Departing for the Great Glen Way

We are off to the airport today and will arrive in Scotland tomorrow so I thought I would give you a bit of reading to get you in the swing of following along with us. As you know, I get a wee bit wordy in my blogging, so skim through as your heart desires. 

If you love a loch (lake), the Great Glen Way is for you, with Loch Lochy, Loch Linnhe, Loch Oich and Loch Ness lapping alongside as you hike the 118km trail between Fort William in the west to Inverness in the east through the Great Glen Valley. The trail was first proposed in the 1970's by the Scottish Rights of Way Society and came to fruition thanks to the co-operation of a number of organizations in 2002. It cost half a million pounds to create and probably generates around £2 million per year in tourism to the villages and towns along the way. 

Prince Andrew officially opened the route in Inverness. The choice of Inverness for the official opening caused something of a hoo-ha at the time, as Fort William is seen as the start of the walk. Apparently Prince Andrew happened to have an engagement in Inverness on the day of the opening so they snapped him up to cut the ribbon there.

This is also a journey along one of the country’s most extraordinary engineering feats, not something you can say of many hiking trails. The Victorians ingeniously used canals to link the lochs, thus allowing boats to cross the country inland rather than taking on the treacherous northern coast to Inverness, as seen in the photo above. As a result, it’s now not only one of the best hiking routes in Scotland but also one of the most beautiful boating arteries, known as the Caledonian Canal.

The Great Glen Way is by no means man-made, however, but a completely natural artery. The Victorians just cleverly joined up the dots, or lochs. A glacier carved it out, creating an impressive long valley or glen and leaving a hallmark collection of freshwater lakes or lochs. The most famous of these is Loch Ness, and the dramatic, mystical waters will be the last to greet us on this iconic walking trail through the Glen.

Over the years, the Great Glen Way has been forested and deforested. Although the valley is still rich in forest, there is an impressive movement of local forest conservation experts to rewild the whole area. Led by Trees for Life, the mission is to create one of Scotland’s largest areas of montane woodland by producing native seeds such as aspen on site and then scattering them strategically for quick and natural spread.

The Great Glen Way starts in the town of Fort William on the Atlantic Ocean, which has a magnificent location at the foot of Ben Nevis (1,345 m / 4,413 ft), the UK’s highest mountain. It is also on the shores of Loch Linnhe, the large body of water which connects the town with the sea on the west coast. Fort William is a hive of natural adventurers, from trekkers to kayakers, cyclists to fellow Great Glen Way walkers. It’s perfect for any last-minute bits and pieces that we may have forgotten to pack.

The GGW finishes in Inverness on the North Sea, which translates into Gaelic as Inbhir Nis, or mouth of the River Ness, the waterway connecting the city with Loch Ness. It’s a beautiful port city that was, apparently, where the Loch Ness Monster was actually first spotted in the 6th century, when Saint Columba banished it from the river sending it in the direction of the famous loch 😀. It’s also the northernmost city in the UK, with its own university, airport and a delicious food scene, in which we hope to indulge.

Having Ben Nevis as our starting point sets the bar very high, but the Great Glen Way has many natural and cultural glories.

Sadly, unlike the Loch Ness Monster – midges do exist in Scotland. They aren’t harmful, but they can be forceful. For those who are new to midges, they are small flying insects that thrive in the Scottish Highlands and other damp, marshy areas throughout the country. They are particularly prolific between May and September beside water and when there is little or no wind. Midges like to party at dawn and dusk and rest during the day, thankfully. So we can hopefully enjoy plenty of midgeless marvels along the likes of the GGW for the many hours in between.

The month of May can be a great time for hiking in Scotland as you can see from the above graphs. However, it is exceptionally busy at this time of year so we don't plan on walking in solitude. I'll take walking with people over walking in the rain any day.

The thistle inside a hexagon is the symbol on the trail markers for GGW. Why a thistle? Well, it IS the national flower of Scotland.

Second only to tartan, nothing quite says 'Scotland' like this humble, prickly weed. But how on earth did it become the proud emblem of an entire nation?

In truth, no one knows for certain how the purple-flowered thistle rose to such lofty significance. But one legend says a sleeping party of Scots warriors were saved from ambush by an invading Norse army when one of the enemies trod on the spiky plant. His anguished cry roused the slumbering warriors who duly vanquished the invader and adopted the thistle as their national symbol. Of course, there's not a shred of evidence to support this account, but it certainly makes a good story.

Scotland is home to not just one, but several varieties of thistle, some native and others exotic, and no one is quite sure which is the true symbol of Scotland. Most believe it to be the Spear Thistle or is it the Musk Thistle? Or maybe it's the poetic-sounding Melancholy Thistle or Our Lady's Thistle? And what about the Cotton Thistle? Which could it be and how many of them can we spot? Your guess is as good as mine.

Forget A Red, Red Rose, Rabbie Burns' ode to romantic love - the thistle is responsible for one of the finest and most influential poems in the Scottish literary cannon, Hugh MacDiarmid's A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle. This epic, stream-of-consciousness poem touches on everything from the state of the nation and the mysteries of the universe to the joy of whisky. 😁

The thistle has been an important symbol of Scottish heraldry for over 500 years. It also represents one of the highest honors the country can give an individual. Founded by James VII in 1687, the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry which is bestowed to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the life of Scotland and the greater United Kingdom. 

Thistles aren't just found in gardens, parks and the countryside. The insignia emblem crops up all over Scotland. From the strip of the international rugby team and football clubs, to local businesses and major organizations and corporations, to the uniforms of police officers. I've made it a challenge to see how many I can spot, not counting the ones on the blue GGW trail markers, of course.

Here are a few Scottish words for you:

        Bairn - child or baby

        Bonny - pretty or attractive

        Cheeky - impudent or saucy

        Dreich - dull or gloomy weather (hope not to                 hear this one)

        Gonnae - short for "going to"

        It geez me the boke - it makes me sick

        Ken - to know or understand

        Minging - unpleasant or disgusting

        Nae Bother - no problem or it's okay

        Pure - very or extremely

        Yer aff yer heed - you're crazy

        Wee - small or little

It's most important to remember that Scotland is NOT England. Calling a Scot English can be very offensive - there's much history between the two countries.

Ok, enough rambling for today. I’ll close with these thoughts:

"Every contact you make with everyone you meet will help them or hinder them on their journey to heaven." CS Lewis. It is our prayer that on this earthly journey, we help many along their heavenly journey and hinder none. As Philippians 2:15 says, we are here to be the light of Jesus Christ in the midst of a crooked and perverse world.

Off to the highlands of Scotland!