Tour # 17
Inverness - Fort Williams (The Great Glen)
100 km.
Approx. total hill climb: 200 meters.
Highest point: The Commando memorial at Spean Bridge 150 meters above sea level.
Traffic: Moderate to Busy.
Severity Rating: **
Fun rating: ***

How to get to Inverness: Train from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and London. Plane from the rest of the world.

Loch Ness and the link to the West Coast is the reasons why you should to do this trip. The Great Glen itself is medium interesting. I am not a fan of this cycle trip, but it is a definite must-do cycle trip and a Scottish classic. Regardless of my personal views. This cycle trip is best combined with the Aberdeen- Inverness and Fort Williams - Glasgow cycle trips. Please note that due to using a racer bike, this guide describe the flat west side (A 82) along Loch Ness. The Caledonian Channel is the still very much used channel between Inverness and Fort Williams.

The road (A 82) out of Inverness start with a medium steep climb before it crosses the Caledonian Channel and goes into a small forest before it goes down again to Loch Ness. The road along the whole of Loch Ness is mostly flat. The road follows this famous lake (don't do too much Nessie spotting) along the steep banks of this lake to a small bay and Drumnadrochit (shops). The view to Urquart Castle, one of Scotland's most famous landmarks, is brilliant. The road continues out of the bay and past Urquart Castle along Loch Ness to another bay at Invermoriston (shops). The road goes down to Fort Augustus (shops) and the impressive Caledonian Channel. The road from Fort Augustus crosses the valley and climb up to a moor on the eastern side of the Great Glen. It follows this moor for some time before it drops down to and over Caledonian Channel. The road then follows this channel for a while before it climbs over a small hill and drop down to the second lake in the Great Glen; Loch Lochy. Another monster has been seen in this lake. The road goes over in a moderate to hard climb towards the Commando Memorial. The view across to Ben Nevis, Fort Williams and Loch Linnhe is unforgettable. The road drops down to Spean Bridge (shops) before it continue down the moors and over the flatlands to Fort William.