The hills are alive with the sound of… self-talk and swearing?

As I ground to a halt part way up the first hill, stomach aching and breath struggling in and out of my lungs, my confidence in my ability to cycle the Great Glen Way in two days was waning rapidly…

Just 15 minutes earlier I had set off from the centre of Inverness. It was a beautiful, clear day. I’d got off the train and decided to have a spot of lunch before setting off – fuel is vital after all. Unfortunately, the place I’d chosen to eat not only served me a very greasy toastie, but I couldn’t see my bike where it was locked up on the street. Being perpetually worried about it getting nicked, I shovelled the cheesy sourdough down my throat as quickly as possible so I could get back to my beloved. My stomach complained painfully about my haste for the next two hours.

Climbing out of Inverness: Straight out and up

The Great Glen Way (GGW) is one of Scotland’s Great Trails. These are long-distance paths generally aimed at walkers, but often suitable for traversing on two wheels as well. The most famous of these trails is the West Highland Way. The GGW runs from Fort William to Inverness along, you guessed it, the Great Glen. This is a 62 mile-long geological fault line splitting Scotland and home to the famous Loch Ness, as well as Loch Oich and the wonderfully-named Loch Lochy. The Caledonian Canal runs along the glen, historically allowing commerce to arrive in previously hard-to-reach areas.

The prevailing literature seems to suggest that the Great Glen Way is most frequently travelled south to north, from Fort William to Inverness. This made very little sense to me as everyone knows north to south is downhill, so I decided to go the other way. Plus that meant that the hilly section would be first, which seemed sensible to me.

The first part of the ride takes you sedately along the River Ness, through parklands and into the housing estates on the edge of the city. Then you start climbing and honestly it doesn’t seem to stop after that. The climb out of Inverness is a steep one, and stopping to look back down on the city demonstrates this ably. It’s then a sudden transition into the forest, where the quiet descends, the wilds take over and you feel like the trail begins proper.

Finding Loch Ness

The trail winds through mixed forests and pine trees. It’s a proper gravel surface, a mix of single-track and forest path where you could imagine groups of walkers in the summer walking two or three abreast. Clearly this is the low season and I had the trail to myself. Every so often a break in the trees would reveal the mountains off to the north. The sky was blue and the sunshine splitting the sky, which is a most unusual scenario in Scotland at this time of year. Popping out of the forest I joined a tarmac single lane road, and realised the trees had been sheltering me from the wind. This is one of the reasons the route is most often done in the opposite direction – the prevailing winds are westerly.

After around 25kms, and another steep climb, I caught my first glimpse of Loch Ness through the trees. Looking down on the deep blue, it feels like a milestone. It doesn’t last long, however, as the trees lining the trail regroup and shield the loch from view. This section was gnarly and felt more like a mountain bike red route than a walking trail. The upshot is that even when you’re heading downhill you can’t get any speed up, and I picked my way gingerly over rocks and roots.

The prize for surviving this section is a frankly stunning view out over the loch, with Urquhart Castle appearing as a tiny outcrop. The sun shining down on the shimmering water, along with the crisp sunshine meant this was a photo op I couldn’t turn down.

Drumnadrochit: Half-way along but not half-way up

I’d planned to stop in Drumnadrochit, around half-way along the loch. This is the biggest settlement between Inverness and Fort Augustus, which was my overnight stop. I found the local Co-Op and sat outside on a picnic bench, enjoying my spoils. I’d covered around 32 kms, with around the same to go. I knew I still had three pretty significant climbs to hit before I reached the B&B, with the first of these straight out the traps once I left the village. I realised I’d be pushing it to get finished before dark at this rate, so cut short the rest break and jumped back on the bike.

Once again, the constant up/down nature of the trail did not lend itself to picking up any speed. Of course, the upside to this is that you have the opportunity to see a bit more. Popping out into a clearing at the top of one short climb, I was met by a sika deer in the middle of the trail. We looked at each other for a moment before she decided discretion was the better part of valour and disappeared into the trees. Buoyed by this little encounter, I pressed on, passing through the little village of Invermoriston and into the last leg of the ride.

Reaching Invermoriston: Race Against the Dark

The light was definitely fading as I pedaled out of Invermoriston. I had around 10km left at this point, and according to the map the trail was bumpy but not too steep. Thankfully the route runs along a forest trail that although parallel to the A82 is raised far above it in trees along the hillside. The light came and went as I passed in and out of the tree cover, and I was thankful for the pasty gravel track that almost glowed in the dark in front of me. I was annoyed at myself at this point for not having brought lights, even though my husband had asked me if I’d need them, and I knew I’d be cycling into the hours of dusk (although I hadn’t planned for full darkness). It was one of those times the brain doesn’t connect the dots, and was a good lesson learned to bring an emergency set.

I had a wee chat with myself to buck up my ideas and get on with it, as there was nothing I could do about it at that point. It’s just as well the trail was quiet as it was a full-on, out-loud talk. I kept pushing on, and the last part of the trail into Fort Augustus was a wee downhill single track. I decided to get off and walk at that point, as darkness had definitely fallen and I didn’t want to end up in a heap when I’d made it so far.

After negotiating the track, I rolled through the very welcome sight of Fort Augustus to my B&B, and settled in for the night, tired, happy, with a massive sense of achievement and ready to do it all again tomorrow.

How I went:

Scotrail Edinburgh to Inverness. Book ahead on the Scotrail app and don’t forget to book your bike on board. Some services require it.

Fuel Stops:

The Co-Op in Drumnadrochit. A good size shop with everything you need.
Post-ride Chinese from Richmond House, Fort Augustus. Made even better by the fact I ate chow mein with my fingers because I forgot to ask for a fork.

Where I stayed:

White House B&B Fort Augustus. Really nice room, lovely host, great breakfast. 10/10