Fort William Backpackers is a very friendly place and very reasonably priced so it's not surprising that it is fully booked.
Next day, I had planned to catch the 08:15 Camusnagaul Ferry across Loch Linnhe and set off down the road along the North side of the Loch to Conaglen. However (Schoolboy Error) it doesn't run on Sundays! So I took a taxi down to the Corran Ferry and started from there. Very interesting discussion about Scottish Independence with the driver!
Leaving the very quiet main road, you enter the Conaglen Estate.
The Conaglen estate was purchased from the Macleans of Ardgour by the 18th Earl of Morton after the death of Alexander Maclean, 13th Laird of Ardgour in 1858. It is currently owned by the Guthrie family. They also own Hever Castle through their company Broadland Properties that, as you can see from the link, usually donates £50,000 pa to The Conservative Party.
Fair play to them though, this sign about deerstalking is very welcoming to walkers.
I met a guy called Alan who is also walking the CWT. He was planning to go all the way to Glenfinnan in one day. I didn't fancy starting with 20 mile walk.
I camped in Conaglen. It was nice and sunny. There was bit of rain later on and overnight but I awoke to sunshine. Unfortunately this didn't last.
Next morning I was up and away by 9 am. I carried on along Conaglen then followed the River Callop down into Glenfinnan. It was snowing nearly all the way. The sun finally came out as I reached Glenfinnan. I am staying in The Glenfinnan Sleeping Car. A converted railway carriage. I had a shower, did some washing and collected the parcel that I had posted. Very relieved that the parcel had arrived.
I am planning to eat in the hotel down the road and have breakfast on The Dining Car, another railway carriage that has been converted but, this time into a restaurant. It's started snowing again and the forecast is for heavy snow tomorrow followed by more snow on Wednesday and Thursday!
Still, I am in Bothies until Saturday, so should be warm and snug ...
Glenfinnan was where Bonny Prince Charlie's Standard was raised and there is a memorial to the event. The raising of the Standard took place at the head of Loch Shiel on 19th August, 1745, in the last attempt to reinstate the exiled Stuarts on the throne of Great Britain and Ireland. The monument was erected in 1815.
The Glenfinnan Viaduct carries the railway to Glenfinnan Station across a 380m span, up to 30m above the ground.
Glenfinnan Viaduct has been used as a location in several films and television series, including Ring of Bright Water, Charlotte Gray, Monarch of the Glen, Stone of Destiny, German Charlie und Louise, and four films of the Harry Potter film series. In fact the Harry Potter Train or The Jacobite Express (whichever you prefer came through the station just after I arrived.
A long-established legend attached to the Glenfinnan Viaduct was that a horse had fallen into one of the piers during construction in 1898 or 1899.In 1987, Professor Roland Paxton failed to find evidence of a horse at Glenfinnan using a fisheye camera inserted into boreholes in the only two piers large enough to accommodate a horse. In 1997, on the basis of local hearsay, he investigated the Loch nan Uamh Viaduct by the same method but found the piers to be full of rubble. Using scanning technology in 2001, the remains of the horse and cart were found at Loch nan Uamh, within the large central pylon.
Glenfinnan Monument
Next update Shiel Bridge in several days. See map below for precise details.
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