Forach two

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Review of Slow Ways route Fort William to Achnacarry 2 (Forach two)
I walked this route over two days, not because it was particularly challenging but because no overnight accommodation was available at the destination. I found it a pleasant, enjoyable, scenic and relatively undemanding route. It is generally well mapped, although I note and agree with the comments of Mary Oz about slightly misleading plotting. The route begins at Fort William train station but quickly heads out of the town centre along a quiet path between a housing estate and the shore. After a while the route crosses the River Nevis on a modern foot/cycle bridge next to a very old rail bridge. The suburb of Caol is directly ahead and the route circles around it on a wide pavement, eventually reaching a station and level crossing. Crossing the railway track here (and the road beyond it) leads to the canal side at the foot of the series of locks known as Neptune's Ladder. From here, the route follows the right hand (south) canal towpath all the way to Gairlochy. The going is easy with a good surface and minimal inclines or declines. From Gairlochy the route leaves the canal-side and first continues along the side of a (relatively quiet) road before climbing uphill along a forest path. After a while the path drops down to cross the road. There then follows a lovely section through mixed woodland along the shore of Loch Lochy before the route crosses the road once more and enters the gates of the Clan Cameron Estate. A tarmacked road leads to the Clan Cameron museum and the end of the walk. This route combines woodland paths, estate tracks, quiet roads, canal towpaths and suburban pavements to create an interesting, varied and enjoyable experience.

For the most part this route followed the Great Glen Way, which was waymarked with blue posts. The initial section was a cycle track leaving Fort William train and bus station, then it used residential roads through Caol (where there was a handy Co-op) to short-cut the picturesque but longer coastal section.
The route reached a level crossing, then the Caledonian Canal at Neptune’s Staircase locks, at about 25% of the way through. From here it was an easy canalside gravel track for the next 50% of the route. We could look back towards Ben Nevis, although the top was mostly in cloud. The canal ran alongside the River Lochy, and I heard my first cuckoo of the year.
The sunny weather and pretty rainbows ahead developed into a bit of fairly heavy rain by the time we reached Gairlochy, but we had overnight accommodation at Spean Bridge.
Most of the remaining 25% of the route followed a beautiful woodland track, often along the shore of Loch Lochy, although there was a bit of a climb and descent initially. A quiet road led to the end point at the hamlet of Achnacarry, and the little museum where we had a coffee break to celebrate a personal Slow Ways milestone!
My only criticism of this route is that the gpx file has very few waypoints and relies on snap-to, which always feels a dangerous policy to me, as it could change over time, or for different apps. I often use snap-to to plot routes, but try to add in lots of waypoints to pin it down. In this instance it resulted in the route following the residential road at Caol just outside Fort William, rather than walking on the actual towpath leading to Banavie Station.
Other than that, this was an absolutely gorgeous route, pretty easy but with lots of beauty, interest and variety.

Loved the beaches on Loch Lochy and the views of Ben Nevis. The canal walking was flat and easy to navigate, but a slog against the strong winds we were walking in! I 100% recommend this route... and plan to swim in Loch Lochy on it next time!.

This is a good route between Fort William — Achnacarry. It mostly follows the Great Glen Way, other than when it steers to Achnacarry. Achnacarry is very small, but if you time it right, the Clan Cameron museum has coffee, snacks and an interest exhibition on both the Cameron's and Commandos. The beaches on Loch Lochy are idyllic.

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