June 30, 2018 — Stage 10: South Laggan to Fort Augustus [Invermoriston] (22 km—25 deg. C)

The trail was misty when we left Forest Grove Guesthouse and headed toward Fort Augustus along the Caledonian Canal.   Thirty minutes after joining the trail, we passed the Well of Seven Heads (on the other side of narrow Loch Oich).  The gruesome title belies a gruesome tale that is intertwined with the MacDonald's history (see a description at the end of this entry).  The level trail along the canal gave way to a level trail along the line of the old railway from Spean Bridge to Fort Augustus.  The construction of the line began in 1896 but was never finished and now provides a level grade for walking.

The cool morning air and a flat trail should have given us a quick pace but Laurel's feet were sore and changing shoes was not fixing the problem.   After a couple of hours the mist lifted and clear blue skies and bright sunshine framed our views of swing bridges, lochs and locks.  

Fort Augustus was buzzing with activity—boats navigating the 5 locks and tourists jostling to get the perfect picture or best table for a cup of tea.  We popped in at a bakery to get directions to the pharmacy (to buy some orthotics for Laurel' shoes) but stayed for the tea, espresso, and carrot cake.  The pharmacy had a number of options and we purchased a few of them. We explored the town to see how Laurel's feet would react to the shoe inserts.  Bagpipes, cricket, tartan shops, and fish and chips filled our Scottish BINGO CARDS and so we caught an afternoon bus to Invermoriston, the neighbouring village and our home for the evening.

Invermoriston is a tidy small village on the Moriston River, which boasts two beautiful old stone bridges and a waterfall.  After a walk around town and a shower, we went for a tasty supper at the Glenmoriston Hotel Pub, then retreated to the Bracarina House B&B for an early evening.

Well of The Seven Heads 

South of Invergarry along the west shore of Loch Oich sits an obelisk to mark the location of a well and portrays its story.  It's a carving of a hand holding a dagger and seven severed heads, and commemorates an incident which took place in September 1663. The accounts of this event are many and varied. Alasdair and Ranald MacDonald of Keppoch were murdered by their uncle, Alasdair Buidhe of Inverlair, 'apparently to no great grief in the district'. On learning this, Ian Lom, the Keppoch Bard, borrowed 50 men from MacDonald of Sleat in order to bring the murderers to justice. On arriving at Inverlair and, finding the house barricaded, they set it on fire, forcing out the seven men inside who they then killed. Their heads were severed and washed in the well before being presented to the Chief of Glengarry. However, it is not known whether any of these seven were involved in the murders. The remains of seven bodies were later discovered in a mound nearby.