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64 CARAVAN DAYSto any extent from its mean altitude of eighthundred feet, to Spean Bridge.Again we swung sharply round to the North-East and headed up the Caledonian Canal, alongthat strange cleft in the mountains from coast tocoast as if Scotland had been split by a singleblow from an axe which they call the " Great"Glen." It is, I am told, a grave geologicalfault," but though geologists may shake theirheads over it, it has no other fault that I couldfind. For those were memorable days. Thescenery was magnificent and the road, almost thewhole way along the canal, difficult and evendangerous. There are any number of watercoursesto ford, though fortunately (after a spellof dry weather) there was little water in them ;there are some awkward, narrow bridges, and atthe head of Loch Oich the road loses itself to allintents and purposes in a great bed of gravel,continually reinforced by floods from the steephillsides above. As there was a fairly sharpgradient at this point it was only with the greatestdifficulty that we could pull across it, the wheelsploughing in a full six inches deep. Just aboveFort Augustus we found a little quarryfull ofgorse, where we drew in for the night.The next day's march along Loch Ness was