Day 6 - Kinlochleven to Fort William

Looking back towards Kinlochleven

The drying room had just about done enough to get the wet out of the boots, over-trousers and jacket.  After another good breakfast (I can’t recall a poor one all week) I was out and ready to go by 8.20.  As I walked towards the centre of Kinlochleven I spotted Runner John and Angela.  He mentioned that he’d seen the mystery tent-girl popping her head out of the tent as he went back to his pod.  He didn’t speak to her though, which was just as well really.  It could have been a bit awkward.  We walked towards the start of the trail for the day, bid John farewell (he assured us he would pass us at some point during the day) and then set off.  2 minutes later, once again, the rain started falling and I was pulling out the over-trousers.  We were  joined by MC and Taylor as I struggled to sort my pants out.  Eventually I was ready and we set off.

Ballachulish

The climb out of Kinlochleven seems to drag on forever but it does reward the walker with great views back over the loch and the town as you make the ascent towards Lairigmor.  The rain was intermittent and would often stop to allow the sun to shine through on the mountains.  This gave some great views down the valley towards Ballachulish.

About an hour in and the first couple of miles under our belts the path led us to the old military road which we would follow for another 6 or 7 miles.  MC and Taylor told us to go ahead as their pace was slower than ours so we pushed on, trusting they would not be too far behind us when we finally got to Fort William.

It was sunny but not for long .....

I don’t know why but Day 6 seemed to have loads more walkers than any of the other days.  I recognised very few of them.  And of all the walkers we passed the only one we knew was Mike, an older guy from the Isle of Man who’d set off early and was taking his time on the final leg.  We debated whether there were some glory hunters on this leg who were out to cross the finish line at Fort William without having done the rest of the walk.

Views at Lairigmor

The sun put in an appearance as we got to Lairigmor, giving some great views of the valley but soon the weather turned very grim.  The clouds came over and it started to rain heavily.  Rain that wouldn’t stop until well after we’d actually crossed the finish line.  As we continued down the military track we were caught by John.  He stopped to chat for a few minutes, advising MC and Taylor were making good progress behind us before checking the correct route with us and heading off on his last few miles to the finish line.

A brave guardian of the glen

Ben Nevis in the cloud

With 5 miles to go there are 2 routes into Fort William.  One option is to continue to follow the track in a straight line on a slow but steady descent right into the town centre.  However, the ‘correct’ option is to take the right hand path that ascends up the side of the glen and which provides a much more interesting and scenic route.  Despite the rain, as we headed our way through the Nevis Forest we got our first proper glimpse of Ben Nevis.  It stood huge and steep-sided and the top was, as is often the case, shrouded in cloud.  Only 1 in 10 days give a clear view at the top and even throughout the summer the average temperate isn’t much above freezing.  The annual rainfall is 171 inches per year (this compares to 24 inches in London) so the chances of a dry and sunny day are very rare.

The path eventually joined a vehicle access track at the top of Nevis Forest and started to zig-zag down towards the main road that runs from the car park at the top of Glen Nevis down to Fort William.  In order to try and cut out one of the hairpins we decided to go off-road, but we soon found that the ground was steep and extremely slippery underfoot – it was fun to do for a short while, but we did decide to stick to the track after that.

The original finishing point

The feet weren't that sore, tbh.....

We were now only about 3 miles from the finish and it was just about all downhill.  The pace quickened as we knew we were within touching distance and then about a mile later we hit the main road.  20 minutes later we passed the original finish to the WHW at Ben Nevis Bridge roundabout and then we just had the last mile through the town centre, up the pedestrianised precinct and there at the end was the new, official finish line.  The finish line was moved in 2010 to the far end of the town centre in order remove a degree of anti-climax and provide a better backdrop for selfies at the finish line than a glorified road-sign by a roundabout.  Cynics would argue it was to encourage spending by walkers in town centre businesses.  To be honest the new finish is much better, with a plaque, a bench and a statue of a weary walker.  Angela and I took a few obligatory pictures and then moved out of the rain and into the Great Glen pub.  We found a table, ordered a drink and sat down.  It felt odd knowing that there was no more WHW left to do – the Way had been mastered.

