The Great Glen Way is a 77 mile route starting at Fort William and ending in Inverness. It opened in 2002 and follows the Caledonian Canal, disused railway trackbed, forest tracks and minor roads.
It cuts a swathe across the north highlands, along Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and the iconic Loch Ness. For the first three days it is a relatively gentle walk but the last two days are tougher.The Busega Scotland team was six strong. Maura, Mark, Anne and Andy from Edinburgh, and Cenzo and John from Moray. The easier 42 miles from Fort William to Invermoriston had its moments.
John forgetting his car keys (and Maura graciously going back for them), Mark’s first day blister and Cenzo frantically looking for a way of making ‘proper coffee’ at the Fort Augustus guest house (thankfully, he was successful).
Anne and Maura made serene progress and Andy was the willing ‘pack horse’.The Great Glen was the third Busega Scotland long distance walk after the Moray and Speyside Ways. There are some lessons learned. The best part of the walk is the camaraderie, good conversation passes the miles, steep downhill is worse than steep uphill and the last two miles are always the toughest, whatever the length of walk.
They were accompanied by Jordyn, who made a tremendous effort to reach the top. She was rewarded with a sash, welcoming her into the Busega Scotland walking group.
Toilet cleanliness is the responsibility of the classes, who use their designated toilet stances. The class monitor holds the toilet keys. The message on the wall is clear, ‘use water after using the toilet’.
To that end, washing stations have been constructed to increase the number of taps available.
The quality walk was on Saturday 12th September when Moira Middleton and Pam Cooper walked a marathon of 26 miles! The women have known each other all their lives and Moira said, ‘We really enjoyed the walk because we walked our old stomping ground from childhood’. Sore feet and a few aches are the only ill effects! The quantity walks were on the Sunday when 13 folk set out on 5 mile strolls in the fields and forests around the village of Garmouth. As you can see there were kilts and tartan in honour of the Kiltwalk.
when people pull together. Heartfelt thanks to all who have taken part in the walks and have made donations.
Cenzo has already completed Elgin to Hopeman via Lossiemouth and John the Letchworth Greenway. Both walks were 13 mile. Sterner tests are yet to come in the Great Glen Way from Fort William to Inverness. Kiltwalks in Moray will complete the mileage.
The women’s group at Mayega has taken extra time to set-up because of the pandemic. Our Assistant Project Leader, Julieth Godwin, met group members a few days ago, as part of the joining process. Each member has background details collected and 
checked, as our Family Support Project is targeted at families most in need of support. Most women are running small (actually micro) businesses and the injection of business capital we are able provide offers the chance to grow family incomes.
Mayega is not a wealthy community. It was formed in the 1970’s when President Julius Nyerere launched his villagisation programme, moving remote populations into larger settlements (supported by welfare facilities such as schools and dispensaries). There are seven sub-villages in Mayega with scattered collections of houses. Although next to Lake Victoria, with the opportunity for fishing, the area is arid for most of the year. This limits the economic wellbeing of its 2,500 inhabitants.
There was good news at the beginning of July when the World Bank declared Tanzania a ‘lower middle-income nation’. This move up from the ‘least developed’ category has come five years ahead of a schedule set-out in the National Development Vision.
