Great Glen Way Big Trail Adventures
Great Glen Way

Your walk from
Fort William to
Inverness

You'll walk 125 kilometres through the Scottish Highlands along the Great Glen Fault, taken by canal towpath and lochside path rather than by fell ridge, with three lochs underfoot and the high routes above Loch Ness. A route that finishes at a castle, in a city.

Distance
125 km · 78 mi
Ascent
1,600 m
Duration
2–6 days
Trips from £609pp See packages →
From — per person
Plan your trip

Three ways to walk it

Pick one to see the full plan — or scroll for the trail in detail.

The Explorer

6 days · unhurried pace
From £—

The Classic

5 days · most booked
From £—

The Challenge

3 days · demanding pace
From £—

Prefer to talk it through? Call us on 0131 560 2740

Scottish Highlands UK
Trail Essentials
Start
Fort WilliamHighland
End
InvernessHighland
Distance
125 km78 miles
Total Ascent
1,600 m5,249 ft
Difficulty
Moderate
Hilliness
Rolling
Time to Complete
Explorer
6 days ~20 km/day
Hiker
5 days ~25 km/day
Fastpacker
3 days ~41 km/day
Trail Runner
2 days ~62 km/day

When to Walk

Best Good Avoid
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
The Great Glen Way runs 78 miles from Fort William, in the shadow of Ben Nevis, to Inverness, on the Moray Firth — along the towpath of Thomas Telford's Caledonian Canal, up the wooded shore of Loch Lochy, past the locks at Laggan and Aberchalder, into Fort Augustus, then high above Loch Ness on forestry track for two days, and down through Abriachan Forest into the city. It's the gentlest of Scotland's long trails: more towpath than ridge, more lochside than fell. Reasonably fit walkers can do it in five days at a Hiker pace, six at an Explorer's. The character is the country, not the climbs.
Walking the Great Glen Way

How The Trail Unfolds

Your Great Glen Way divides naturally into three parts — not by day, but by what's underfoot. Canal towpath gives way to a high traverse above Loch Ness, and the traverse falls away into one long forest descent to Inverness.

Telford's Country
Fort William to Fort Augustus

Telford's Country

Eight locks, three lochs, fifty-four kilometres of towpath and forestry track before Loch Ness opens out at Fort Augustus.

You begin in Fort William under [Ben Nevis] and walk onto the Caledonian Canal towpath. Within an hour you reach Neptune's Staircase, [Thomas Telford's eight-lock flight raising the canal nineteen metres in under half a kilometre]. From there it's flat going to Gairlochy, then along the wooded shore of [Loch Lochy, Scotland's third-deepest], through [Clunes Forest] to Laggan Locks, then onto Loch Oich. By [Aberchalder Swing Bridge] you've covered most of the gentle ground. At Fort Augustus you walk down [the five-lock flight that drops the canal into Loch Ness].

Above Loch Ness
Fort Augustus to Drumnadrochit

Above Loch Ness

Two demanding days of forestry tracks high above Loch Ness, with Urquhart Castle as the long-distance reward.

From Fort Augustus you climb four hundred metres into forestry plantation, then walk the high route for the rest of the day, dropping down only to [the Falls of Moriston] and the village of Invermoriston, where two bridges sit side by side over the gorge — [Wade's military bridge from 1749 and Telford's of 1813]. The next day is the trail's hardest. You climb steeply through Scots pine and emerge onto open moorland, walking high above the loch for hours. [Meall Doire Bhrath] gives a 360-degree view; [Urquhart Castle] appears only on the descent into Drumnadrochit.

The Abriachan Descent
Drumnadrochit to Inverness

The Abriachan Descent

The trail's longest day. You climb above Drumnadrochit, walk through community-owned forest, and descend slowly out of the Highlands.

You climb steeply out of Drumnadrochit through working farmland and into [Abriachan Forest, community-owned, where you reach the trail's highest point at 380 metres]. The forest has [an eco-campsite and a forest school] mid-route — coffee, biscuits, somewhere to sit. From there you walk through heathland and pine plantation with views opening across [the Beauly Firth] toward Wester Ross. The country flattens. The fells fall behind you. By the time you cross the River Ness at Inverness, the Highlands are an hour back; the castle is the last thing to walk to.

— Now Make It Yours —

Find Your Great Glen Way

Most people walk it in 5 days. Some want longer to take it all in. Others want the challenge of doing it quicker. Pick the trip that suits you — or customise yours below.

ABTOT 5690 · Financially protected Guidebook authors on every trail 72-hour confirmation or no charge Refund promise if we can't deliver
Your personalised Trail Book — trip overview, day by day itinerary and accommodation details

Included with every trip

Your personalised
Trail Book

Everything you need for every day of your trail — built around your exact itinerary. Your route, your accommodation, your packing list. Ready before you leave, works offline when you're out there.