It wasn’t too long before Taylor and MC came in, Taylor’s knee having survived the 16 miles from Kinlochleven.  Then John joined us, fresh from a shower at the railway station (only £3.50) and a little later Kieran came.  The decision was made that, if any of Kieran’s friends came in, they would be snubbed for disloyalty and hounded out of the pub. 

The chat was flowing well and then suddenly at the table was a face I didn’t recognise.  John introduced us to Heli, who turned out to be the girl with the tent from the previous night.  He must have plucked up enough decency to ask her what her name was, as she struggled to pack up the tent in the heavy rain that morning, whilst he sat in his hobbit pod, admiring his fridge, microwave and heater and smoking the cigarette that would open his lungs ahead of the run.   Who said chivalry was dead?

We decided to eat at the pub and so ordered food.  We were then joined by Will, Ross and Ned, the 3 American lads, and spent most of the rest of the evening chatting through how we’d all found the week, many funny stories and general banter.  During the course of the evening we discovered that Ross (I think it was Ross) had spent 6 months hiking the Appalachian Trail (covering over 2,000 miles across 14 different US states).  Now that really is a serious ‘walk’.

"Little John"

There was a slightly strange end to the evening.  We were joined by a man from Nottingham who introduced himself as “Little John”.  We first noticed him as he stripped down to his vest in the middle of the pub.  He said he was very hot.  Heli pointed out that it might help if he removed the scarf he had under his vest.  Little John told us that his Dad was Big John and that was why he was Little John.  His hands were anything but little – they were absolutely massive.  Little John had been up Ben Nevis that day and was soon telling us stories about Tony Morrison, a man who ran from John O Groats to Land’s End with a fridge on his back.  That made our 96 miles with a small rucksack seem a bit of a poor effort.  Whilst Little John knew a stack of interesting but not very useful information (for example the name and order of all the A roads between John O Groats and Land’s End), he very often forgot  that he was Little John and not Big John.  He also wanted to show his hat/snood combination that he had used at the summit of Ben Nevis.  He was a nice enough man, albeit a bit odd, but he provided us with some interesting conversation as he pulled random facts from his memory in the style of Rain Man.  We ended up giving him a pizza, for which he was very grateful and which he demolished extremely quickly.

Taylor, myself, Angela, MC and John

And then it was time to go.  People swapped contact details, shared plans they had for their next adventure and then wished each other all the best and headed off to their accommodation.  Runner John and I had time for one last drink with a couple of locals and then we too parted.

It has been a great adventure, a tough challenge but very pleased to have completed it. And also very pleased to have been able to raise funds for Mental Health UK.

Thanks for reading the blog – I hope you enjoyed following it.  And if you want to drop me a line then feel free to write to me at st04say@gmail.com.

Cheers, Stokesy   

Day 5 - Inveroran to Kinlochleven

View from Victoria Bridge

Forest Lodge

If Day 4 was less challenging, the West Highland Way certainly made up for it on Day 5.  A full breakfast was followed by donning of the raincoat, although the overtrousers stayed in the rucksack to start with.  The rain was a little on and off for the first mile but then, as I passed Forest Lodge it started much heavier and so I stopped under a tree and slid the waterproofs on over my walking trousers.  At this point I was spotted by Angela who had stayed at Bridge of Orchy the previous night.  We walked together for the rest of the day.

 

Rannoch Moor before us

The path was along military roads which meant that the terrain was a little rocky but allowed a pace slightly above 3mph.  We gradually climbed up higher, past forest plantations until we crossed over the River Ba and a couple of miles further on we went past the cairn marking the highest point of this section and started the gentle descent towards Glencoe ski resort and Kingshouse.

Development work at Kingshouse

It was here that the sheer size of Rannoch Moor was realised.  As far as the eye could see there were small lochs, surrounded by marshes and peat bogs.  Wandering off the path would have been foolhardy, so we didn’t.  Kingshouse was the halfway stage for the day and with the rain still undecided as to whether it would shower us or skirt us I was looking forward to a brew at the cafe.  I knew Kingshouse hotel was being refurbished (amid much controversy about the design) but what I didn’t know was the promise to keep the Climbers Bar open during the refurb had been disregarded.  Needless to say all I could do was refill my water bottles in the toilet block (which was thankfully still open) and press on.  It wasn’t ideal as there were no other facilities until Kinlochleven, another 10 miles on.

