Their story, in their words…
Our team of 4 completed the 79 mile hike from Fort William to Inverness across the Great Glen Way over 6 days. We set out on a Saturday evening from London Victoria coach station, catching an overnight coach to Glasgow along with an additional coach to Fort William where we began our walk in the morning of Sunday.
The walk got off to a slow start, with the group finding it challenging to adjust to the weight of their bags, with us only able to walk 10 miles by the late afternoon. Determined to keep progressing, we decided to walk into the evening, walking through the rain and the dark, before finding a camping site around 14 miles into the journey.
Over the next few days, we made good progress, navigating slopes and canal paths to reach Fort August by the end of day 3, about 36 miles into the trek. However, day 4 turned out to be the most challenging day by far. The severe blisters on our feet paired with the very steep incline up a mountain near Invermorrison left us all sore and tired, leading to the collective team decision to stop early for the day and wild camp during the evening near the peak of the mountain. With about 30 miles to walk in the next two days, we woke up early with the aim to walk 20 miles in one day. Leaving by 7am, we overcame multiple tough injuries and another steep climb to walk past Drummanoich, wild camping at 10pm about 10 miles off the finish at Inverness. Despite the rain, fatigue and multiple blisters we woke up early to get to our finish point at midday, ready for our 3 coaches back to London which arrived early Saturday morning.
Along the hike, we came across a number of challenges. Every team member gained blisters, causing a lot of pain especially on our feet, making walking particularly tricky. Despite running out of blister plasters, we managed to persevere, using other items such as bandages to ease the pain. The midges were also a repeating problem, with swarms appearing in the evening and being difficult especially when the group stopped for breaks, meals and to camp. Finally, the heavy backpacks caused discomfort on the shoulders, making it hard to carry the bags. However the group persevered and overcame each problem together.
Despite its challenges, the hike was also incredibly rewarding. The stunning views and the sense of achievement fueled us, with teamwork and team spirit being a factor each of us managed to reach the finish line by day 6. As well as leaving us with countless memories, this walk has enabled us to to develop our sense of independence, with us having to plan distances, travel and food as well as navigation each day and overcoming issues without help or assistance. We returned home with a sense of achievement, independence and an even stronger friendship and are extremely thankful to the Mark Evison Foundation for this opportunity.
