The final day of walking the Great Glen Way was going to be a longer one. By road it was around 28 kilometres, but the path took a slightly different route and was going to be over 30 kilometres.
I left Drumnadrochit mid-morning after a nice breakfast and headed east along the A82 before cutting up to a path next to the road about a kilometre out of town. The path slowly rose in to the hills and the forest of Abriachan. At one point in the late morning there was a scenic route that provided a bit more elevation to climb but had some views over Loch Ness or a more direct route. Despite the extra steps, I chose to take the more scenic route.
After I had stopped for lunch at a picnic area at the Abriachan campsite, I followed the smaller country roads and paths next to the roads for a couple hours. This road at some points gave a great view over the Highland mountains to the Northwest and made for an enjoyable walk with the views. As the day went on the path went back into forested areas with one section running next to an old stone fence for about three kilometres.
I knew I was getting closer to Inverness as I started seeing views of Beauly Firth and started seeing more houses. The path wound through fields and roads to the southwest of Inverness before coming into the Leachkin community on the outskirts of the city. On the way into Inverness, I passed the Highland Rugby Club where my Dad had played for the local team when he was younger. The path connected back to the Caledonian Canal before cutting towards the Ness River and taking me to the downtown of Inverness. The last stretch was a short uphill to the Inverness Castle. Although the Castle was undergoing renovations it was great to see the Great Glen trail marker and feel the accomplishment of finishing the hike.
BorealHiker 