Their story, in their words…
Our team of 3 set off on Tuesday evening, travelling by overnight coach from London to Perth before continuing on to Inverness. From Inverness, we caught a bus to Fort Augustus, where we began our expedition at around midday on Wednesday. Our aim was to complete the final 65 km of the Great Glen Way to Inverness over the following 4 days, carrying all of our own equipment and completing it without the help of adults.
The journey got off to a difficult start, as two members of the team became unwell after the 12-hour overnight coach journey. Despite this, everyone was determined to continue, and we adjusted our pace to make sure nobody was left behind. On our first afternoon we left Fort Augustus and, somewhat naively, chose the more demanding high route to Invermoriston despite having the longest day’s walk ahead of us. The combination of the steep climbs, heavy backpacks and the long distance left us all feeling extremely sore by the end of the day. Although the spectacular views over Loch Ness made the effort worthwhile, we quickly realised how demanding the high route was and decided to stick to the lower route for the remainder of the expedition. Over the following days we continued along the trail, trekking through forests, open hillsides and remote paths towards Drumnadrochit before finally descending into Inverness.
Along the way we faced a number of unexpected challenges. One team member’s walking shoe broke partway through the expedition, but we managed to repair it with Gorilla Tape so they could continue safely. We also had to deal with persistent midges in wooded areas, around camp at night and near the lochs, which were relentless whenever we stopped and made setting up camp and cooking particularly frustrating. On our final day we also ran out of gas for our camping stove, meaning we had to finish the expedition without being able to cook our final meal. Alongside sore feet, blisters, aching muscles and the physical demands of carrying heavy backpacks each day, these setbacks tested both our resilience and our teamwork. By encouraging one another, taking regular breaks and solving problems together, we overcame each obstacle and eventually reached Inverness, the end of the trail, exhausted but incredibly proud of what we had achieved.
The expedition was both physically and mentally demanding, but it was also incredibly rewarding. Living and travelling together for four days strengthened our teamwork and taught us the importance of communication, patience and resilience. We all had moments where we questioned whether we could keep going, yet every challenge we overcame increased our confidence. Reaching Inverness after four days of walking gave us an enormous sense of achievement and proved what we were capable of when working together.
This experience has left us with far more than just memories of the beautiful Scottish Highlands. We developed independence by planning our own journey, navigating each day, managing our food and equipment, and solving problems without outside assistance. We returned home with greater confidence, stronger friendships and a real appreciation of the value of preparation, perseverance and teamwork. We are extremely grateful to the Mark Evison Foundation for making this opportunity possible.
