Freshwater

After a crow free nights kip we woke just before 6am and were pleased to discover that the tent was still in one piece. The night before we had returned from a trip into Rosemarkie to discover that another pole had broken and we now had a ridge tent. After a bit of fiddling with the tensioning straps we managed to improve the shape a bit but it was less than ideal.

We were on the water by 7.45am and headed into Inverness in glorious sunshine while all around the and was shrouded in rain. As we passed under the Kessock Bridge the flooding tide picked up pace and whisked us rapidly to the Muirtown basin and the start of the Caledonian Canal.

There we were met by our resupply team armed with a box of food that we had left with them some weeks before plus two Karitek portage trolleys and some now much needed replacement tent poles that Vango had been able to supply at short notice.

The trolleys worked really well and we were soon at the top of the flight of locks and busy packing fresh supplies into the boats.

It was also a good opportunity to catch up with a number of friends from Inverness who had come along to the basin to see us.

The trip along the canal to the head of Loch Ness was fantastic in the warm sunshine with a light NE breeze and it was great to be on fresh water and surrounded by greenery.

At Dochgarroch we hauled out to pass the lock there and stopped for a breather.

From there it was a short haul to the head of Loch Ness.

The views down the Loch were superb as we emerged from the canal. Seeing it from the water is definitely the way to go.

As we pushed on down the Loch towards Foyers an afternoon breeze sprang up helping to push is along.

We landed at Foyers early in the evening and contacted Tony's cousin Alan who had very kindly invited us round for a bite to eat.
Not only that but Alan and his wife Winifred invited us to stay the night in comfort rather than returning to the beach. And just to top it all Alan was able to provide us with a junior hacksaw to cut the pole sections provided by Vango to size so the we now had a comlete tent again. Brilliant!

All in all a great day and one where we owe a debt of thanks to a number of people. Our friends in Inverness for taking the time to come and see is and to wish us well; Val and George from Carrbridge for their help with the resupply; Geoff and Ann from Karitek for the loan of the two portage trolleys which have proved in valuable; Vango for sorting out replacement poles without which we would be pretty stuffed right now and Gavins wife Margarete for going and getting them; and last but not least Winifred and Alan from Foyers for their wonderful hospitality.

Distance travelled today: 45km
Total distance travelled: 610km
Midgee ferrocity: nil