Rusty Pickett, ECC, VTA, LCS, MBA

I have finished my photo album!

Click The Great Glen to view and enjoy!

After breakfast this morning we embarked on our final 90 minute cruise to Banavie near Ft. William. It was a beautiful morning which completed our entire cruise without a drop of rain! Highly unusual in Scotland. As we cruised along the clouds cleared and we were to see the summit of Ben Nevis. Once in Banavie, be boarded a van to get us to Inverness and took a taxi to the airport where we will spend the night before starting our journey home with a 7:00am flight to Heathrow on British Airways.

Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. The summit is 4,413 feet (1,345 m) above sea level and is the highest land in any direction for 459 miles (739 kilometres). Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Highland region of Lochaber, close to the town of Fort William. The mountain is a popular destination, attracting an estimated 130,000 ascents a year, around three-quarters of which use the Mountain Track from Glen Nevis. The 700-metre (2,300 ft) cliffs of the north face are among the highest in Scotland, providing classic scrambles and rock climbs of all difficulties for climbers and mountaineers. They are also the principal locations in Scotland for ice climbing The summit, which is the collapsed dome of an ancient volcano, features the ruins of an observatory which was continuously staffed between 1883 and 1904. The meteorological data collected during this period is still important for understanding Scottish mountain weather.

It has been suggested that Banavie is one of the possible birth places of Saint Patrick. One theory is that Patrick was the son of a Roman tax collector and born at Banavie around AD 389. His family had come with the Romans who had invaded the West Highlands and Islands. The 19th century work 'History of Celtic Placenames' by William J. Watson notes: "St Patrick was born at Banna-venta, an early town south of the Grampians." A similar placename, Bannavem Taburniae, is mentioned in one of the only two known authenticated letters by St Patrick.

This morning was all about more watersports and cycling in Bunarkaig Bay in Loch Lochy. Lots of sailing, paddleboarding, canoeing, and cycling. After lunch we weighed anchor and the barge headed towards Gairlochy, where we would spend the night. Three of us chose to walk the 3+ miles to the mooring spot where we met the barge. Dinner tonight was a typical Scottish dinner featuring a very good grilled haggis with some mashed root vegetables. (Only three of us out of 12 ate the haggis). After dinner we had a little celebration to thank the crew for an absolutely wonderful week.

Our anchorage for the night was right near the ancient Invargarry Castle. This morning in Loch Oich was all about watersports - paddleboarding, sailing and canoeing. The weather was great and we all had a great time. My brother and I opted for canoeing. This afternoon, we transited the Caledonian Canal to the Laggan Locks, where we are spending the night.

After raids by the Clan Mackenzie in 1602 which included the burning of Strome Castle, the MacDonalds of Glengarry fortified Creagan an Fhithich. The result was an imposing six storey L-plan tower house, although the exact form of the earlier castle is not known. According to clan tradition, the castle was built with stones passed hand to hand by a chain of clansmen from the mountain Ben Tee.
During the Civil War Oliver Cromwell's troops under General Monck burned the castle down in 1654. Repaired, it was held for King James VII of Scotland from 1688 until its surrender to the Government forces of William and Mary in 1692. It was then held by the Jacobites during the 1715 uprising, but taken for the government in 1716. During the 1745 uprising it was again held by Jacobites and visited twice by Bonnie Prince Charlie.
During the Jacobite risings of 1745 to 1746, Prince Charles Edward Stuart – "Bonnie Prince Charlie" – visited the Castle shortly after the raising of the Royal Standard at Glenfinnan and is said to have rested there after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden, in 1746.[2] The MacDonells were closely involved throughout the Jacobite risings, Lord MacDonnell being a Member of the Prince's Council.[3] In the aftermath of Culloden the castle was sacked and partially blown up by troops under the Duke of Cumberland as part of his systematic suppression of the Highlands. However the stout walls refused to yield and have survived the centuries to serve as a reminder to their history.

We spent the morning wandering around Ft. Augustus as the barge made its way up the step locks. Included was a cafe stop for a raisin scone and hot chocolate. After stopping for lunch after the Locks, five of us decided to make the 7 mile journey to our next stop by bicycle as the barge made its way to Loch Oich - our stop for the night.

The Gaelic name for the modern village is Cille Chuimein and until the early 18th century the settlement was called Kiliwhimin. It was renamed Fort Augustus after the Jacobite Rising of 1715. In the aftermath of the Jacobite rising in 1715, General Wade built a fort (taking from 1729 until 1742) which was named after the Duke of Cumberland. Wade had planned to build a town around the new barracks and call it Wadesburgh. The settlement grew, and eventually took the name of this fort. The fort was captured by the Jacobites in March 1746, just prior to the Battle of Culloden. In 1867, the fort was sold to the Lovat family, and in 1876 they passed the site and land to the Benedictine order. The monks established Fort Augustus Abbey and later a school.