Tonight's accommodation

Check-in time, room type, phone number and directions — all in one place

Day-by-day trail description

Route map, elevation profile and written description for each stage

Packing list and pre-trip checklist

Everything you need, nothing you don't. Tick items off as you go

Works offline

Open it once with data and it's yours — no signal needed on the trail

Included with every trip

Your route on every device you use

Your custom GPX file is built around your exact itinerary — day by day, door to door. Load it onto any device or app before you set off and navigate with confidence.

Works with

GPX route on Komoot iPhone app and Garmin watch
A Mouse, A Storm and the Great Glen Way

Hear it from the trail

Jennifer Stevens

Jennifer Stevens walked the Great Glen Way alone in late September — wild camping, reading geology boards, and getting caught in the kind of weather Scotland reserves for people who check their phone too late. She also found a mouse in her tent. It smelled of strawberries.

“"It felt so comfortable. So safe. You're not there to push yourself too much — you're just there to enjoy it."”
Read Jennifer’s story →
Craig, Trail Specialist at Big Trail Adventures
Talk to a Specialist

Knows the trail. Plans yours.

Craig Trail Specialist
The Great Glen Way is the trail I recommend to people who've done the West Highland Way and want a trail they can think on. Less climbing, more lochside, more time to look at things. Just don't underestimate the two days above Loch Ness — that's where it bites.

Craig has spent over ten years in adventure travel — most of it talking walkers through trails like this one. He's helped hundreds of customers plan their Great Glen Way, knows where people typically underestimate the high routes above Loch Ness, and has the calls in his pocket from people who've walked it the week before.

Ask Craig about the Great Glen Way

If you want to talk through your timing, your fitness, your pace, or anything the planner can't answer — call. Most of our customers do, and Craig's the one who'll answer.

Call us · 8am–6pm 0131 560 2740 hello@bigtrailadventures.com
The Practical Side

Before You Book

The things walkers ask us most often — answered plainly, so you don't have to ring to find out.

How fit do I need to be?
On the Hiker pace — five walking days — you'll average 25 km a day with a daypack. The first three days are gentle: canal towpath and lochside walking, minimal climbing. Days four and five climb around four hundred metres above Loch Ness on forestry track. The final day is twenty-seven kilometres but not steep. If you can comfortably walk 20 km in a day with rests, you're fit enough. The Explorer pace splits the trail into six days for a more comfortable rhythm.

When should I walk it?
May, June, and September are the strongest months. May and early June give you the longest days, the driest weather of the year, and Highland walking before the midges arrive. September brings autumn colour, fewer walkers, and clearer air for the high routes above Loch Ness. July and August are the most walkable from a daylight standpoint but the busiest, and midges along the lochside can be heavy. Avoid November to March — the days are short, the high routes get exposed, and accommodation closes.

Do you include luggage transfer?
Yes — your bag is moved between accommodations each day, included in every package. The standard allowance is 20 kg per bag. The Great Glen Way's main stops (Fort William, Gairlochy, South Laggan, Fort Augustus, Invermoriston, Drumnadrochit, Inverness) are all served by established baggage transfer companies. There are no remote stages where transfer isn't possible. You walk with a daypack only — water, lunch, waterproofs.

What kind of accommodation do you book?
Family-run B&Bs, guesthouses, and traditional Highland inns. All en-suite, all with breakfast, all with drying facilities for boots and waterproofs. Fort William, Fort Augustus, Drumnadrochit, and Inverness have plenty of choice. South Laggan and Invermoriston are smaller villages where the options narrow to two or three places — these book up first, especially in May, June, and September. We avoid chains. You stay in places with local knowledge and a kettle in the room.

Can I walk it solo?
Yes. The Great Glen Way is well waymarked along its full length and busy enough in season — May to September — that you'll see other walkers most days. Single-occupancy rates apply, and we book private rooms (no shared dormitories). The canal and lochside sections are public towpaths used by cyclists, dog walkers, and locals. The high routes above Loch Ness see fewer walkers but you're never more than a few hours from a road or a village.

What's the realistic total cost?
The Classic package starts at £609 per person for the five-day Hiker pace, which covers accommodation, breakfast, baggage transfer, your custom route book, and on-trail support. On top of that, budget around £15 to £25 a day for lunches and snacks (most stops have a shop or pub), and £20 to £35 a day for evening meals. There are no entrance fees on the route. A realistic full-cost figure for the trail itself, all in, sits between £800 and £900 per person.

Still not sure? Ring us on 0131 560 2740 — Craig usually answers.

Still Thinking?

Speak to Craig

If you've scrolled this far, we need to help you get onto this trail. The bit the planner can't help with — "is the pace right for me?", "is August really that busy?", "can we add a rest day in Keswick?" — that's a two-minute phone call. Most people who book the Great Glen Way ring first.

Call us · 8am–6pm 0131 560 2740