Stob Dearg

We hadn’t gone much further when the Running Man (and Chinese movie star) himself, Scottish John, came past.  He decided he would walk with us for a while and take on some fluids.  Out came a can of Old Jamaica Ginger Beer which he proceeded to spray everywhere.  Running 12 miles with a can of fizzy pop in your bag and then opening it was asking for trouble.  After his performance, reminiscent of winning a Grand Prix, he set off again, determined to pass a couple of other runners a few hundred metres ahead.  They obviously didn’t realise they were in a race because they let him pass without protest.  A little later we saw him in the distance as he ascended the Devil’s Staircase.  At the top he turned round and shadow boxed, just like Rocky at the top of the steps of Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Except without several hundred kids following him.  He really is a film star, albeit a Chinese film star.

Looking back at Devil's Staircase

 We continued up towards the head of Glen Coe, with the mountains to our left looking very impressive and then we veered away from the road and started the ascent of the Devil’s Staircase.  It was hard going and from the bottom it looked a very long way to the top.  Indeed I had to use the walking poles in order to help get my body up to the summit.  It was slow progress but eventually we both made it to the top and celebrated reaching the highest point of the WHW with a High 5 on Day 5.

Heading down towards Kinlochleven

From the highest point, surely it would all be downhill to Kinlochleven from here ??  How wrong can you be??!!  The path dropped down for a while then started to rise again, so more climbing necessary.  The Way seemed to tease us, around each corner would be another bit of ascent followed by some steady descent.  We got talking to an Austrian guy called Ivan (pronounced Eeevan) and discovered he was wild camping his way round Scotland for the next 30 days.  Wow – much respect due.  We all 3 walked together pretty much right into the centre of Kinlochleven.  We did see one guy who was sat down by the track.  We asked if he was OK and he said yes, he’d just left his girlfriend behind and was waiting for her.  Ten minutes later he passed, without his girlfriend and strode purposefully towards Kinlochleven.  Given his lack of gallantry, later that evening we questioned if they were still together.  I then wondered if she hadn’t just been made up on the spot to throw us from the fact that he got caught having a little rest……..

As we walked alongside the huge pipes that carry the water from Blackwater Reservoir down to the HEP station at Kinlochleven, we passed some glamping pods (lifted, by the look of things, straight from Hobbiton).  Suddenly out popped Bilbo Baggins, sorry, I mean John, post-run cigarette between his lips and presented us with a strawberry and banana smoothie each.  First time I’ve ever had one (and it was alright to be honest) – maybe he was giving a subtle hint as to how to hone my body into that of an athlete.  I did decline a cigarette from him, though – I don’t want to be too much of an athlete.

By now it was approaching 4pm – we had covered 20 miles in 7 hours over some tough ground.  I was very pleased with that performance and also that my knees and feet were still in very good shape. 

We headed to our respective B&Bs, leaving John to watch a girl struggle to put her tent up in the wind and rain right outside his pod (which apparently looked just like a Tootsie Roll – his pod, not her tent).  He told us later he did consider offering to help her but instead just sparked up another tab and watched her weep gently in the rain, her shelter for the night failing to become the tent she was hoping for.  Life is full of quandaries.  Sometimes the opportunity to help a fellow human being presents itself.  Usually the voice in our head urges us get involved, whatever the cost.  Sometimes, though, the voice whispers “why not just have a cigarette instead?”

The Tail Race - our evening venue

We arranged with John to meet at the Tail Race pub in town at about 6pm for food, drink and to swap more stories.

