We walked the Great Glen Way a few years ago and thought it was amazing. There are plenty of places to stay en route and companies who will transfer your luggage daily. We chose to carry ours until we finally came to our senses on the last day faced with the final (definately most difficult day) 18 mile hike to Inverness! We did the walk late May and the midges didn't bother us much at all.

We broke the hike into 5 days;

Day 1 - Fort William to Gairlochy, an easy 11 miles along canal towpath passing Neptunes Staircase, a series of canal locks. Stayed at Dalcomera B&B which I'd highly recommend. Beautiful house with views of Ben Nevis. Evening meal and packed lunch available if required.

Day 2 - Gairlochy to Aberchalder, 17 fairly easy miles (even in constant rain!) mainly along lochsides. Coffee stop at The Great Glen water park.(May have facilities for paddling etc.) Stayed at Lundie View Lodge - basic but adequate.

Day 3 - Aberchalder to Invermoriston, 13.5 miles, again fairly easy. First stretch along towpath to the lovely town of Fort Augustus, shops, pubs, more canal locks, boat trips on Loch Ness. Then a climb up to forest path overlooking the loch almost all the way to Invermoriston, a smallish village with quite a few B&B's(we stayed at Bracarina House which was lovely), and places to eat.

Day 4 - Invermoriston to Drumnadrochit, 13.5 miles, a bit hard going for us, lots of uphill and downhill stretches along forest roads!! Stayed at Morlea B&B in Drumnadrochit and had a nice meal in 'Fiddlers'. Drumnadrochit also near Urquhart Castle and Nessie visitor centre which you might enjoy, of course by this time you may already have caught sight of the dear old girl!!

Day 5 - Drumnadrochit to Inverness, 18 miles uphill and across moorland then finally down into Inverness. Lovely views across the Beauly Firth to The Black Isle. Felt like we should have arrived at Inverness Castle to a trumpet fanfare but sadly only a bemused foreign tourist who kindly took a photo for us!!

It's also possible to cycle The Great Glen Way, although I'm not sure if you could hire bikes for just one part of it. Add an extra day to your trip if you want to climb Ben Nevis and probably another couple of days for Inverness and other side trips, maybe a dolphin cruise. There are lots of opportunities for outdoor activities in the area. Check out these websites

www.greatglenway.com

www.activity-scotland.org.uk

www.scotland-inverness.co.uk/outdoors.htm