This blog will cover our walking and wild camping journey- including some of my favorite moments and food spots.
The Great Glen Way, Slighe a' Ghlinne Mhòir (Scottish Gaelic) is a long-distance path in Scotland. It follows the Great Glen, running from Fort William in the southwest to Inverness in the northeast, covering 78 miles (125 km). It can be walked in 5–7 days, or cycled in 2–3 days. We completed our journey in 5 days, which felt like a relaxed and comfortable pace- especially with all our camping gear. This also gave us time to stop and take in all of the beautiful surroundings.
The day before the Great Glen Way we conquered Ben Nevis:
@hippeaadventures_: What an adventure so far...Ben Nevis, swarms of midges, wee baby ticks under our skin, hot tea from the camping stove, beautiful sunsets, and lots of love. The highlands have a way of making you feel totally at peace. A wonderful way to celebrate submit the draft of the dissertation @viliuskat! Great Glen Way here we come
Fort William-Gairlochy-Laggan Locks-Fort Augustus-Invermoriston-Drumnadrochit-Inverness
Day One of Great Glen Way: (Fort-William to a beautiful wild camping spot by Loch Lochy)
@hippeaadventures_ shaky, heavy legs, wild raspberries, squillions of butterflies, and a freezing, beautiful dip into Loch Lochy.
PSPS never did I think I would have the courage to jump into the Loch never mind post a picture here. But, I feel pull to share and embrace the feeling of vulnerability... Inspired by Vilius’s freedom in his body, I aim to love mine more, to try and feel more comfy and free in our body, will help us feel freer in our mind.. letting go of judgment, allowing us to focus on other things, this is for sure a daily practice, I feel connecting with nature helps us to heal, feel more at ease and connected as one... feeling so grateful for Scotland, for Vilius, for my feet and legs and for Loch Lochy. #lochlochy#greatglenway#day1
Day Two: (Loch Lochy/Gairlochy to just outside Fort Augustus)
@hippeaadventures_ Today was beautiful...the route follows along the side of Loch Lochy (best name for a Loch ever) into Loch Oich. Best bits- maaaaaassiii dragonflies and the feeling of taking our 8081kg bag packs and our hiking boots off at the end of the day.
PSPS the wee video does not do justice to the amount of wee midges outside our tent!
I thought it would be soo cool to document the journey and have a wee photo gallery to look back on...grateful for Vilius’s iPhone as my Nokia 3418, unfortunately, does not take photos or connect to Instagram. #greatglenway#day2
Day Three: (just outside Fort Augustus to just past Invermorrison- the best camping spot ever)
@hippeaadventures_ : Today was a tough one, we doubled up on the route, walking from Loch Oich, through Fort Augustus, along Loch Ness to Invermoriston, and then took the “high route” (full-on mountain hike) to end up at the most amazing camp spot I have ever seen- full view of Loch Ness and the surrounding hills including Craeg Dhearg, we can even see right up to Ben Nevis, where the trip started...
Best bits of today- warm chili jackfruit in a mug (sounds horrible tastes insane), the walkthrough ‘Druim na Garbh Leachtrach’ forest (beautiful trees that felt like being in a warm hug and lots of massi mushrooms, the insane view from the tent, the taste of fizzy water and the feeling of taking our hiking boots off.
PSPS last two photos are from this morning after we got completely covered in midges running outside and taking the tent down. #instavsreality#midges#wildcamping#greatglenway#lochness
Day Four: (just past Invermorrison to past Drumnadrochit)
@hippeaadventures_: Today was incredible and tough.. we walked from the highest point of the route, overlooking the whole of Loch Ness to around 4 hilllly miles past Drumnadrochit. Lots of beautiful forest trails, insane inclines, cozy trees, pine cones, and fresh air...
Best bits- the view of Loch Ness from above, the most incredible peanut and vegetable soup and homemade apple and blackcurrant flapjack from the Loch Ness Deli Cafe in Drumnadrochit, the lovely conversations we had with people, the woodland camping spot and the insane hill we saw ants creating together out of pine needles- it was huggge, oh and the feeling of taking off our boots!
PSPS.. the midges as we packed away the tent at the top of Loch Ness were on another level this morning, if we were naked you would not have seen skin!! However, we are invading their wee home and habitat so I understand. 🏕 #greatglenway#wildcamping#scotland#weloveyou
Day Five: (past Drumnadrochit to Inverness the finish line)
@hippeaadventures_: The final day of the Great Glen Way! Today was exhaustingly amazing, around 18 miles from just outside Drumnadrochit to Inverness.
Best bits of today- ginormous mushrooms, beautiful dancing birds, bright purple heather, the sun, seeing Inverness castle (the finish line), and again, for sure taking our boots off.
One of the best adventures I and @viliuskat have experienced together. There is too many incredible things to share about the Great Glen Way, it was beautifully peaceful... we had the most insane wild camping spots for five nights, we seen one other person on the trial the full way, the route follows three beautiful lochs in Scotland, Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness. At some points we walked by the water and then the path takes you right into a beautiful forests, so you are totally immersed in trees..
The West Highland was on the same level of incredibleness for completely different reasons the sense of community and insane rugged mountainous terrain is magical. Both routes are physically challenging but in different ways and have left me feeling more connected with myself, nature, Scotland and the people I have had incredible luck to do them with @viliuskat oh and @pedroceiaoliveira@pdro_reis for the WHW.
For sure going to do a wee podcast episode exploring ideas surrounding long distance trekking, mental health and maybe our overall experiences.
Oh and I wanted to quickly say having a good pair of hiking boots has been absolutely life-changing, no blisters, and must needed grip to prevent falling on rocks and uneven trails.
Reflections as we spent a day in Inverness:
@hippeaadventures_: We got the Scottish hillwalking glow, ooh and few midge bites... our last wee day in Inverness before we return back to civilization, work, and the reality of dissertation editing/ presentation prep.
Beautiful day...started with a wee run around Inverness, listening to the first podcast for over a week- great ep @rebelcitypaul and @rebelcitymatt. Then we had an insanely good breakfast and the most amazing doughnuts the size of our head from @perk_coffeeanddoughnuts finished with cards and salad fav wee cafe in Inverness @velocityinverness 🌿.
it’s not often I allow myself to fully relax and feel at peace, I often feel like I have to be productive to feel a sense of fulfillment..this adventure was another wee reminder that we are enough just the way we are, without any external stuff, we don’t need to achieve or prove ourselves, we don’t need to be productive to feel fulfilled. We are all intrinsically and uniquely valuable, our differences are what make us who we are. A wee bit like the podcast I recorded about “you are the only you in the world”
... we sometimes just need to have the time and the space to come back to who we truly are, stripping back the layers and be more of who we are truly on the inside... wild camping, hiking, and being surrounded by nature has a way of making you feel completely at ease. I know I say it often but I feel it gives you the time and the space to reflect and feel more connected with yourself, nature, and the people around you.
“All good things in life are wild and free”-Henry David Thoreau
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