Arriving at the pub at about 6.20pm there were a good number of us.  Taylor and MC from DC were sat in a booth and John was there with some new friends he’d made.  One of them, let’s call him Lewis ‘cos that’s his name, was slightly merry and mumbled on about him being on his afternoon off and having spent it drinking.  He was a bit slurry but quite able to engage in debate about EU Fisheries policy.  He was however unable to walk in a straight line to the toilet and kept bouncing off people and things.  As John introduced him to us he asked where I was staying.  I told him (probably safer not to say where, for the purposes of this blog).  "Oh, I own that place" he said.  I immediately though he was joking (or simply very confused) but then he whipped his phone out and proceeded to tell me what my surname was.  Brilliant, I thought, Scottish Fawlty Towers.

This caused quite a bit of amusement for everyone concerned, the exception being me.  I ordered some food at the bar and sat down with Taylor, MC, Angela and kept a space for John too.  Our food duly arrived but as we were eating “Lewis” came up behind me, cupped my head in his hands and kissed me on the top of the head.  A very attentive landlord, no doubt about that.  At this point I was trying to remember whether or not my room had a security chain on the inside.  Lewis then offered by buy a drink "for the ladies".  3 margheritas was his suggestion.  Now I’d been in the Tail Race less than an hour and even I knew it wasn’t the type of place to sell margheritas (except maybe the pizza variety).  Lewis headed off to the bar and wasn’t seen again.

By this point we’d been joined by 3 American lads, Will, Ross and Ned, who we’d all seen at various stages of the walk.  I passed them on Day 1 as they were trying to work out how a kissing gate operated.  I came past them, through the gate, and almost heard that lightbulb moment of realisation.  It turned out they have been making a film over the course of the walk.  It’s quite a highbrow film, I think, as they expect a certain degree of viewer intelligence to work out what is going on rather than you being spoon-fed the plot.  Target audience is ‘Trail Folk’ which basically means anyone who has hiked on any trail anywhere for at least a day.  They said they still have a lot of post-production  work to do in order to get something that works.  I will be credited as Random Man (given they apparently filmed my approach to the kissing gate on Day 1).  I enquired about royalties but, as a non-speaking extra, there won’t be any.  On the plus side I will probably be invited to Cannes next year for the premiere.

We were then joined in the pub by Kieran who had, once again, been snubbed by the very friends he had come all the way from Germany to walk the Way with.  Unable to fully participate in his group’s hike, he had been turned into a pariah.  By this time, though, we had adopted him into our group and welcomed him into the circle of friendship.  I believe he was genuinely touched.

Eventually it was time to think about bed so we agreed that for all of us our rendezvous point for the next day would be the Great Glen Inn, a pub right by the finishing line statue. 

So with one last day to cover the 16 miles to Fort William everyone parted in good spirits.

Day 4 - Crianlarich to Inveroran

Climbing out of Crianlarich

Today was probably the least challenging day of all so far.  The total distance covered was 16 miles but most of the time it was on the old military tracks that cross the highlands.  Breakfast at the hotel was a Full Scottish, which is basically the same as a Full English but with the addition of haggis.  I have to say I quite enjoy the haggis – it does help though that all the venues advise that their haggis is freshly caught, so that probably makes a big difference.

 

Falls on the River Fallon

The West Highland Way passes along the top edge of the valley above Crianlarich and, by lodging there, I’d lost quite a bit of elevation which I had to regain first thing.  The legs were fine and it was an early test for the lungs but I’m pleased to say that having reached the halfway mark everything was holding up in pretty good shape.  The path wound through a forested section for a couple of miles, undulating gently, crossing a couple of fast flowing burns destined for the River Fillan below.

Eventually the path dropped down the hillside, under the railway line and across the A82.  For a couple of miles then it was a farm track heading to wards Kirkton.  Here walkers got a real treat as a shepherd was training his border collie to herd the sheep.  It was amazing to see them working together – the dog obviously loving his work, even though was could tell he was still only young as a couple of times his enthusiasm got the better of him and he couldn’t help but run a bit more than he should as the shepherd kept telling him to lie still.

After watching for a few minutes it was back to walking.  The Way takes you past the Lochan of the Lost Sword.  Here, in 1306, Robert the Bruce and his men were reputed to have thrown their weapons as they were being pursued up the valley by the English.  The weapons included Robert’s huge claymore sword.  Legend has it that it is still in the Lochan although an extensive search by a research team in 2015 found no trace of any weapons.  Still, it is an interesting story.

