Little Wyvis hike, 05.04.2025
My first Corbett since moving to Scotland!
Little Wyvis is part of the view from our house, so it felt like a good one to be the first.Left home early, and parked at the car park at Silverbridge, then followed a route from Walk Highlands. Over the river, up through some estate land (deer, lambs!) and then on along good tracks up the hill (with a coffee break) for about 3.5 miles to the top. Beautiful views! It was very peaceful. On the way up it was just Andrew and me, plus a chap carrying his wee daughter up her first mountain. On our way back down, there were a few others on their way up.
Picnic by a lochan near some friendly deer!
Got back to the river, and then did a 5 mile loop along the most gorgeous river path, followed by some off piste bush whacking to get to Garve, and then back along lanes and forest tracks, to complete 12 miles.
Marathon along Loch Lochy from Laggan Locks to Gairlochy and back, 06.04.2025
I believe I may have been quite uncomplimentry of the unoriginality of Loch Lochy's name in my last post.
I would like to retract this.
Having spent a morning running along its magnificent banks, through the magical pine forests that wrap around it, across it's idyllic beaches and admiring the perfect views over it's dark blue waters towards Ben Nevis, I conclude that it's everything you could want from a loch. So Lochy is the perfect name, it doesn't need anything else. And, in early Gaelic, it means "Loch of the dark goddess", which is quite a dramatic name, after all.
Plus it's got it's own legend; the River Horse, a supernatural being which emerges from the lake and assumes the shape of a horse and feeds on the banks of the loch. I didn't know supernatural beings needed earthly nutrition, but there you go. Take that, Nessie!
And, there is actually a loch with and even less inventive name than Loch Loch. And that is Loch Loch. It's true, there is.
Loch Lochy (not Loch Loch, or any other lochs or locks) is about 16km long, 1km wide and is the third deepest of Scotland's lochs.
I ran from Laggan Locks at the north eastern end along the northern side down to Gairlochy, along the Calendonian Canal for a mile or so to make it up to 13.1 miles before turning round and doing it backwards.
Met Andrew (who was cycling/ walking) at the Gairlochy swing bridge, which was open to let some boats through, providing the perfect opportunity for a pause and a coffee break.
Then back along to Laggan Locks, via a chat with a nice couple walking the Great Glen Way.
