Feet Traveled in Comfort the Great Glen - glen and past Loch Lochy

Day 9 Walking, Friday June 14, 

Distant Hills Guest House, Spean Bridge to Forest Lodge, South Laggan

12 miles which were easily covered via bus.  12,034 Steps 

Lochaber Area of Scotland.  

Dinner last night for 5 £.  Side of cooked vegetables, but no potatoes (my request), carrots, red cabbage, white cabbage, and an amazing salad with lots of good green leaves and other raw veggies.  Portion sizes were crazy large, and couldn’t finish it all. 

Lots of advice last night from the homefront about what to do with the foot, and everyone’s diagnosis of the problem. Tried ice, tried hot hot wet cloth applied, elevation, ibuprofen, rolling the foot out over a ball - no balls around but the bottle of soap from the bathroom worked fine.  Felt a bit better.  Doesn’t seem at all puffy tonight. 

Besides the fruit and cereal buffet at breakfast, which of course a small sampling was taken, I chose Scottish pancakes with whip cream and fruit. They were remarkable!

Saw on the news that England and Wales are having lots of rain problems, flooding, trains having to be evacuated.  Thankful my walking/riding conditions are not that Wet. 

River Spean

Spean Bridge (Scottish Gaelic:  Druchaid Aonachain) name comes from the Highbridge (the bridge is mostly in ruins now) over the River Spean on the Military road between Fort William and Fort Augustus. 

The Highbridge Skirmish of 1745 was the first skirmish of the Jacobite Uprising.  Prince Charles Edward Stuart was leading the cause to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Stuart from King George II. Wild clans fighting with swords and muskets. 

Stopped at the postoffice/Spar grocery store to get a sandwich and some other snacks for today and this evening as there is NO food option out here in the middle of woods, mountains, glens and canals.  

Reminded again that the doors on stores here open inward, rather than ours which open outward or are sliding.  I like the idea of a quick escape if escape is needed.  

Some confusion over the location of the bus stop as directed by hosts.  The stop I waited first at turn out to not be in use any longer which was learned when the bus roared past me.  Knew I was in the wrong place.  Fortunately there was another coming in 15 minutes but had to hobble/stick my way back to an intersection, across the river, and up the road.  Bus pulled up just as I arrived. Hopped on and road in comfort up the Great Glen - glen with the Loch nearby and mountains rising above.  

Easy transportation but nothing like actually walking and slowly absorbing the environment.  Hopefully soon feet will be the mode of getting about. 

My hosts from last night suggested all sorts of alternatives I could do today if I wasn’t going to walk. The first was to get on the bus and go back to Fort William, and then take a scenic train ride to someplace I don’t know where. NO!  The next involved taking a bus up to Fort Augustus to look around, and then ride the bus back to where I’m staying tonight. NO!  I don’t need to actually DO anything. What is needed is to Keep the foot elevated, relax, think, and trust that this will mend quickly. 

Batteries are recycled here. 

There is a monument to the Commandos just outside Spean Bridge that the bus passed by.  During WWII commandos trained in unarmed combat and survival skills in an area close by - Achnacarry Castle. 

“The commandos were established by Winston Churchill after the Dunkirk evacuation in June 1940 As a means of striking back against German armies occupying Europe.  They were an elite force capable of conducting irregular warfare in a range of environments. Volunteers would arrive at the Spean Bridge railway station and march the 7 miles in full army gear with loaded pack to the castle.  Training was carried out over large parts of Lockaber, and was highly intense, often using live ammunition where there were occasionally casualties. Anyone feeling any part of the course cut the next train south.”

At home G and I watched a TV series about this training and secret selection process.  SOE - Special Operations Executive.  The agency was combination of 3 other secret operations and now trained to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe.  

They were also known as “Churchill’s Secret Army”. 

I have listened to a number of fiction books from the library about women spies who trained in the Highlands of Scotland and parachuted into France during WWII. 

The TV series Outlander had its opening scene filmed in this area.  

There are a group of bikers staying here.  Pedal bikers.  6 of them with a driver who is transporting their gear and repair equipment.  They are doing the Lands End to John o’Groths (LEJOG). I think it is a fund raiser.  Possibly will find out more at breakfast. 

Rain on and off all day.  Sunshine on and off all day.  Must be in Scotland. 

“Without new experiences, something inside us sleeps.  The sleep must awaken.”  Frank Herbert