Soon Tyndrum was upon us.  There were a couple of places to stop for a brew and a rest but as it was a Sunday morning the cafes were very busy and so the decision was made to press on.  I did pop into “the last shop before Kinlochleven” (28 miles away) to get a drink and also a bottle of Old Jamaica Ginger Beer for John, the guy who was running the Way, should he pass by.  His own extensive research has shown him that this drink has the highest sugar content of any soft drink and so it’s his go-to soft drink when running.  John also insists that having a cigarette immediately before running helps open the lungs and thus provides great benefit.  I’m not fully convinced neither is anyone else who he tells it to.  Having said that, he’s a smoker who’s running nearly 100 miles and so he does have some degree of fitness.  He also explained that this was just a test run ahead of his trip to Spain in a couple of weeks where he intends to run 1,100km (700 miles) from the north of Spain to it’s southern tip over the course of about 7 weeks. Completely bonkers.  Having bought the ginger beer I later wondered whether or not I should have also got him 20 Lambert and Butler as well.

The Way tracks the railway to Bridge of Orchy

 The next 7 miles out of Tyndrum were a foretaste of Rannoch Moor, which will be tomorrows adventure.  The path rose out of Tyndrum and then followed the railway line to Bridge of Orchy.  Beinn Odhar at 901m and then Beinn Dorain at 1,076m tower above you, steep sided and imposing.  The train track hugs the side of the Beinns and veers away the Way in a huge horseshoe loop as it crosses the glen between the two.  The track stays glued to one Beinn then crosses a couple of impressive viaducts before landing on the opposite hillside.  An impressive engineering feat.

Bridge of Orchy Hotel

The weather in Crianlarich was drizzly but not too bad and so the raincoat stayed off for the most part.  As Bridge of Orchy approached the rain fell heavily and the wind funnelled up the valley between the mountains on both side.  It was a reminder that the moors can be a very bleak place when the weather turns – in winter the Highlands demand a lot of respect from climbers, hikers and walkers.  Ignore the warnings or underestimate the weather at your peril.

John finally ran past about 300m from Bridge of Orchy but refused to stop despite me shouting that I had some ginger beer for him.  He did graciously accept the gift 2 minutes later at the station where his bunkhouse was situated. 

Taylor, Kieran, Angela and John

Bridge of Orchy Hotel stands next to a lovely stone bridge over the River Orchy (which explains its name I guess).  Here I spent the next 3 hours or so drying off, having a drink and catching up with friends old and new.  Company included Angela and John and a couple of UK based Americans, Taylor and MC (MC is from DC and has no TV – honest, I’m not making it up) and a German lad called Kieran who had hurt his knee but was trying to keep up with his friends who were camping at Inveroran.  Kieran had managed to get a room for the night at the hotel having been deemed not worthy to join their camp.  I was instructed by Kieran, once I got to my B&B at Inveroran, to find his friends at the wild-camp site and chastise them for leaving him behind.  Ohana.  Ohana means family – nobody gets left behind !!

Loch Tulla

Inveroran Hotel

It got towards 6 pm and I still had a couple of miles to walk so I bade farewell and headed off to Inveroran and my next bed for the journey.  There I had a lovely meal and chatted for a while to a couple on the table next to me.  At Inveroran there was no connectivity to the outside world, not even text or phone call so I headed to my room to write the blog and get an early night. 

Tomorrow Rannoch Moor – the biggie !!

Day 3 - Inversnaid to Crianlarich

Loch Lomond very still this morning

Breakfast at 8 and I was walking by 9am.  The terrain was more of what I’d experienced for the last couple of miles on Day 2.  Rocks, roots, scrambling about. There was even a step-ladder to climb at one point.  

After a mile or 2 I passed Rob Roy’s Cave (or at least the sign).  Last year I went and had a look and, I have to say, I was unimpressed.  I’m sure he could have found a much better cave if he’d set his mind to it.  It also has “Rob Roy’s Cave” painted in huge white letters with an arrow, for the benefit of the boats that bring tourists to see the spot.  I bet the guides describe the cave as being much better than it really is.

