Canoeing the icy, still waters of Loch Lochy as we make a start on the canoe across Scotland
The Great Glen Canoe Trail is a classic canoe 60 mile journey from coast to coast through the spectacular loch and river system of the Great Glen. This is my experience of paddling the iconic route in the depths of winter – with snow on the ground, ice in the canals and temperatures of -10 degrees Celsius.
My brother, sister and I rarely get the chance to meet up, so when we make a plan to do something together, we aim to stick to it. This ethos saw us sticking to the plan we had made several months previous – to canoe across Scotland. The fact that it was a few days before New Year and Scotland had seen several days of snow and ice was not going to get in the way.
So we headed to Fort William, on the west coast of Scotland to begin. Arriving in the dark there were a few concerns about just how cold and snowy it was and what this might mean for our trip. But we were there now, and so we would continue as planned.
After a comfy night in the great Chase the Wild Goose Hostel, we got up and prepared to head out. Luckily we checked the canal entry point at Neptune’s Stairs before unloaded the canoes from the car – the canal was frozen solid! – So much so that there was even footprints in the snow going across it. Evidently there would be no paddling here today!
At Neptunes Steps, just outside Fort William where we had planned to launch, but due to abundance of ice had to find somewhere else!
I have to admit at this point I was starting to doubt the plan, but brother and sister still had full confidence in it! So we headed a few miles down the frozen canal to where it enters the first loch. The idea being that the larger body of water would not have frozen over. At this point it is worth mentioning the route is made up of 3 lochs, connected by canal sections.
Finding a launching spot on Loch Lochy where we started our canoe trip across Scotland
Our assumptions were mostly right, the loch – named (very quaintly I think), Loch Lochy, was not frozen and so it was here we launched and began our journey proper. And suddenly everything started to make sense! Surrounded by the epic landscape of the Nevis range, and dusted as it was with snow and ice the scene was beautiful – particularly as the stillness of the day meant the loch itself was like a mill pond, reflecting perfectly the dramatic winter landscape, interrupted only by our own paddle strokes.
Battling through the ice as we canoe on Loch Oich Scotland
Predictably, as we neared the end of this loch it began to narrow and turn into canal, and as it did so the ice returned, blocking our path. So we began our first portage. However, what the weather took away on the water, it gave back on the land – the snowy paths made it far easier to drag the canoes than having to carry them the miles to the next loch.
Enjoying a snowy portage to get around the iced up section of canal
Loch Oich (is far less quaintly named than its predecessor) is smaller than Loch Lochy, and so suffered slightly with ice. We were able to break our way through however to continue our journey, but it took so long the short winter day was nearing its end. One the one hand this was a bit worrying, as we had a little way to go till we planned to stop at Fort Augustus, on the other hand, the setting sun, combined with the scenery and mist rising off the loch was very beautiful to see – certainly we had time to enjoy it and take a photo or two!
The beautiful sunset at the end of the winters day Loch Oich Scotland
Fortunately at this point the river Oich runs parallel to the canal. The canal was frozen, the river was had a half-decent and was not. So, as it was now dark we made the decision to speed our progress to Fort Augustus by using it. This could have gone horribly wrong – the river had sections of (albeit small) rapids, it was about -10 degrees and it was dark. If one of us had fallen in it could have gotten serious quite quickly.
Paddling the canoe down river to Fort Augustus
So we unloaded our canoes, to make them a bit easier to manage and my sister and friend carried them along the footpath. My brother and I, the 2 more competent canoeists then paddled the section of river. With limited visibility, rocks and current it was a bit hair-raising at times. But we made it through to Fort Augustus without incident and could enjoy the warmth and whisky offered by the very welcoming hostel – Morag’s Lodge
Thawing out after a long and cold day on the water
The next day we launched straight into Loch Ness. The cold, still air soon cleared our heads and very shortly the sides of the loch stretched out away from us showing us the vast expanse of this famous landmark.
Loch Ness being much larger than the lochs we had crossed the previous day was a little rougher, and the head wind soon fought against our progress. The deeper, rougher water did however mean there was much less ice on the surface. We paddled throughout the day with little incident.
Launching into Loch Ness at Fort Augustus at the beginning of day 2
As the loch is so large, moving at the speed of a canoeist does give the impression you are not moving at all! And after several hours toil and with little change in scenery we decided to have a short break. This however was not too practical, as soon as we stopped paddling we soon became very cold – So, on we went, heading for Drumnadrochit. Just under two thirds the way down the loch, home of Urquhart castle and more importantly our hostel for the night.
Arriving at Urquhart castle after a hard day canoeing on Loch ness
The third and final day of the trip saw us continue across Loch Ness and through the last (iced up) sections of canal before arriving in Inverness. Unlike the previous two days, the wind had picked up and it buffeted us head on and created waves that crashed against us, spraying us with icy-cold water.
Heading across the choppy waters of Loch Ness
It meant the going was also a bit wobblier, with many panicky moments manically attempting to turn the canoe into on-coming waves to avoid a dunking This high-intensity paddling meant there was little time to enjoy the scenery and the morning seemed to go past in an instant. Before we knew it the loch was narrowing and we drifted into the canal section heading to Inverness.
And in arriving at the canal, so began the ice and our final portage of the trip. All that was left was a few miles of dragging our canoes to Inverness!
All packed up and ready to leave Scotland following the 3 day trip