Great Glen Way – Culloochy – Saturday
Saturday 14th
Left Cullochy Lock at 8.45am. Walked along the loch side (Loch Oich) then up to the railway. There was a concrete tunnel with the old railway line above / sleepers were overgrown. The sign said that the tunnel was built late 1800’s – but the concrete was still sound. You wouldn’t find that much today!
After that met a few walkers – a couple from Belgium stop and a couple from Holland passed us. “Tot since,” was the call.
Two guys coming from doing the West Highland Way said it was 100% harder. I think that means twice as hard. We compared rucksacks. They thought mine was 15kg and theirs were 20kg.
They said they were going on to Inverness then down to the Grampians to do some routes there. I asked if they had ropes and they said, “Yes.”
A few more went by, they said, “When we stop we have nets to cover our faces.”
There was a station platform at Letterfindlay, it was built to serve Laggan for the expected Spean Bridge/Inverness railway. The first section to Fort Augustus was opened in 1903. The company who owned it expected the other companies to pay for the next section, but there was a dispute and it was never completed. The station had a tunnel to allow passengers to walk under the track to the other side of the platform. As the buildings were of wood (Scandinavian style), none are left.
The platform has Douglas fir trees growing out of it (photo).
The GGW follows the route of the old railway until the road, then crosses to follow the the river into Laggan Lock.
I stopped in at the Barge Pub for an island beer. Followed the GGW all the way to Glas-Doire and camped overnight at a ‘wild’ camp site. Bonnie slept in the tent while I lighted a fire in a previously lit fire base with stone laid around and cooked my tea on it. Used moss and an old milk carton to light it. Was so preoccupied with the fire that this day was not written in my log – had two days to write following day.
Waited until the last wood was burning (some left behind from a previous tenant).
