Need to carry food?
Before you set off on any long distance walk, it's better to do your homework and find out places where you can eat or buy supplies. If you are using a baggage company to carry your bag every day, then you can put food in your bag but this takes up space and also weight and most baggage companies have a weight limit per bag. If you are carrying your own gear on this walk, you will want to know where there are shops along the way, or places to eat. I have listed a few that I have used or passed.
Fort William
Fort William is a big town and very popular with tourists and therefore has many places to eat and drink if you choose to start your walk here, or to have something to eat and relax if you choose to end the walk here. Like most towns, there is a good supply of takeaways and pubs that do meals or if you are planning to cook for yourself, there is a large Morrisons just beside the bus/train station and a smaller Tesco Express in the town centres precinct which I prefer as it's smaller. There is also a Wetherspoons pub just beside the (new) end of the West Highland Way and I would suggest if you're not staying at a bed and breakfast that you pop in here for a hot breakfast, especially if you plan on a long days walk like I did, this will keep you going. Before heading to the start of your walk, think about popping into one of the little shops and pick up a sandwich, water and a few goodies. A couple of miles from the start, you pass through Caol and a Londis shop where you can always pick up a few things if you think you don't have enough.
Gairlochy/Spean Bridge
Many people choose to end their first day at Gairlochy but there is only one bed and breakfast here so many choose to stay in Spean Bridge though this is 2-3 miles off route. You won't get a meal at Gairlochy but you will at Spean Bridge where there are a few restaurants. There are no shops though around the area so make sure you have enough food etc. when you leave Fort William.
South Laggan
If you choose to stop at South Laggan in the hostel, like I have, you can either cook a meal at the Great Glen Hostel with food you have picked up or from the shop in the hostel, there is also the Eagle Barge Inn which is on a barge moored near Laggan locks. The Loch Oich Bar and Great Glen Water Park Restaurant are also in walking distance.
Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus is a busy little village in the tourist season and they flock here by the bus load. There are quite a few cafes and restaurants in town and also the chip shop beside the tourist information centre. Have your lunch and watch the boats pass up or down the ladder of lock gates to or from Loch Ness. In the town there are also a few shops including a butchers, newsagent and a couple of shops where you can pick up food for your evening meal or visit the pharmacy inside the Londis shop to pick up some blister plasters etc. if your feet are starting to feel discomfort. There is also a cash machine located outside the shop (not free).
Invermoriston
Invermoriston is a little village, almost 8 miles along the walk from Fort Augustus which only has a small village shop and the expensive Glenmoriston Arms Hotel. This is a good place to stop for a break so why not pop into the shop, buy a sandwich, a bottle of Coke and a bar of chocolate and then sit outside at the picnic bench outside or one of the ones accross the road and rest your feet and legs before setting of on the next part of your walk as it's quite a long way until your next place to buy any food. This shop however seems to have been "For Sale" for a number of years so don't rely on it still being open.
Drumnadrochit
When you walk through Lewiston and Drumnadrochit, you will see there is a shop in a petrol station but a bit further up you will see that there is a Co-op shop and the Drum takeaway. The takeaway does things like Pizzas, fish and chips and of course haggis and chips (you can even get a haggis pizza). I must admit that I wasn't too keen on the pizza that i got but I'd be willing to try another one. After a long days walk, I'd rather have someone else do the cooking and cleaning up and have a takeaway instead. There are a couple of cafes in the village as well as a smaller shop inside the Post Office and a bistro at the Drumnadrochit Hotel, I stayed here one night and enjoyed the breakfast in the morning. If you are staying at the nearby hostel and doing your own cooking, you will find plenty of choice in the Co-op shop and it opens at 7am so it's ideal if you want to grab a andwich the next morning for breakfast or to take with you for the day ahead. There is also a cash machine here.
Abriachan
Between Drumnadrochit and Inverness there is only one place to get something to eat or drink if you need to and it's the Abriachan eco cafe located in the woods just after the Abriachan forest trust centre.
Inverness
Inverness is a huge city so you will not starve here with the many takeaways, restaurants and pubs that serve food. In the town centre there is a large indoor shopping mall which also has a food court and near here there is a large Morrisons supermarket if you want to grab something for the long train journey back home.
