Day 53 - Great grub in this neck of the woods

 

We walked a couple of miles on the road out of Drumnadrochit, before taking a left turn away from Loch Ness and the Great Glen, heading uphill once more through woodland, where Suzanne waved goodbye. Looking back, I could see Urquhart Castle peeking out on the peninsula and Suzanne heading into a cafe for breakfast. I snacked on a jelly baby.

There has been a lot of woodland walking on the Great Glen Way and the early part of the day was spent in the midst of Scots Pines and other local species. During the 1910s, apparently, forest cover in Great Britain had fallen below 5% and the Forestry Commission was set up with the sole purpose of planting millions of trees to provide timber resource. One of the fundamental requirements was to provide wood for trenches in the war. The urgent nature of the requirement meant that non-native species were planted and it has only been in the last 20 years that the Forestry Commission have incorporated a conservation remit and re-introduced native trees. The difference is marked as you walk between the commercial sections and then the conservation areas of woodland. Forest cover overall has risen to 13% during the last 100 years - 19% in Scotland. We can rest easy in the knowledge that our trenches will be well supported in any future wars.

Whilst I have had the odd drenching, I reckon I have been pretty lucky with the weather so far. In particular, it has been weeks since there has been anything above a light breeze; with good waterproofs, the rain isn't too much of an issue but the wind can make walking very tricky and miserable. Today was another good day, plenty of sunshine but not too warm, I imagined the Great Glen Way was going to be a little bland and boring after some of the other trails, and that I would just be walking down the canal or against the banks of the loch. Indeed, the GPX files I downloaded always give the old, easier alternative as the route but I have not only enjoyed the the weather, the revised route into higher forest and moorlands have provided plenty of variety and I've really enjoyed my walking.

The path today went through Abriachan Community Woodland and it was there I stumbled across Abriachen Eco Cafe and Campsite just before lunch. It wasn't your normal cafe: it's apparently the highest inhabited working croft in the country. I suppose it basically consists of wooden shacks and could be described as ramshackle - but in a good way. I only really went in for a cup of coffee, as I had my sandwiches with me, but ended up with more or less a three course meal and very nice it was too. If you search for them on Facebook, you will see my smiling face amongst today's posts...

On my way down to Inverness, I met a JOGLER who, I guess, was on about Day 9 or 10 of the reverse journey. She was camping and carrying all her gear, which is just a different world to how I'm doing it. I had heard warnings about some challenges on the northern half of the John o' Groats Trail and these were confirmed. The path between the fence and the cliff edge is very, very narrow in places and not very stable. I'll give that bit some thought: at least I know I can tame the cattle if I jump into the adjacent field...

We're in south Inverness tonight, so I still have a couple of miles to go to finish the GGW at Inverness Castle where, conveniently, the John o' Groats Way starts. What could go wrong now - well, other than the cliffs collapsing?

Abriachen Eco Cafe

Abriachen Eco Cafe Lunch (If the diabetic police are watching, I brought the cake home for Suze)

Inverness in the distance