Now spoiled by tourism ........

Challenging terrain

Shortly after this point I met a guy and his son who were doing 2 days walking, from Inversnaid to Crianlarich today, and then onto Bridge of Orchy tomorrow.  They did the first 33 miles last year and they aim to do the final next year.  3 years to complete the West Highland Way ??!!  I felt quite smug thinking I was doing it in 6 days.

Eventually we arrived at Ardlui and from here the path improved massively.  We moved away from the loch shore and rose high up above water level.  The pace increased and we soon passed Doune Bothy and before we knew it we were in Beinglas.  I stopped for a quick drink and to fill my water bottle whilst my companions headed off to the Drovers Inn for their lunch.

Falloch Falls

I resumed my walking, alone now, and followed the track up alongside the Falloch, passing the impressive falls.  There was plenty of climbing along this section as my destination for the day was at the top of the Falloch Glen, on the watershed between the Falloch and the Fillan rivers.  I passed quite a few walkers who were fully loaded with gear and who were finding the climb challenging. 

Friendly local

Near the top end of the valley the path went through farm land and here I experienced the muddiest section so far of the WHW.  At several points I had to hop from stone to stone to avoid being ankle deep in mud.  Here I met a couple of guys – Aaron from London (he was given Elvis Presley’s middle by rock’n’roll parents) and Lukas, a young Swiss who’d just decided on a bit of a whim to do the Way.  No real plans for accommodation, just a desire to hike to Fort William.  Kids these days, never properly organised.  We chatted for a while and then Aaron headed off for Tyndrum to camp whilst Lukas and I dropped down to Crianlarich.  He headed for the youth hostel and I carried on to my hotel. 

Looking back towards Loch Lomond

Sheep creep under the railway line

On the way to the hotel I got chatting to a Scot named John.  He was running the Way over 6 days and had just finished his stint for the day.  We talked for quite a while and then Angela came down the hill.  She’d chatted to John earlier in the day and was staying at the same hotel as me.  We agreed to all meet up for dinner, along with Lukas who I’d told to find me at the hotel once he’d sorted the youth hostel out.  We had a great evening, eating, laughing, talking and sharing stories before all heading off to our beds ready for another tough day of walking/hiking.

It’s probably the thing I love most about this walk, just meeting and chatting to people from all over the world, from all walks of life and where the one thing you have in common is that you’re all doing the West Highland Way.

Day 2. Balmaha to Inversnaid

Day 2 was a shorter walk in terms of miles covered (14 in total) but the paths and terrain were much tougher than yesterday.  You'd think that, because the next 20 miles hug the shore of Loch Lomond, the going would be pretty flat.  But it isn't and that's because the eastern shore of Loch Lomond consists of craggy outcrops interspersed with dense woodland.

Tom Weir

After a very enjoyable Oak Tree Inn breakfast I checked out and made my way down to the statue of Tom Weir, a seasoned climber, writer and photographer.  He was an ardent campaigner, working to protect the Scottish environment and, in 1976, was awarded an MBE as well as being voted "Scottish TV Personality of the Year".  Not sure how tough the competition would have been back then ?  Andy Stewart, maybe ??  The Krankies weren’t around for another 2 years.

From Balmaha the path climbed sharply up and around the Craigie Fort before dropping back down to follow the shoreline as I started to head north.  At this point I caught up with Johan and Carla, a Dutch brother and sister combo who were doing the Walk. They’d actually been in the room opposite me in the Oak Tree but up to that point we hadn’t spoken.  I ended up chatting with them as we walked the next section to Rowardennan.  The conversation flowed well and covered a whole range of interesting topics.

Looking south down Loch Lomond

Delicate Angels Wings

The first couple of miles were quite easy, following a path by the main road that goes to Rowardennan.  Then, as the road fell back from the shoreline, our path took us though some lovely plantations.  Here we saw many trees and plants but the thing that stuck me was the proliferation of fungi.  Huge red and white fly agarics were plentiful but the one that caught my eye was the very delicate Angel's Wings.  Many of them had been nibbled by the local wildlife but there were a few that were still fully intact.

