Sep 10: The End of the Road
SuperTrip2_2026 Blog Post
2026_2 BLOG
9/12/20262 min read
We finished the Great Glen Way today, a little over 135km over 5 days. The long final section was 32km with some steep climbs and the familiar drizzle. For the first time, we walked a ways with another group, sharing stories for a while until they waved us through. We were going twice as far as they were today.
It’s been the absence of community that has really marked this out as a “walk”, rather than a “pilgrimage”. Our fellow holiday-makers are typically in good mood, polite (for the most part) but doing their own thing, not particularly open or seeking connection. I have missed that, even as I have enjoyed the familiar physical demands of the trail and the unique scenery (which also feels familiar from film and TV, but does reward the in-person visitor). We both agree that it was a good walk and a good experience, and also that we feel no pull to repeat or return. This is very unlike the constant draw the different Caminos have over us.
We got our first glimpse of Inverness midafternoon, through the drizzle and a break in the trees. It was something of a mirage. We had another hour of walking to do, through a large number of obviously-newly-built suburbs, fanning out into the foothills, from the river and the Old Town Centre, nestled around the castle: the end of the trail. We were also surprised by the number of children and teens heading home after school or waiting at the bus stops. Inverness feels like a city with a strong present and robust likely future.
We are staying at a large, traditional guesthouse in Inverness. It’s a rather dour, square, stone building that is efficient, warm, a little dark. It’s the first non-family-run place we have stayed during this trip. It feels a little impersonal, but is well located, a couple of blocks from the river. The Old Town Centre, ribboned prettily along both banks, is an eclectic mix of both low- and high-brow/end souvenir shops, seventies retail units and statement Georgian municipal and ecclesiastical buildings (of which, the principal is the Castle, crisp and crenellated in fine red stone, finished in 1837, long after there was any need for fortifications. It is a splendid “Laird’s” fantasy, though the duelling, stone-built churches - Catholic, Free, Baptist - give it a solid run for its money). I stopped in for a small pray, just to say “hello”.
Inverness also has an over-abundance of drinking establishments, as one would (stereotypically) expect of a Scots stronghold. We sampled a couple: one, a gastro-wine bar, full of walkers and tourists like us, dining early in front of plate-glass windows; one, a locals’ pub, where they stared when we entered, but took our money and smiled when I joined in the chorus of “the black velvet band” on the jukebox. And, most importantly, it has that marker of civilization after our week in the wilds: it has a Starbucks.
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Inspired by our 2024 Camino Francais, Karen has a periodic podcast called "I sent you a bloody boat", personal thoughts on faith by a person who believes in thinking. Also, known as "The Reluctant Christian". You can listen to it on Spotify and on Apple Podcasts at: