Sep 7: More wild mountain time
SuperTrip2_2026
2026_2 BLOG
9/8/20262 min read
Today was tough – very lovely, but hard-going. We did another 29km, but this time, truly in the landscape. No more graveled tow path for us! We didn’t even pass a picnic table, let alone a café or food truck at which to get a warm drink and a sit down. So, we just kept on walking. By the time we got into our accommodation (a splendid, stone-built country house called “Invergarry Castle Hotel”, nestled a kilometre from the road up a private drive), we were spent.
We started the day on the shore of Loch Lochy (a descriptive, if unimaginative name), crunching along its pebble beaches as the fog lifted. Then, we turned into the forest, the path underfoot soft with fallen needles and moss. There were some B-roads to navigate here and there, but we spent most of the day on shingled logging tracks, climbing up and down the hillside, switching back and forth between them and rocky footpaths. All of which provided great core and balance work outs.
We really got to experience the colours of the Highlands: the heather is still purple; the bracken both green and starting to redden to the rust of Autumn; the insanely lime green of the rain-fed grass, nipped short by flocks of sheep; the steely grey of wind-shivered lochs and the red-black of racing streams. When the sun hit the hillside, as it did a few times, it was truly breathtaking.
Just before we descended into Invergarry, we had a real treat. We had trudged uphill through bracing rain, driven on cold wind. Around us, clear cutting had left the hillside tangled with branches, bald and grim, great piles of red pine logs waiting to be loaded onto the lorries that pushed us off the track. We were tired and cold and sore. As we crested the peak, the sun broke through. The rain eased and a strong rainbow, a clear, complete arc of all seven colours, spanned the valley below. It was so worth the cold and the climb! It must also be said that, after 4 years in Calgary, I have changed my definition of “cold”. It was only10 degrees, but both Carey and I were in our tee shirts the minute it stopped raining! We both run hot, particularly when heading uphill.
And, our accommodation is splendid. It is a stately old house in fine grounds, with fine views of the loch. It is family-run and just the right mix of friendly and formal for the building, so that you feel special, but cosy.
We wandered down to the sitting room after a brief snooze and a bath (SUCH a luxury to soak tired legs!). We took a bottle of house wine, which also did us for dinner and spent a very nice hour chatting to our fellow guests. One other couple are walking to Inverness starting tomorrow. We won’t see them again because they are doing it in 5 days. Inshallah, we will be there on Thursday.
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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: