INTRODUCTION

Following a difficult year in 2009 I am making the most of 2010. We started in February with the two week visit to Madeira which had to be cancelled last year. That was followed by a super family holiday in Devon where the 9 adults and 6 children enjoyed lovely weather and a chance to get together under one roof.

All this set us up for the challenge of walking the West Highland Way which John and I started on 25th May, 2010. I decided that this was to be my "coming out" from under my wig and although the hair still did not look much it was a wonderful feeling to be moving back to normality. I was a little apprehensive about this trip as we encountered the flooding when in Madeira followed by the Volcano eruption in April which gave some of us problems getting back home. Having had the "wind" and "fire" I was hoping not to complete the trio with an earthquake on this trip!

We did some training by a regular walk to South Queensferry through the picturesque Dalmeny Estate which hardened up the potential blister areas. We set off on the 24th May to stay at the Premiere Inn, Milngavie which allowed us to get an early start the next day. This turned out to be the most convenient option as we were allowed to leave our car there for the week.


WEDNESDAY 26th MAY



We set out on the Wednesday on a pleasant day which was a good start. I think we were both a little excited/apprehensive as to how it would all go but we located the Travel-Lite people easily who filled in the relevant paperwork and loaded our two cases which were to be delivered to each B & B en route. One is then directed to an office to get a log book which has to be stamped in strategic places along the route. It costs £10 but allows you to get a certificate at the end to prove that the trip has been completed. I did not grudge this as the money is used to improve tracks. That is the theory anyway: the reality was that the tracks were made quite difficult to walk on in parts because of large stones being thrown down. A number of other walkers were going through the same process which gave us a chance to assess the "competition". We did not feel so bad as a number of our fellow travellers were of a certain age as well.

Formalities completed, we set out around 10 a.m. at a reasonable pace - at least it was after several attempts to get boots/laces/socks comfortable. This was to be my third time of walking the route and each time it has been quite different. I will think of this trip as the Bluebell one as there were carpets of them everywhere over the first half of the walk. My walking friends will remember that I have a wee song for every occasion and today it was Jimmy Shand's "Bluebell Polka".

The first stop to get a stamp was the Glengoyn Whisky Distillers which was a big let down as it did not even have a coffee shop. We did partake of a tiny dram which fuelled us on to the pub along the road in time for lunch. It was a jolly atmosphere and we had lunch outside next to a group of young Dutch people. When we left to complete the second half of the day they fell in behind us a short way back. We passed through Gartness, the home of John Napier, where the terrain became tarmac. I began to feel an old running injury at the side of my knee coming back to haunt me probably because the last part of the day was mostly downhill and on tarmac. We stopped to have a break and our Dutch friends waved as they passed by. I hobbled the last bit where the route turned and led us over a green field. We made it to "Rose Cottage" which was on Stirling Road quite near Drymen centre. Our luggage had already arrived and we were made welcome by Helen and Tommy in spite of being earlier than the stipulated "after 4 p.m." Helen asked us to take our luggage upstairs ourselves as Tommy had had two heart attacks and she "needed him for the season". I am sure she did not mean her comment to sound as it did but we fell about laughing later every time we thought of the look on poor Tommy's face. I was worried at this stage that I was going to be pipped at the first post as my knee was still giving me problems during the evening when we walked to the Winnock for a meal. It came into my head that my Mother, who died a few years ago, had once said that she would have liked to walk the West Highland Way. I said to her in my mind, "I need a hand here - could you put a word in for me?" The next morning my knee still did not feel right but Tommy said that he thought he had an old knee brace somewhere in his workshop. It was an awful looking thing but it got me over the Conic Hill and on to Rowardennan. Although I carried it with me for a few days more I did not need it again.


THURSDAY, 27th MAY, 2010



The walk over the Conic Hill was stunning and the scenery clearer than last time. The coming down into Balmaha is steep and quite a challenge to the knees but we made it in good time to enjoy a leisurely lunch there. Helen in the B & B had said there was no rain forecast for that day so we opted to pack most of the rainwear in the cases. Fortunately we had taken the ponchos, bought from Romanis and Patterson for some £2. They would not have passed "Trinny and Susannah" approval but ideal to cover body and rucksack during the occasional short downpour. The middle part of the walk was reasonably flat with some nasty ups and downs through the forest towards the end of the day, just when one was getting tired. John was teed off about this as there was no reason for the tracks to be so tough with not even a view as the foliage had thickened over the years.

The official end of the section is the Rowardennan Hotel but to access our B & B we had to leave the route before that and walk in the other direction for about a mile. Being in the "sticks" it would have been difficult to access a place to eat as there were no pavements into civilization. However, the proprietor at "Coille Mhor" was very kind and ran us to the Rowardennan Hotel and returned for us around 10 p.m. after we had eaten.

We were greeted like long lost friends when the Dutch party arrived. They had apparently been following us to Drymen but as we had stopped they missed the turning and walked a further 10 kilometers in the wrong direction! The indigenous Scots were conspicuous by their absence as the only group we met were lads who could have come straight off the Scots Porridge Oats packet complete with kilts. They were enjoying celebrity status and in great demand for photographs with the European and American tourists.


