Day 2 was wet when it ended. Clothes all wet and no change as carrying everything for 2 days. The hotel room is cold, as we are the only guests in the hotel, and the only heater is electric and can't put stuff on it to dry. What to do?! Take the pictures off the wall above the heater and hang the clothes on the hooks!
So, Day 3 starts with dry clothes. And a full Scottish Breakfast. Good start.
Back to the canal for Day 3. Only 11 miles today and all flat. Hurrah! Not feeling too tied after yesterday and pleased with that. Some of the training I should have done last week was two longish runs back to back at the weekend, and this is pretty much that, and feels OK. The idea of doing back to back long runs in preparation for an ultra marathon is that 1) you stimulate the demands of running almost the entire race distance, but by doing it over 2 days you reduce the stress on the body by having a chance for recovery in the night in between, therefore reducing risk of injury 2) running on the second day when tired is good mental practice for the latter stages of the race (which will be tough, I imagine).
The 11 miles were fairly uneventful but enjoyable, and the end was near which always brings a feeling of anticipation. The weather was absolute crap. Sorry, but it was. Didn't see very much, but did peak a glimpse of Ben Nevis though the mist. Intimidating mountain even when you can't see it.
We ran down 'Neptune's Staircase' or rather down the towpath next to it, not the actual locks. Obviously. Neptune's Staircase is a series of 8 locks, and is the longest staircase lock in Britain, and lifts and lowers boats 20 m up and down the Caledonian Canal, was designed by Thomas Telford, and built between 1803 - 1822. History lesson of the run, done.
After that it wasn't much further to the end of the canal, and the sea at the other side of Scotland!
The last lock into the sea!
The sea!
The final part was only about 3 miles to Fort William, but as you could see Fort William for the whole 3 miles (see picture above - Fort William is the white splodge), it went on forever, and the rain got heavier, and each mile got longer, and.... you get the picture. But finally we reached our goal!
Hurrah! Celebratory drink (hot chocolate, it's New Years Eve, must save ourselves for the hard stuff later).
Scottish people are officially the nicest people in the world. We had booked bus tickets back to Inverness because there were only a few buses in the day, and it was New Years Eve so we thought they would be busy. We got the cheaper ones, like on the trains where you get a cheaper fare if you travel on a specific train, so we had to go on the 2pm bus. But it was only 11 am when we finished, and it was freezing and pouring, and we'd already been to Morrisons cafe which was the only warm place open. So we thought to try to blag our way onto the 12 o'clock bus instead, if there was room. I was like, it will never be allowed! But no! The bus driver laughed and let us on. Oh, and stopped at a bus stop he wasn't supposed to so we could pick up the car. Can you imagine that happening in London! Ha!
So, let me summarize. Even though it was cold and the weather wasn't great, it was still a beautiful run, and lots of fun. I would definitely recommend this footpath. It's really clearly marked, it's challenging but easily split into manageable sections with nice places to stay along the way. Scenery is stunning, you simply must see it!
And the best part is that it isn't over yet! There is still one section between Drumnadrochit and Fort Augustus which we didn't manage to finish.
To be continued.......
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