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Saturday
28th
June
 We all met at Cluny
Centre in the morning, and set to work bringing all the equipment down
from the loft. Alan arrived with the van and Calum somehow packed
everything in... the tents and cooking gear, the personal kit and the
bicycles
(most of the food had to go in Martin's car). The van then set off to
pick
up the trailer and four kayaks while five of the Explorers met with
Helen
at Waverley Station in time for the 11:30 train to Glasgow and then
Fort
William.
We
all met at Fort William and everyone (except Alan) set off to cycle the
first stage of the Great Glen Cycle Route from Fort William to
Gairlochy.
This took us along the canal tow path and then up to the Commando
Memorial
and north to the first camp site at Stronaba, where Mrs Macdonald
welcomed
us and showed us where we could camp. We pitched the tents and the
leaders
cooked the meal (not for the last time). After dinner, the Explorers
cycled
down to Gairlochy and were picked up by Alan and Martin as the darkness
moved in.
Sunday
29th
June
 We
woke and had breakfast late but were soon off on the day's activities.
Helen took four cyclists off to Leanachan Forest, while Alan and Martin
took three kayakers off to Laggan Locks. The leaders had to ferry the
trailer
and van to Loch Oich while the Explorers ferried the kayaks across the
locks to the launch site. When it was all over, Alan, Jenna, Becky and
Niall set off up the Caledonian Canal. They got slightly stuck in the
piers
of the Laggan Swing Bridge, but were soon out into Loch Oich,
where
they stopped for lunch. Paddling up the east side of the loch took them
up to near Invergarry Castle and they decided to pay it a visit, only
to
find that it was closed because of unstable masonry. They sat on the
pier
for a well-earned rest before setting off for the car park near the
Well
of the Seven Heads.
Meanwhile, the cyclists
were having an interesting time - and Martin found himself driving up
and
down the Great Glen as a courier. The cyclists
had not gone far when Nick's
chain gave up the ghost and he had to hire a new bicycle. There were
further
problems as Jamie's chain came to grief and Calum's rear brake cable
snapped.  Richard's only problem
was his bicycle, but Martin wasn't going to get a new one of those! Despite all the problems, they all
had a great time
on the forest tracks and were all pretty muddy when they were picked up
at the end of the day.
That night, we all
camped at Faichemard, an excellent camp site, spoiled only by the
midges
and complete lack of any atmosphere. Martin left for Edinburgh while
Alan
and Helen fitted a new chain to Nick's bike and then bent the tool they
had borrowed from a couple of Dutch cyclists in attempting to fix
Jamie's.
Monday
30th
June
 Creeping
out of the camp site to avoid making any sound, two of the cyclists
left
by van with the bicycles, bound for the Commando Memorial while Helen
and
two others took the bus. There was no kayaking for the next two days,
and
Richard, Jamie and Niall walked down to Invergarry to await Alan, who
was
going with them on a wild camping trip to the east. The cyclists had a
great time cycling up the Great Glen cycle way from Gairlochy along the
western shore of Loch Lochy to the Well of the Seven Heads and from
there
to Fort Augustus, where they set up camp in the Fort Augustus Camping
and
Caravan park. This is just next to the golf course and they enjoyed a
few
rounds of golf in the evening when everyone else had left
 After
an ice-cream to assuage the effects of the Scottish sun, the walkers
set
off up Glen Buck, following a vague path up by Allt a' Ghlinne.
This path disappeared and they soon found themselves on a wild open
moor,
a peat bog where bog myrtle, bog asphodel, bog cotton and butterwort
flourished.
They came down to Allt Lagan a' Bhainne where they found a
couple
of suitable places for pitching tents. It was later that Alan
discovered
that his was on a sheep track which, as Richard pointed out, brought a
new meaning to counting sheep in order to get to sleep. They lit a fire
on a shingle flat and cooked dinner there.
Tuesday
1st
July
Those at Fort Augustus
had a lazy morning, walking into the town and lazing around by the
canal.
The wakers had breakfast, struck camp and, ensuring that there were no
traces left, set off on their way down the glen to the Corrieyairack.
They
walked down the old military road, built by General Wade, and into Fort
Augustus. All together again, the Explorers set off into town in order
top take a tour of Loch Ness on the boat, but the engine was in need of
repair and Helen and Alan met them on their way back.
In the evening, we
set off into town to visit the chip shop and had our dinner by the
locks
in Fort Augustus. Some of the Explorers played golf again in the
evening,
while others strolled around. We had a sing-song in the van to avoid
the
midges (we would have had a camp fire but they just weren't allowed!).
Wednesday
2nd
July
 We
all set off again, the cyclists along the side of Loch Ness, while the
kayakers found a suitable place for launching the boats and paddled
down
to Fort Augustus for lunch and then to the uninhabited eastern shore of
the loch, where they lit a fire and burnt some of the litter that had
been
washed ashore. The cyclists arrived
at Borlum Farm, our next site, some time before the kayakers returned,
so they set off into town to do some shopping. After dinner, we all
wandered
into town again and had a lazy evening, singing and telling jokes.
Thursday
3rd
July
After
breakfast, the kayakers set off for Dochgarroch. They launched the
boats
above the lock and paddled towards Loch Ness. Occasional passing boats
provided washes that were fun to ride and to splash into and we soon
found
a couple of islands on which to laze about and have lunch. After the break,
we set off again for the loch and had some fun on the way back,
exploring
an old wreck and Jamie riding on the stern of Richard's kayak. Giving
the
weir a wide berth, we returned to Dochgarroch.
The cyclists meanwhile
cycled along the track up Glen Coiltie.
Friday
4th
July
Today
the cyclists were supposed to undertake a challenging route up over the
hills to the Moray Firth and the camp site at Bunchrew. However, they wimped
out and cycled along the main road, meeting up with the kayakers while
Alan was driving to Bunchrew and cycling back to Dochgarroch Lock. They
then set off along the tow path while the kayakers set off up the
Caledonian
Canal.
 Alan
had rather more paddling than the rest of the kayakers as he had to go
back for his watch that he had left on the grass while changing. They
all
paddled on and had lunch on the shore just before a large boat came
through
and washed the kayaks from where they were beached. They had to portage
around the locks in Inverness and the Works Lock but they were allowed
into the sea lock as it was high tide. It was a brilliant site to see
the
locks open into the Moray Firth. They then made for the plume of smoke
on the shore.
In
the mean time, the cyclists had arrived at Bunchrew and had lit a fire
on the beach... this was the smoke the kayakers had seen. We all had a
fine last supper on the beach and then sang songs and told tales and
jokes
around the fire. It was a great end to an exhausting expedition.
Saturday
5th
July
The van was loaded
early and the kayaks and kit packed away as soon as the Scouts got up.
Alan with two Explorers set off for Edinburgh in the van, while the
rest
took the bus into Inverness and then the train from there back to
Waverley
Station. The kayaks and trailer were delivered to Longcraig and we all
met back at Cluny Centre at 3 o'clock and unloaded kit and bikes.
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