As we progressed through the woods the path rose and fell like a gentle rollercoaster.  Never too steep but enough to get the legs and lungs working.  Soon we were at Sallochy where we had a rest for 20 minutes, looking out over the clear and very calm water.  The weather today was excellent with no rain at all.  After the rest we started to climb the hill at Ross Point - the first testing climb of the day.  As Carla reminded us, "it's OK to sigh but it's not to complain".

The climb up Ross Point

 After dropping down from the summit of Ross Point it was only another mile or two before we arrived at Rowardennan Hotel.  Johan and Carla were staying here for the night whereas I was still only halfway to Inversnaid.  However, we were all in need of a sit down and a drink so we sat outside on the decking, sampling St Mungo lager, a bavarian style pils lager brewed in Glasgow. We chatted for ages, taking in the stunning views - Ben Lomond stood tall and was cloud free even though some of the peaks further up the Loch were shrouded in mist.

Where's the proof-reader?

We started to cool down after our earlier efforts and so we moved back inside.  The tv in the corner was keeping us up to speed with current affairs (albeit on mute) whilst the stereo played a great selection of tunes from recent decades.  One surreal moment had us looking at pictures of Syrian conflict whilst Frankie exhorted us to "Relax".  The news channel was Euronews Now, and basically kept looping a set selection of news stories.  I did have to chuckle that, for a tv company, their attention to detail was a little lax.  It took at least a couple of hours for them to correct a very basic spelling error in their headlines.

Johan and Carla

Angela, David and Nancy

Whilst we were here we were joined by Angela (San Francisco) and David (Scotland) whom I'd met at Drymen on Day 1.  

A short while later Nancy (Colorado) also joined us.  They were all booked into Rowardennan Hotel so they could relax for the rest of the evening.  

At about 5pm I had to leave them as I still had 7 more miles to cover, even though I would have loved to stay for more conversation and laughter.

Time to head to Inversnaid

The next 4 miles were all on a pretty easy track that rose steadily up above the loch before levelling off and finally dropping right down to the shoreline.  Here the track ended and the path became very challenging.    

Although Loch Lomond was never more than a handful of metres away, the path rose and fell over the quartzite, schist and marble underfoot.  Huge boulders regularly rose up out of the ground between trees and burns and provided a reminder of the much harder-wearing rocks north of the Highland Boundary Fault.  Often the path was replaced by a scramble over rocks, slippery when wet, and with many exposed tree roots.  There was as much time spent watching where you were putting your feet as was spent taking in the surroundings.

Great views over Lomond

Typical honesty box stall

The final few miles were tough going – many people have a real dislike of this section and I can understand why.  It seems to be never-ending and you never seem to pick up any speed or momentum.  However there are many other points of interest along the way and the scenery is hard to beat.  

I regularly saw drinks, crisps, fruit and chocolate in little display cabinets with honesty boxes next to them.  A real treat for the hungry walker who just so happens to have a spare pound in his or her pocket. 

Bill Lobban memorial

I also passed the memorial for Bill Lobban – a teacher who drowned as he rescued a pupil who had been swept into the Loch as a college expedition tried to cross the burn.  The pupil survived thanks to Bill’s sacrifice but he sadly died.  Passing walkers add sticks, stones and flowers to the mound as a token of respect to a man who paid the ultimate price to save his pupil's life.

From the memorial spot it was another 2 miles to Inversnaid – tough going amongst the rocks and tree-roots and then ending with the spectacular falls right next to the hotel where Arklet Water flows into the loch.  I finally made it to the hotel only to find out I’d missed the last sitting for dinner and would have to make do with sandwiches.    A shower, a sandwich and a cheeky beer and then I tried to update the Blog, but unfortunately the broadband was atrocious so I could only manage a placeholder.  Publishing will just have to wait.

Inversnaid Hotel - nice place, shame about the broadband

Tomorrow there will be a few more miles of rocks and roots before I say goodbye to Loch Lomond and take to more open terrain as I head towards Crianlarich.