Day 10 - Fort William to Inverness

Today could not have been more different from yesterday. Blue skies, fluffy white clouds, a hint of sun and a fairly flat, easy and short cycle along the Caledonian canal and lochs that connect Fort William to Inverness.

A 7am breakfast of cereal, toast, yoghurt, juice, scrambled eggs and coffee and I was ready on the road by 8am.

Again I would be following the A82 all the way to Inverness. Although it's a main road it wasn't too busy and the lorries and buses that went past gave plenty of room. Probably comes from their experience of dealing with cyclists doing LEJOG all year round.
First port of call was at Spean Bridge 10 miles away. A short, steep hill led out of this village at the top of which is the Commando Memorial. A statue celebrating the commando's position in the armed forces and the sacrifices they made in World War II set against the dramatic landscape of the lochs and hills surrounding it.

A lovely couple of miles whizzing downhill brought me to the banks of Loch Lochy (so good they sort of named it twice!). Stopped and took a photo. I skirted the loch on flat roads and crossed the Caledonian canal (first time of four in total today as I zig-zagged my way up the waterway).



After 20 miles cycling up the valley that the lochs reside in I couldn't help but think how different today was from yesterday. It was stunning scenery and the conditions were perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. Goldilocks weather!
I rode into Fort Augustus and had to make the decision of flat busy road or quiet hilly road. Since the busy road wasn't particularly busy (today at least) I decided to give my legs a break and stay on the A82. I'm sure there'll be other times for my legs to complain.

I was now cycling alongside Loch Ness and my senses were primed to watch out for Nessie. I know ghosts and ghoulies are just superstitious nonsense but I still couldn't help myself from being on the lookout for the next 30 miles of Scotland's most infamous stretch of water (I didn't see anything, unsurprisingly).

I stopped for a spot of lunch by Urquhart Castle (massive oatmeal bar and a banana), where I took another photo.


Checking the NavFree app on my iPhone I saw I only had 16 miles left to go and it was only 12:30pm! Head down, pedal away. There were records to be broken!

Loch Ness finally came to an end and I was on the final half dozen miles to my hotel. I arrived at 1:55pm, a record that I will not break on the rest of this journey. 65 miles in 6 hours and probably the best and most enjoyable ride of the trip.

The hotel is a Premier Inn (looks very new) on the bank of the River Ness in the heart of Inverness and I had almost too much time on my hands. Drink and food it is then!

  They serve breakfast from 6:30am (get in!) and then I'm on my penultimate journey, 89 miles to Tongue on the very north coast of Scotland. There are a few hills but nothing that will shock me, or stop me. Onwards and upwards!

Day 10 route:

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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Bridge St,Inverness,United Kingdom