Tuesday 24thSeptember

Left Fort William on a sunny dry morning The view of the Highlands across the loch was amazing. We took a cycle track from Fort William to the start of the Caledonian  Canal and followed the tow path Fairly soon we saw a Tall Ship starting its climb through a series of locks called Neptunes Staircase,we watched for a while then followed the tow path for about 10 miles to a place called Gaerloch y  where we rejoined the dreaded A 82 with lorries etc all thundering past- a real cpntrast to the tranquility of the canal

.After a few miles we rejoined The Great Glen way which was really only suitable for mountain bikes! but at least we didn't have traffic - just tree roots and rocks. Anyway 7 miles later we rejoined the canal tow path and finally made it to Fort Augustus This was a pretty place and the start of Loch Ness. We had lunch then back on the A 82 for 20 miles to The Fiddlers Inn at Drumnadrochit which is a lovely place to stay. No sign of Nessie. 3.days to go!