Northern Scotland walk
Mark Moxon
Land's End to John o'Groats

Alltsigh
This hostel is on the shore of Loch Ness, and was the only time I came anywhere near the loch itself.

Alness
At the Railway Tavern, Barry and I celebrated 1000 miles on the trail with lots of food and lots of beer.

Brora
I didn't realise I'd booked into a B&B that was quite so far away from the centre of Brora...

Dingwall
After both of us had problems with our B&Bs, Barry and I booked into the National Hotel and ate very well.

Dornoch
Dornoch is a lovely little place; it's not hard to see why Madonna and Guy Ritchie got married here.

Drumnadrochit
Drumnadrochit is a pleasant spot, but even more impressive is nearby Urquhart Castle, on the loch shore.

Dunbeath
Dunbeath is small but not unpleasant, and is home to the aptly named Inver Gust House and a good pub.

Fort William
Fort William was where I bought a new pair of boots, as my other boots had given up the ghost.

Helmsdale
Helmsdale has a lovely harbour and a friendly little hostel, and makes a good final rest stop.

Inverness
Inverness has a modern Youth Hostel that's more like a hotel, as befits this fast-growing city.

John o'Groats
The furthest point from Land's End is the lighthouse on Duncansby Head, a short walk beyond John o'Groats.

South Laggan
It was at this Youth Hostel that I consigned my walking boots to the bin after 900 miles on the trail.

Wick
In the 19th century Wick was the largest fishing port in Europe, with a fleet of around 1000 herring boats.

From this point on it's road walking all the way, initially on the A9, and then along the A99.

This is the first really long section along the verge of the A9, taking you all the way to Golspie.

The most exciting part of this dull walk is when the A9 turns off and you move onto the A99 – hurrah!

Back into the Forest
Not long afterwards it's time to duck back into the forest, just in case you haven't had enough yet.

Badbea
Badbea is the clifftop village where 12 families lived from 1840 onwards after the Highland Clearances.

Berriedale
The descent into Berriedale is steep, but after three months on the trail, it's not as bad as it sounds.

Broch
Mainly built by the coast, brochs date from between 100 BC and 100 AD, and nobody knows much about them.

Brora
Although I passed through Brora on the way to my B&B, Barry stayed here and had nothing good to say about it.

Caledonian Canal
The Caledonian Canal links Fort William and Inverness via Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness.

Caledonian Canal
At the northern tip of Loch Lochy the Great Glen Way again joins the Caledonian Canal.

Caledonian Canal
On the way into Inverness, the Way joins the Caledonian Canal once more, near the end of its journey.

Conon Bridge
We stopped for a pint in Conon Bridge, and that's about all I can say about the place.

Cromarty Firth
Cromarty Firth is a nesting ground for oil rigs, which are floated into the firth for repair work.

Disaster Zone
It looked innocent enough on the map, but this path kept us thrashing about in the undergrowth for ages.

Dismantled Railway
The path follows an old railway line all the eay from Embo to the shores of Loch Fleet.

Dornoch Firth Bridge
The bridge over Dornoch Firth is huge, and is home to plenty of thundering road traffic.

Dunrobin Castle
The fairy-tale towers of Dunrobin Castle were remodelled in 1841 by Sir Charles Barry.

Embo Caravan Park
Gathered round the the Grannie's Heilan Hame pub, the caravan park at Embo is huge.

Evanton
Somewhere between Dingwall and Evanton I reached the 1000-mile mark – only 111 miles to go...

Forestry Commission Tracks
Yet again, the Great Glen Way spends most of the day plodding through tedious man-made forest.

Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus is a picturesque village centred around a staircase of five locks, and it's a popular place.

General Wade's Military Road
Following the 18th century military road, the route along the shores of Loch Oich is easy walking.

Glenmorangie Distillery
Just off the road is the distillery of one of the most famous single malt whiskies in the world.

Golf Links
As in Dornoch, the golf links of Brora are just a stone's throw from the centre of town.

Golf Links
Dornoch's links are world-famous and regularly feature in the top 20 golf courses in the world.

Golspie
After such a long stretch of A-road, the pleasant seafront of Golspie can't come quickly enough.

Invermoriston
The climb out of Invermoriston back into the treeline is steep and not terribly welcome.

Inverness Castle
The Great Glen Way finishes at Inverness Castle, where a plaque proves that it's all over.

John o'Groats Hotel
The tourist sign at the John o'Groats hotel is a compulsory part of finishing the End-to-End walk.

Keiss Castle
By the side of the road you can see both the ruins of old Keiss Castle and the more recent version.

Kessock Bridge
Kessock Bridge is an impressively big suspension bridge over Beauly Firth, into which the River Ness flows.

Kyltra Lock
After Loch Oich, it's back onto the towpath of the Caledonian Canal, with its pretty locks like this one.

Loch Fleet
Sitting by the shore of Loch Fleet is a serene experience, as the estuary is awash with bird life.

Loch Lochy Shore
Loch Lochy has some great views from its shoreline, which the Great Glen Way follows for a while.

Loch Ness
Although the Great Glen Way follows the shore of Loch Ness, it does so high up in the trees, hidden from view.

Loch Oich
As before, the Caledonian Canal ends in a loch, but this time the route skirts the southern shore.

Monument
This monument to Sir Hector Archibold Macdonald, soldier of the Empire, sits by the road.

Neptune's Staircase
The Caledonian Canal starts with a line of consecutive locks, each of which shares a gate with a neighbour.

Oich Bridge
At the northern tip of Loch Oich sits a beautiful suspension bridge, designed by James Dredge in 1854.

River Lochy
The Caledonian Canal follows the line of the River Lochy, and at times they almost touch.

Road Walking
The main theme of today's walk is the B-road, though good weather and good company make even these interesting.

Switchbacks
The Way climbs even further up into the trees than before, giving some amazing but all too rare glimpses of the loch.

Tain
Tain is a pleasant little town, though the genetic quality of the people we met in the pub was rather in doubt.

Tarmac Road
Even when the Way leaves the forest, it does so for a long and very boring B-road.

Tea Break
I spotted Barry having a cup of tea by the delightful shores of Beauly Firth, so I joined him for a pot.

The Ord of Caithness
The Ord of Caithness is a lonely, windswept part of the world that is said to be haunted.

Tree Walking
The route soon takes in an A-road and then climbs into the treeline, which rather spoils the view.

View of Urquhart Castle
Glancing back from the trail before it plunges into yet more forest, you get a great view of Urquhart Castle.

Warth Hill
The final hill on the entire walk gives a good view over John o'Groats and the Orkney Islands.

Fort William to John o'Groats