Great Glen Way: Oich Bridge to Fort Augustus

Notes

General Data

This leg is particularly pleasant and easy. It follows the Calendonian Canal's towpath northeastwards, passing Cullochy and Kyltra Locks to reach Fort Augustus. A spectacular flight of locks takes boats down towards the southern end of Loch Ness in the town. Sadly it is the last significant stretch of towpath walking on the trail, as forestry tracks take over past Loch Ness.

Distance  4.9 miles
Ascent  39 feet
Descent  79 feet
Est. time  1 hours 41 minutes
Difficulty  easy

Map of the leg


Maps courtesy of Google Maps. Route for indicative purposes only, and may have been plotted after the walk. Please let me have comments on what you think of this new format.

Directions

This leg starts on the A82(T) beside Aberchalder Swing Bridge at Bridge of Oich (NH338035).

Cross the road at the Aberchalder Bridge and continue on along a track with the canal to the left. This heads north for half a mile before reaching Cullochy Lock at NH341041. Cross the bottom set of lock gates to reach the western side of the canal and then turn right to follow the canal northwards, keeping the canal to the right. It starts to curve to the right, and two miles after Cullochy Lock it reaches Kyltra Lock at NH352067.

Continue on past the lock and follow it as it curves to the right and then the left to take a northeasterly course. After 2.2 miles the canal widens and reaches the top of the Fort Augustus locks. Here either side of the canal can be used to descend the short distance down to the swing bridge that carries the A82(T) over the canal in the centre of the town at NH378091.

 
 

Places of interest

Oich Bridge

Oich Bridge carries the A82 over the River Oich next to the Caledonian Canal. The modern road bridges pale into insignificance when compared to the adjacent suspension bridge, built by James Dredge in 1854. It is a truly magnificent structure, and is well worth a quick visit if passing by. Dredge managed to make a superlative example of a bridge that perfectly fits its location.

location UID #313

Fort Augustus and the old fort

The town of Fort Augustus nestles at the southern end of Loch Ness, about halfway between Fort William and Inverness. It was a small settlement called Kiliwhimin before General Wade built a fort at this strategic point immediately after the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion. A small village grew up around the fort and this flourished even after the fort was abandoned.

The fort was sold on to Benedectine Monks who founded Fort Augustus Abbey in 1876, which they later converted into a school. Sadly this closed in the 1990s, and the site is now privately owned.

Fort Augustus village is dominated by a flight of lochs that takes the Caledonian Canal down into Loch Ness. There are several shops, and accommodation is provided by many B&B's and hotels, all of which are ideal for walkers on the Great Glen Way. Nothing is finer than sitting outside a pub beside the locks, supping a pint whilst scrawling on postcards and watching boats slowly rising and falling.

location UID #314

Loch Ness

Loch Ness possibly has to be the most famous location in the entirety of Scotland, eclipsing even Edinburgh Castle in the public's imagination. Just the statistics are mind-blowing: it stretches for nearly 23 miles from Fort Augustus in the southwest to Inverness in the northeast; it is over 1.5 miles wide and is an incredible 230 metres deep. It contains more freshwater than all of the lakes in England and Wales combined.

Yet these figures are not why people visit. It takes a certain something for a place to develop a mythology, and Loch Ness has mythology in spades. It is far from the remotest place in Scotland and the scenery, although grand, is far from the best the country has to offer. So why is it so popular?

The answer is a little sighting made in 1933.

The A82 main road follows the northern shoreline of the loch, whilst the southern shore is much less accessible and quieter for much of its length.

location UID #315

The Caledonian Canal

The Caledonian Canal should have been one of Scotland's great engineering triumphs. Before its opening, any ship wanting to go between Scotland's two great cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh has to undertake a long journey via the south coast of Britain or a shorter but more perilous voyage around the north coast of Scotland. Many ships were being lost on this voyage, and the line of three large lochs that marks the Great Glen seems like an obvious route for a canal.

Unfortunately the lochs are freshwater and are situated at some height above sea level. This means that the work was much more expensive than would otherwise have been the case, and that the engineers tasked to survey the route did not have an easy task. For one thing it was not going to be a normal canal as it would be able to take seagoing ships. James Watt performed the first survey, and this was followed up by Telford and Josias Jessops.

As is often the case with civil engineering, both time and fiscal estimates were wildly optimistic. The canal took nineteen years to build, finally opening in 1822, and at double the cost. Unfortunately it was outdated almost as soon as it had opened; new sailing and (later) steam ships were too big to fit into the locks. Thus the investors in the canal made a massive loss.

