Walking Scotland’s Great Glen Way: Myths, Monsters and a Trail Across Scotland
Article submitted by Hillwalk Tours.
The Great Glen Way, a cherished part of Scotland’s official Great Trails, was established in 2002. This long-distance trail stretches for 127km (79 miles) from the western town of Fort William in the Scottish Highlands to the eastern city of Inverness.
At Hillwalk Tours, the Great Glen Way is a firm favourite among our walkers, with thousands choosing the trail every year. So why do so many walkers choose the Great Glen Way?
Is it the unmatched natural beauty of the area? After all, it’s an incredible trail that allows you to trek coast-to-coast across Scotland. You trace the route of the Caledonian Canal from Fort William on the Atlantic to Inverness on the North Sea, enjoying spectacular highland surroundings, minus the climbing. Most of our itineraries are relatively gentle hikes that stick to the lower levels of the Great Glen. It’s an ideal route for first-time long-distance walkers, with the added bonus of some of Scotland’s most iconic scenery.
Or is it the warmth of the friendly, welcoming locals? You’ll feel it in the warm welcomes at the cozy B&Bs we partner with, and in the relief of arriving at each one to find your bags already waiting for you.
Or maybe, it’s the sense of myth and magic that lures people in? The route passes by the legendary waters of Loch Ness, home to one very famous resident.
A Long-Distance Scottish Hike with a Side of Mythology: Enter Nessie
You’ve probably already heard of the Great Glen Way’s most famous resident, the mythical Loch Ness Monster, affectionately referred to as Nessie. Unless of course you’ve been living under a rock (or 230 meters underwater, as the case may be) for the last 100-odd years.
She’s usually described as a rather large, long-necked, serpentine creature with greenish-greyish skin and a small head. Whether you believe in her or not, it’s hard not to stop and peer out at the water when the trail hugs the edge of the loch. Just in case.
But did you know the first recorded sighting of Nessie wasn’t some 20th-century photo hoax or sonar glitch?
St Columba and the First Nessie Sighting
Sightings of Nessie date back to ancient times, with the oldest attributed to St Columba, an Irish saint (also said to be one of the last of the Celtic druids), by his biographer St Adomnán. The story goes that after a man was attacked by a monster in the River Ness (which flows from the northern end of Loch Ness), the local Pictish people were conducting a funeral for the victim.
Columba was on his way up the Great Glen, and got talking to the gathered mourners. When he heard about the monster, he suggested they lure out the beast so he could confront it. St Columba got one of his followers to jump in for a swim, and Nessie rose to the top. Columba gave Nessie the sign of the cross, and banished her to the depths of the Loch. Ever since Columba thwarted Nessie, she has been awfully shy about popping her head up.
It was this event, so the story goes, that helped begin Columba’s influence among the Pictish tribes, the pre-Christian ancestors of modern Scotland. That influence is still felt today, both spiritually and culturally, in the Highlands and beyond.
While St Columba didn’t walk the Great Glen Way as it exists today, his historical travels closely followed the natural corridors of the Great Glen, from the western coast inland toward Pictish strongholds like Inverness.
The modern route, which follows the Caledonian Canal and ancient fault lines, takes hikers through the very landscapes where Columba spread Christianity, making it a kind of spiritual pilgrimage in disguise.
Hike the Great Glen Way with Hillwalk Tours
At Hillwalk Tours, we’re passionate about helping you experience Scotland’s most iconic trails at your own pace. Our self-guided hiking tours of the Great Glen Way are designed to take the stress out of planning, so you can focus on enjoying the journey. We regularly rewalk our trails, fine-tune our itineraries based on walker feedback, and handpick local accommodations to make sure every step is memorable for all the right reasons. With your accommodation and luggage transfers taken care of, all you have to do is walk.
Explore the myth, history and beauty of Loch Ness and the Great Glen Way with a self-guided walking holiday from Hillwalk Tours.
Learn more about walking the Great Glen Way with Hillwalk Tours 👉🏼 here