Great Glen Way, Scotland

23-27 August 2008

The Great Glen Way is 73 miles (117km) in length. It runs through Scotland from Inverness to the shadow of Ben Nevis at Fort William, with spectacular views and historical and natural heritage all along the way.

The route follows Britain’s greatest geological fault – the glen linking the Atlantic to the North Sea. The entire walk is steeped in history dating back to the Iron Age and no walk in Britain can provide a greater diversity of bird and wild life.

• August 2007 photo gallery

• Fred Keeler’s Great Glen Way challenge diary

The mighty Loch Ness is a major feature of the first two-and-a-half days of the walk and the path, which rises in places to 1,000 feet, provides enthralling views of the surrounding area.

After the southern end of Loch Ness is reached at Fort Augustus, the walk follows very closely the route of the Caledonian Canal and two further beautiful lochs – Oich and Lochy. The second half of the walk is dominated by the frequent glimpses of Ben Nevis.

A feature of the final day is the famous Neptune’s Staircase, a series of eight lochs.

The route takes four days to complete – the distance walked every day varies from 10.5 miles to 17.5 miles. There is no climbing/ scrambling involved, but the event is physically demanding, involving approximately eight hours walking each day. However, this is more than made up for by the tremendous views!

Accommodation

Accommodation will be in guest houses or hotels of a high standard.

Food and drink

From days two to five, breakfast and packed lunches will be provided. Walkers will be responsible for paying for their evening meals.

Guides

All of our guides are highly motivated, experienced mountaineers and also qualified first aiders. They offer both experience and encouragement, as well as sharing their great sense of humour!

Transport

Transport will always be on hand during the trip to take us to our evening accommodation and to take luggage to each overnight stop. It will also be there for safety should anyone retire from the event for any reason.

The guides are in contact with the transport through radio communications at all times. At certain locations along the way, the transport meets us to serve tea, coffee or orange juice and to let us refill our water bottles.

Each walker will be responsible for getting to Inverness for a 10am start on day one. At the end of the walk, walkers will be responsible for their own departure from Fort William, but as the minibus will be returning to Inverness, anyone who wishes it can be taken back to Inverness.

Cost

Participants are asked to pledge to raise £565 sponsorship money in order to cover all costs and ensure Epilepsy Action benefits significantly. Obviously, if you can raise more than the minimum amount it would be greatly appreciated. We ask that £188 of the sponsorship is sent in at least three weeks before the event and the remaining £377 is sent in 28 days after the event. An additional £50 non-refundable deposit is required with each application.

What next?

Contact Melanie Taylor in our fundraising department for more information on 0113 210 8800 or email funding@epilepsy.org.uk

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• Download or print our fundraising guide
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