However, their loss is our gain, and the canal still offers boats and small ships a short-cut across Scotland.

location UID #304

The Great Glen

The Great Glen is a feature unmistakable on any map of Britain. It follows the Great Glen Fault that incises a harsh diagonal line across the Highlands, from Fort William in the southwest to Inverness in the northeast. Various glaciations periods have eroded the fault and formed three large freshwater lochs - Loch Loch, Loch Oich and the famous Loch Ness.

Much of the Great Glen is surrounded by high ground, meaning that the glen forms one of the best low-level routes in the region; it is used by the busy A82 road between the west and east coasts and also the Caledonian Canal. Part of it was also used by the Invergarry and Fort Augustus railway line, which closed to goods just after the Second World War.

location UID #306
 
 

Transport

Transport on this leg is relatively easy, as both Fort Augustus and Oich Bridge have bus stops on the A82(T), from where several bus services operate each day on the Citylink 919 route lead between Inverness and Fort William.

As usual, Traveline Scotland is an excellent resource for planning public transport journeys.

Map information

Landranger (1:50,000)   Explorer (1:25,000)
Landranger 34 (Fort Augustus, Glen Albyn & Glen Roy)
or
Explorer 400 (Loch Lochy and Glen Roy)
 
 

Photos of this leg

The Bridge of Oich.The Bridge of Oich.The Bridge of Oich.The Bridge of Oich.Cullochy Loch.The view north from Cullochy Loch.Heading north from Cullochy Loch.Kyltra Lock.A cruiser on the canal.The locks at Fort Augustus.A lock at Fort Augustus.A lock at Fort Augustus.

Accommodation information

B&B
Bank House Bed and Breakfast
Station Road
Fort Augustus
Loch Ness
PH32 4AY
P: 01320 366755
W: www.visitlochness.co.uk
E: bankhouse@visitlochness.co.uk

Grid ref: NH377091 (57.144025,-4.68384)
7693
B&B
Caledonian Cottage
Station Road
Fort Augustus
Loch Ness
PH32 4AY
P: 01320 366305
W: www.caledoniancottage.co.uk
E: caleycottage@btinternet.com

Grid ref: NH377091 (57.14399,-4.683191)
7694
B&B
Corrie Liath
Market Hill
Fort Augustus
PH32 4DS
P: 01320 366409
W: http://www.corrieliath.co.uk/
E: corrieliath@gmail.com

Grid ref: NH374085 (57.138182,-4.688456)
7695
 
B&B
Hill Cottage
Fort Augustus
Inverness-shire
PH32 4BN
P: 01320 366597
W: http://www.ness-art.co.uk/
E: mark@ness-art.co.uk

Grid ref: NH378100 (57.152008,-4.683416)
7696
B&B
Lorien House
Station Road
Fort Augustus
Inverness-shire
PH32 4AY
P: 01320 366736
W: http://www.lorien-house.co.uk/
E: mail@lorien-house.co.uk

Grid ref: NH379091 (57.144212,-4.681353)
7697
Hostel
Morag's Lodge
Bunoich Brae
Fort Augustus
Inverness-shire
PH32 4DG
P: 01320 366289
W: http://www.moragslodge.com/
E: info@moragslodge.com

Grid ref: NH378095 (57.147727,-4.68293)
7698
 
B&B
Rose Cottage
Fort Augustus
Inverness-shire
PH32 4BN
P: 01320 366639
W: http://www.rosecottage1.co.uk/
E: rosecottage1bnb@btinternet.com

Grid ref: NH379101 (57.152706,-4.681388)
7699
B&B
Sonas
Fort Augustus
PH32 4DH
W: www.fortaugustus-sonas.com
E: Lorna@FortAugustus-sonas.com

Grid ref: NH381096 (57.148769,-4.678357)
7700
Hostel
Stravaigers Lodge
Glendoe Road
Fort Augustus
Inverness-shire
PH32 4BG
P: 01320 366257
W: www.highlandbunkhouse.co.uk
E: info@highlandbunkhouse.co.uk

Grid ref: NH377090 (57.142736,-4.683641)
7701
 
Hotel
The Lovat Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Fort Augustus
Inverness-shire
PH32 4DU
P: 01456 459250
W: http://www.thelovat.com/
E: info@thelovat.com

Grid ref: NH378091 (57.143763,-4.682488)
7702
B&B
Three Bridges bed and breakfast
Fort Augustus
Inverness-shire
PH32 4BN
P: 01320 366712
W: http://www.three-bridges.co.uk
E: contactus@three-bridges.co.uk

Grid ref: NH380101 (57.152704,-4.679317)
7703
B&B
Tigh na Mairi
Canalside
Fort Augustus
PH32 4BA
P: 01320 366766
W: tighnamairi.vpweb.co.uk
E: tighnamairi@yahoo.co.uk

Grid ref: NH378092 (57.145057,-4.682681)
7704
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