Reviews of The Great Glen Way

The reviews below refer to "The Great Glen Way" published by Rucksack Readers. To find out more about this book, click on its cover or Look inside its pages or visit its Gallery.

Comments from a customer

I purchased your Rucksack Readers Guide and found it to be extremely useful. It is full of information and the route was described with sufficient detail to give a clear idea of what to expect and what to look out for – congratulations! The background information about the geology, history, wild life and the Caledonian Canal added to my enjoyment of the trail. The drop down map was very clear and full of helpful information.

By email (unsolicited)

Recommended by Scots Magazine

A handy and comprehensive trail guide, written by hikers for hikers and printed on waterproof paper in a rucksack-friendly format.

Scots Magazine, May 2002, page 500

Excerpt from Undiscovered Scotland online

Robust, waterproof, comprehensive and enjoyable, this Rucksack Reader is the "everything you could possibly want to know" guide to the Great Glen Way ... It provides route information and overview maps - plus detailed maps of the route through Fort William and Inverness. Nicely illustrated throughout, it also provides a wealth of background on the geography and history of the Great Glen, and on its wildlife and mountains. Whether you're looking for an easier alternative to the West Highland Way, or a serious extension to it, this book is an essential companion.

Undiscovered Scotland website

Review in the Financial Times Supplement

In Inverness I bought a copy of the best guide to the Inverness-Fort William leg of the drive ... It might seem eccentric to recommend a rucksackers' guide to motorists, but Megarry's little book is extremely well presented. It contains a fold-out map and a wealth of information about the Great Glen Way, its national history and what to do and watch out for, especially around Loch Ness.

Michael Thompson-Noel, FT supplement "Great European Drives" 10 May 2003 page 12

From a walkscotland online review

Key to the book's undoubted appeal to walkers is the fold-out mapping covering the whole route. It's clear and uncluttered, detailed and very easy to follow. Each of the five sections correspond with a part of the map and the latter folds up into the book itself and can be used as a handy bookmark. The book itself is spiral bound along the top, making it robust and easy to use and, at A5 size, is easily slipped into a rucksack pocket. An added bonus is that it is printed on waterproof paper, very thoughtful given Scotland's rather inclement weather!

Please see http://www.walkscotland.com/books.htm for full text

The Inverness Courier

This is a well-constructed and carefully thought-out guide which is enough to whet a walker’s appetite for the long-distance route and entertaining enough to get some Invernessians out of town to see an oft-forgotten part of the local countryside. ...[It] takes in the majesty of Loch Ness, the engineering feat of the Caledonian Canal and the rich and varied natural history of the fault line.

Jack Gemmell, The Inverness Courier, 3 August 2001

From an online review

An excellent companion book to Scotland's new long distance trail between Fort William and Inverness. Waterproof and compact, this book gives route details, photos, maps, etc. for everything you need to know.

The Internet Guide to Scotland (sports/outdoors books)

Excerpt from a 5-star Amazon review

This is an essential guide for anyone intending to walk the latest long distance footpath in Scotland. Clearly written, sound advice for experienced and novice walkers, an excellent format, good map and fantastic photography.

Read the full review by a Glasgow reader at Amazon.co.uk

From an email from a back-packer

It was concise and very user-friendly - so much so that I recently bought the guides for the Rob Roy Way and Speyside Way as we intend to tackle one of them this summer.

Alasdair MacNeill, Inverness

From the official magazine of the Ramblers' Association

Rucksack [Readers was] quick off the mark with an inaugural guide to Scotland's fourth Long Distance Route ... This well-designed waterproof guide is spiral-bound with clear fold-out maps.

Reviewed in "The Rambler" no 9, Autumn 2001, page 48

From the Scottish Rights of Way and Access Society

The format is part book, part map, being spirally bound with waterproof pages of text illustrated with excellent photographs ... The maps are beautifully clear but lack sufficient detail to be used on their own ... Let's hope the planned signage is comprehensive enough. The tracks around Grotaig, above Drumnadrochit and over the Aird, just before Inverness are complex, to say the least! ... That said this Rucksack Reader is a must for anyone contemplating this latest long-distance route.

Peter Koch-Osborne, ScotWays Autumn Newsletter 2001 page 17

Excerpt from a 5-star Amazon review

A revolution in guidebooks, this compact and efficient manual for walking The Great Glen Way lets you find the information you want at once, instead of wading through heaps of side-issues in the hope of finding what you need. As an experienced backpacker, but less experienced hiker, I am delighted to find a book that takes up little space, is lightweight and accommodates beginners as well as experienced hikers.

Some guidebooks seem to be designed only for flipping through at home, but this is the ideal book to take along. It is waterproof, allowing you to walk in the rain, eat while reading and even highlight bits on the maps and wipe it off later! It has a table for converting metric distances, which is great for people from the continent.

“The Way in Detail” breaks the walk down into day-long sections. Each has a neat little summary at the beginning telling you what to expect, such as Terrain, Side Trips and Where to find food and drink. I loved the South Laggan to Invermoriston section including Fort Augustus, with boats working their way through the flight of five locks, and the Falls of Moriston. Make sure you check out the chapter on wildlife which has many photographs.

Overall this is the perfect book for a great walk. I can't wait for more Rucksack Readers to be published, on New Zealand perhaps?

Ster Liezenga, Ommen, The Netherlands at Amazon.co.uk

From an American reader who had just returned from his walk

The reader was very useful each day and helped clarify the directions we had at several points. What a beautiful place to spend a week walking!

Glenn Goldsmith, Atlanta, GA

Badenoch and Strathspey Herald

It contains a unique drop-down map flap, is spiral bound to allow it to open flat and is fully waterproof. In short, it’s extremely user friendly, even if you’re walking along the trail in wind and pouring rain.

Cameron McNeish, 19 July 2001

Chris Brasher comments on the format

These guides are a real boon to the growing army of men and women who don a pair of boots, sling a rucksack over their shoulders and head out into the great outdoors.

Chris Brasher, athlete, walker and founder of the Brasher Boot company