The Great Glen Cycle Route runs from Fort William to Inverness. Fort William to Laggan is mostly easy. Much of it is on the Caledonian Canal Towpath and the towpath section is traffic free. Later parts of the route, north of Laggan, are very hilly, with long climbs and steep descents.
The final section to Inverness involves some road cycling. There is also a walking route, the Great Glen Way. Most of this is the same as the cycle route but a few parts are different and these are walking only.
The Great Glen forms the dividing line between the Northern Highlands and the Central Highlands.
The Great Glen watershed is only 35 metres above sea level. The Cycle Route climbs much higher than this, to over 300 metres at times.
The Caledonian Canal was designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1822. The spectacular scenery is unusual for a canal, particularly the massif of Ben Nevis, the highest hill in Scotland (1344m).
The summit is only four miles from the sea and the full sense of its height can be appreciated from the canal. It has the highest sheer cliff face in Britain (1500ft), and virtually the only semi-permanent snow patch.
Route Description
At Clunes turn right by forestry worker's houses into Clunes Forest. Keep beside the loch as the higher tracks are not continuous. Despite being near to the loch shore this forest road it not entirely flat. Towards the north end of Loch Lochy the track turns into a road.
At Laggan there is a short cycle path leading to another forest by Loch Oich. You should be aware that the forest roads on the Great Glen Cycle Route north-east of here are very steep. Avoiding the hills by cycling on the A82 is not recommended as this main road carries a lot of heavy traffic and is quite narrow in places. The Great Glen Cycle Route is well signposted.