text: Laggan Locks to Oich Bridge
  Great Glen Way: Laggan Locks to Oich Bridge
  Initially this leg follows the towpath along southern bank of the Caledonian Canal from Laggan Locks to the A82(T) beside the Laggan swing bridge at the southern end of Loch Oich. It then follows the eastern bank of the loch northeastwards, following an old railway trackbed and a military road for much of the time. Finally it leaves the railway and heads across meadows beside the loch, including one spot that has to be the best view on the entire trail. A short path than leads on to Oich Bridge, where the A82(T) recrosses the canal.
  Ascent 692 feet
  Descent 696 feet
  Est. time 2 hours 41 minutes
  This leg starts off at Laggan Locks at NN285963, at the northern end of Loch Lochy.
  Cross over the canal at either of the two locks to reach the towpath on the eastern side of the canal. Once there, turn left to head northwards along the towpath. When the path splits take the higher path that continues on top of a bank above the canal towpath. It enters a wooded area and climbs to quite a height above the canal; it finally emerges just before a wooden footbridge across a stream. Cross the footbridge and follow a gravel path that leads north through trees for another half mile; it emerges from the trees and the path becomes rough for a short distance until it emerges out onto the A82(T) once more at NN299981, with the Laggan Swing Bridge to the left.
  Carefully cross the A82(T) (do not cross the bridge) and turn right to join a private road; this soon curves to the left and passes the entrance to the Great Glen Water Park on the left. The road continues behind the park; as it turns to the left once more, turn right along a track that climbs gently up through trees. The track soon curves to the left, passing a disused railway bridge on the right before joining an old railway line at an old station, the platform of which is covered in trees.
  Laggan Locks takes the Caledonian Canal out of Loch Lochy and into the cut that leads for a mile and a half into the southwestern end of Loch Oich. In 1544 the Battle of the Shirts occurred between Clan Cameron and a combined force from Clan Fraser and Clan Grant. The Wikipedia entry has more information about the battle, but I for one am overjoyed by the descriptive names of so many Scottish battles - they are both intriguing and extraordinary.
  location UID #311
  The Fort Augustus railway from Spean Bridge
  If you stand on the A82 near Invergarry Castle and look out over the waters of Loch Oich, you may feel that there is something missing on the steeply-sloping hillside opposite. Like so many other hillsides it is sparsely wooded, but it does not particularly distinctive. What it really needs is something to differentiate it from all the others, something active. A stream of smoke rising from a train, perhaps. Well, transport yourself back eighty years and it would have been a frequent sight.
  The Invergarry and For Augustus Railway was a short-lived and not too successful attempt to create a railway line between Fort William and Inverness. The first stretch of line from Spean Bridge to Fort Augustus opened in 1896 but the company ran out of money, meaning that it was never extended along the shores of Loch Ness to Inverness. Unfortunately there was not enough traffic along the line from Fort Augustus to allow it to make money, and it closed to passengers in 1933 and freight in 1947.
  The Great Glen Way follows the course of the line past the eastern shores of Loch Oich; there is no more smoke, and the only steam fogging the air will come from walkers' ears when they see the many trees that block the view out over the loch.
  location UID #312
  Transport on this leg is remarkably simpler than on the earlier legs, as both Laggan Locks and Oich Bridge have bus stops nearby on the A82(T), from where several bus services on the Citylink 919 route lead towards Inverness and Fort William.