Highland Drove Walk - Day 7

Loch Garry to Loch Lochy - 19 3 miles / 30.8 km

It was another toss-and-turn night as the ground had a number of holes that my sleeping bag conveniently copied and my back didn't appreciate. We were very excited about today: 8 easy hilly miles with some stunning views. HMMMM ... we had one but not so much the other. We set off early hoping to get to our destination early, Loch Lochy, for a refreshing dip but didn't realise the variety of paths we would be walking on: dirt track, normal path, forest path, marshland, swamp and some tarmac - it definitely got the muscles working everywhere. The gaiters had a fantastic workout and we were over the moon about our waterproof boots once again.

The only animal we encountered was a deer in the middle of the forest no more than 15 feet away from us she was magnificent. The views were, you will be shocked, absolutely stunning and all our breaks had WOW factors. Getting back to some kind of civilisation (aka road and a museum) was grand, but the last leg was torture. I stayed at Loch Lochy before and knew just the perfect site. I managed to underestimate the distance and instead of 20 minutes it took us 45 to get there. After more than 18 miles that was agony on our already sensitive feet.

Finding the spot already occupied was devastating but we didn't give up and moved about 100 feet away from a group of kayakers. We both limped to the Loch for a refreshing splash, enjoyed our dinner, and passed out cold with our feet throbbing to the sound of African drums. It was the longest day so far with amazing views but I have to say I'm happy tomorrow is going to be an easy and flat stretch to the finish line: Fort William here we come.