Our Introduction to Highland Walking

On our first day we stayed low in order "to find our feet" and to accommodate the cloudy weather. Still, we had a good view of Ben Nevis and some nice exercise in nice Highland scenery in nice fresh air. A great side-ways view of Ben Nevis, a picturesque gorge, a handsome waterfall and some old ruins were all on our agenda.

Setting Off

From our accomodation at the Calluna we drove down to the Visitor Centre a short way distant. We decided to defer our ascent of the Nevis to a later occasion, so, today we prepared to head for a low level walk in Glen Nevis.

We are all ready for lift off.

Glen Nevis & Ben Nevis

On our first full day we enjoyed the scenery close to ground level from Glen Nevis. We looked longingly at Ben Nevis towering up to right. We also enjoyed the captivating pinkish glow of the Mamores mountain range as we made our way to the banks of the River Nevis.

On our right, Ben Nevis (the "terrible or satanic mountain" in Gaelic) stares tantalizingly down at us, its summit shrouded in cloud and mist, ...



... and we look longingly up at the Nevis.



The captivating pinkish glow of the Mamores ahead (looks nicer in 12MP!) accompanies us as we head for our lunch stop.

River Nevis

When reached the River Nevis, we stopped for lunch by the bridge over the babbling mountain torrent. A picturesque gorge, a handsome waterfall and some old ruins (Teri's Ruins) were all on our agenda. On a three-rope bridge over the turbulent River Nevis, one of our party shows showed us what he has learnt at "Go Ape!".

At our lunch stop, we admire the babbling River Nevis, now in full spate ...



... and marvel at the way it has cut through the rocks beneath the bridge.



We then wend our way up a steep and narrow gorge, cut out over many centuries by the River Nevis. This brings us to the "lost plateau", a wide meadow, with Teri's ruins, an impressive waterfall and a bridge for the daring types.



Here is a full-frontal of the waterfall, although the next picture gives an indication of its scale.



Ralph shows us what he learnt at the "Go Ape" Experience - with the lively River Nevis below. However, apart from Rob, we all thought we might give this interesting "three-rope" bridge a miss - a little TOO bendy! We then wend our way back to base, full of our first day's experiences.

Our Evening

II am echoing a guidebook to Fort William, when I say that art of eating out in Fort William was probably still in the ascendancy. However, the good food stores in Fort William meant that self-catering was an excellent and less expensive alternative, regularly espoused by many of us. I think that this evening some of us again managed to find a restaurant in the High Street, despite the guidebook!