent views. Hard to argue with really. If you happen to be going past at an appropriate time of day its a great place to stop, drop the legs and cook a spot of lunch. If you prefer not to cook on the road, then there is usually a burger van there which might well be attractive - I can't give it a recommendation because we've never eaten from it, but the customers we've seen didn't look unhappy.
As the road carries you ever further north east it takes you across the Caledonian Canal at Laggan Bridge and then along the north shore of Loch Oich. About half way along this relatively small loch you have the option to jag sharply left to follow the road to Skye. Just before this, on the left hand side of the road you will find an excellent shop. With a long layby on the right hand side of the road offering easy parking even when you're towing it's a fabulous place to stop and pick up any last minute groceries you might have forgotten. We've used this helpful little retail lifeline on a couple of trips and I really can't think of much you might need that they don't sell.
Then it's onwards, re-crossing the Caledonian Canal at the Bridge of Oich at the end of the aforementioned loch and into Fort Augustus.
Marking the south west tip of Loch Ness this little town was originally called "Cill Chuimein", and indeed still is called that in Gaelic. It is believed that the settlement was named for Saint Cummein who came from Iona and established a church in the area. Until the early eighteenth century the Anglicised name for the place was "Kiliwhimin", but after the Jacobite risings in 1715 General Wade - who did so much in Scotland he gets a mention in the verse of the British National Anthem that even sticklers no longer sing** - ordered the construction of a fort named after the Duke of Cumberland.
Wade caused the settlement to be enlarged, and changed it's name - at least in English, I can't imagine the locals paid all that much attention - to "Wadesburgh". I'm guessing that getting a mention in your nation's national anthem ensures that the only self esteem issue you're going to have is a surplus... As with Fort William at the far south west of the Great Glen however, the settlement ended up being known by the name of the fort, and Wade's exercise in egotism didn't stick.
Fort Augustus remains a place that we've only ever driven through, so I can't really tell you very much about it. Judging by the crowds to be seen there in the summer it seems like a popular spot - and I can certainly confirm it's an attractive place. You can also catch a cruise boat and sail along Loch Ness from here if you fancy a little monster spotting.
The road then sweeps you along the northern shore of Loch Ness, which is clearly the star of the Great Glen. Stretching twenty three miles to the north east this colossal inland waterway contains more fresh water than very other lake in England and Scotland put together. That's a lot of water. By surface area Loch Lomand is actually bigger, but Loch Ness is very, very deep - seven hundred and fifty five feet at its lowest point - it has massive holding capacity.
There are many, many lay-bys on along the road, as it climbs ever higher above the water many of these offer spectacular views. Many others however are screened by trees so that you can't see much except branches, so choose with care. Find the right place though, and this too is an excellent place to stop for lunch - although here you really will need to make your own because I've never seen a burger van anywhere along here.
A little more than half way up the loch stands the picturesque ruin of Urquhart Castle. This is notable for two reasons. This is the place where the vast majority of "Nessie" sightings are made. Not to be unromantic, but all of these sightings are mistaken. Sorry, but there is no large creature in Loch Ness. The water is murky and cold and doesn't contain all that much food - certainly not enough to sustain a colony (because unless Nessie is immortal there must be a reasonably sized population). Also, although it's big, it's not that big. If there was a population of large creatures somehow surviving in a Lock without much food, we would most definitely know about it.
The castle is also notable for the congestion that it causes. I'm sure the castle's thirteenth century founders didn't mean to build the place on a blind bend at the top of a steep hill, but that's what they did. Northbound vehicles turning right into the castle's woefully inadequate car park may occasionally just stop dead, so if you're towing a caravan with all the added inertia that implies you definitely need to keep your distance.
If you're towing, as we were, Urquhart castle is not for you. The turn into the car park is tight, and the car park itself is very narrow. You might get your outfit in but I really don't fancy your chances of getting out again.
So, as tow jockeys we continue on, down the steeply twisting hill and into the village of Drumnadrochit, a sweet little place which these days seems to owe its entire existence to the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. Which means that this blog post is unlikely to appear in their tourist information centre. The village sits in a sharp bend on the road, dominated by the Drumnadrochit Hotel and Nessie Exhibition. Again, we've only ever driven through the place, but the reviews I've read suggest that it's worth a visit if you're in the area.
And then, onwards. Along the remainder of the loch side before hitting the bright lights of Inverness, which will form the start of the final (I promise) leg of our journey along the High Road North...
*Anyone from the UK over forty will probably remember using Gloy in craft projects when they were kids. Everyone else might need to google it...
**Which, if you're interested, goes like this:
Lord, grant that Marshal Wade
May, by thy mighty aid,
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush
And, like a torrent, rush
Rebellious Scots to crush.
God save the King.
As Billy Connolly once memorably said in response - "Oooh, d'ya bloody think so?"
Once you're past the memorial you descend past the entrance to Glen Gloy - where we tend to joke that anyone venturing down there will come to a sticky end, because we're from the eighties* - and then down into the Great Glen proper as the road takes you along the shores of Loch Lochy. Presumably this is the most loch like of all the Scottish lochs, (because it's really Lochy - you see? oh, never mind...) and it is certainly quite an impressive looking stretch of water. There are invariably some boats - all of the lochs in the Great Glen are linked together to form the Caledonian Canal allowing boats to cut all the way across Scotland so there's a lot of through traffic - which if you choose you can stop and watch from a vast lay-by at the southern end.
Good lay-bys aren't all that hard to find in this part of Scotland but some are better than others and this one is exceptional. Large enough to drive into and park up with a caravan, easy to get in and out of , excellent views. Hard to argue with really. If you happen to be going past at an appropriate time of day its a great place to stop, drop the legs and cook a spot of lunch. If you prefer not to cook on the road, then there is usually a burger van there which might well be attractive - I can't give it a recommendation because we've never eaten from it, but the customers we've seen didn't look unhappy.
As the road carries you ever further north east it takes you across the Caledonian Canal at Laggan Bridge and then along the north shore of Loch Oich. About half way along this relatively small loch you have the option to jag sharply left to follow the road to Skye. Just before this, on the left hand side of the road you will find an excellent shop. With a long layby on the right hand side of the road offering easy parking even when you're towing it's a fabulous place to stop and pick up any last minute groceries you might have forgotten. We've used this helpful little retail lifeline on a couple of trips and I really can't think of much you might need that they don't sell.
Then it's onwards, re-crossing the Caledonian Canal at the Bridge of Oich at the end of the aforementioned loch and into Fort Augustus.
Marking the south west tip of Loch Ness this little town was originally called "Cill Chuimein", and indeed still is called that in Gaelic. It is believed that the settlement was named for Saint Cummein who came from Iona and established a church in the area. Until the early eighteenth century the Anglicised name for the place was "Kiliwhimin", but after the Jacobite risings in 1715 General Wade - who did so much in Scotland he gets a mention in the verse of the British National Anthem that even sticklers no longer sing** - ordered the construction of a fort named after the Duke of Cumberland.
Wade caused the settlement to be enlarged, and changed it's name - at least in English, I can't imagine the locals paid all that much attention - to "Wadesburgh". I'm guessing that getting a mention in your nation's national anthem ensures that the only self esteem issue you're going to have is a surplus... As with Fort William at the far south west of the Great Glen however, the settlement ended up being known by the name of the fort, and Wade's exercise in egotism didn't stick.
Fort Augustus remains a place that we've only ever driven through, so I can't really tell you very much about it. Judging by the crowds to be seen there in the summer it seems like a popular spot - and I can certainly confirm it's an attractive place. You can also catch a cruise boat and sail along Loch Ness from here if you fancy a little monster spotting.
The road then sweeps you along the northern shore of Loch Ness, which is clearly the star of the Great Glen. Stretching twenty three miles to the north east this colossal inland waterway contains more fresh water than very other lake in England and Scotland put together. That's a lot of water. By surface area Loch Lomand is actually bigger, but Loch Ness is very, very deep - seven hundred and fifty five feet at its lowest point - it has massive holding capacity.
There are many, many lay-bys on along the road, as it climbs ever higher above the water many of these offer spectacular views. Many others however are screened by trees so that you can't see much except branches, so choose with care. Find the right place though, and this too is an excellent place to stop for lunch - although here you really will need to make your own because I've never seen a burger van anywhere along here.
A little more than half way up the loch stands the picturesque ruin of Urquhart Castle. This is notable for two reasons. This is the place where the vast majority of "Nessie" sightings are made. Not to be unromantic, but all of these sightings are mistaken. Sorry, but there is no large creature in Loch Ness. The water is murky and cold and doesn't contain all that much food - certainly not enough to sustain a colony (because unless Nessie is immortal there must be a reasonably sized population). Also, although it's big, it's not that big. If there was a population of large creatures somehow surviving in a Lock without much food, we would most definitely know about it.
The castle is also notable for the congestion that it causes. I'm sure the castle's thirteenth century founders didn't mean to build the place on a blind bend at the top of a steep hill, but that's what they did. Northbound vehicles turning right into the castle's woefully inadequate car park may occasionally just stop dead, so if you're towing a caravan with all the added inertia that implies you definitely need to keep your distance.
If you're towing, as we were, Urquhart castle is not for you. The turn into the car park is tight, and the car park itself is very narrow. You might get your outfit in but I really don't fancy your chances of getting out again.
So, as tow jockeys we continue on, down the steeply twisting hill and into the village of Drumnadrochit, a sweet little place which these days seems to owe its entire existence to the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. Which means that this blog post is unlikely to appear in their tourist information centre. The village sits in a sharp bend on the road, dominated by the Drumnadrochit Hotel and Nessie Exhibition. Again, we've only ever driven through the place, but the reviews I've read suggest that it's worth a visit if you're in the area.
And then, onwards. Along the remainder of the loch side before hitting the bright lights of Inverness, which will form the start of the final (I promise) leg of our journey along the High Road North...
*Anyone from the UK over forty will probably remember using Gloy in craft projects when they were kids. Everyone else might need to google it...
**Which, if you're interested, goes like this:
Lord, grant that Marshal Wade
May, by thy mighty aid,
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush
And, like a torrent, rush
Rebellious Scots to crush.
God save the King.
As Billy Connolly once memorably said in response - "Oooh, d'ya bloody think so?"
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