FRIDAY, 28th MAY, 2010



We retraced our steps to rejoin the Way where we had left it the evening before and continued for a couple of miles on undulating forest roads. I had remembered Rowardennan to Inversnaid to be straightforward but it was, in fact, mostly uphill through the forest. The terrain started to get a bit more rugged nearer Inversnaid and I was dreading the jump (or perhaps, long step) over a gully. I do not know what happened to it but it must have been filled in, or bridged, as we certainly did not come across anything like that. I did, however, take a bit of a wobbly inching my way round a narrow ledge which I had not remembered last time. Lunch at Inversnaid was a welcome respite ready for the onslaught of the afternoon which is altogether the most difficult section of the whole walk.

To do the West Highland Way in 7 days requires that one of the days is 20 miles. I decided that we would take 8 days and ideally split today's walk by staying overnight at Inversnaid. That idea was soon squashed as I was told the luggage companies would not go to Inversnaid because it required a very long detour. It would therefore have been necessary to carry everything needed for two days on our backs. We decided that that was not an option - especially in view of the fact that we would probably be soaked into the bargain!

The second part of the day required a lot of clambering which made progress slow. We did take a little detour over rocks to try and access Rob Roy's Cave. We quickly realised that it was not worth risking broken legs/ankles and contented ourselves with viewing "C A V E" painted in bold white lettering from afar. I am not surprised Rob Roy's enemies never found him!

Towards the end of Loch Lomond the route comes down to the beach. We stopped there for our afternoon "bite" where, in the sand, someone had traced out the words "Team Blisters" Our Dutch friends had said they were staying at the "Drovers" that night but we never saw them again. Maybe they were Team Blisters?

At this point we felt we had done a full day's walk but as the trail left the Loch there was at least another two hours walking to reach Inverarnon. The hike up the hill was well worth it though as the view looking back over Loch Lomond was stunning. Eventually a notice board told us that our destination was only another two miles which we were convinced was an underestimate.

Beinglas Farm at Inverarnon is one of the more comfortable places to stay as the wooden chalets are well fitted out. The experience of eating at the Drovers was to be the excitement of the evening. It is a place people either love or hate but the food is reasonable and I am told the kitchens are spotless. The employees were decked out in T shirts which boasted "Pub of the Year......1705". I doubt it has been decorated since! Visitors are greeted at the door by a life sized stuffed brown bear along with all sorts of other old memorabilia, possibly collected from ancient battles. The place is always buzzing with atmosphere and tonight it was full of cheery, chatty Glaswegians up for the weekend......."by the way".


SATURDAY, 29th MAY, 2010



As I was unable to break up the long, difficult day yesterday, it made sense to make today shorter. We opted to stay at Crianlarich which was only a morning's walk. After a stunning day yesterday with wonderful views round Loch Lomond it was a disappointment to get up to drizzle with intermittent heavier showers. We left Inverarnon as late as possible bedecked in all the rain gear which we added to and subtracted from as appropriate. We had our elevenses in the corrugated tunnel, which is the only shelter on the route, before arriving at a style where the signpost for Crianlarich takes the walker from the high forest hills down a very steep path to the town. We had lunch at a local pub before telephoning the landlady, an extremely friendly Geordie called Ann, about access to our B & B. Funnily enough she worked at the "Drovers" in the winter and we chatted about the character Duncan McGregor who masterminded the place. When friend Suzanne and I first completed the West Highland Way some 12 years ago we stayed in "The Bothy" also owned by the said Duncan McGregor. He was very arty but no business man and we ended up having to make our own breakfast and work out our own bill. He was an actor and Ann said that he had appeared in every episode of the original "Taggart" series. I seem to remember also that there was something funny about the water in the place because I remember everyone laughing as my hair had taken on a greenish hue. Actually I think in reality it was caused by by sodden wax hat. Sadly the Bothy went bust and Duncan, one of the world's characters, died a couple of years ago.

Our accommodation in Crianlarich was spotlessly clean but with the smallest en suite I have ever seen. It was the width of a small, elbow bashing, shower with a loo opposite. Between the two was the basin which curved out of the wall in a half moon shape. I had a real laugh at John's description of trying to shave over the tiny basin as it ended up as more of a head butting exercise against the wall.

I did ask Ann about the ghost reputed to haunt the Drovers which I expect made the place even more interesting to tourists. She said that she had never seen it but on one occasion as she opened the place up on a dark winter's morning someone had moved the big stuffed bear in front of the door for a joke. That would have been enough of a fright!


SUNDAY, 30th MAY, 2010



We set out for Bridge of Orchy around our usual time of just after 9 a.m. It occurred to me that there was little point in hiking back up the steep hill, after the full Scottish breakfast, to pick up the route where we left off. We would only have walked in a horse-shoe shape to come back to the same road a bit further on. As there was a grassy verge along the main road we decided to take that option which allowed us to join the official route again at the entrance to farmland. We had 13 miles to walk today but it was probably one of the easier days as we were able to break it up with a coffee stop at the "Trading Post" connected to the Wigwams and camping site. It was a pleasant route with lots of historical information posted along the way about the travels of St. Fillan and battles of Robert the Bruce. Tyundrum is perfectly placed for lunch where they do a mean Cullen Skink. On leaving Tyndrum to complete the last 6 miles of the day one is informed that the local shop is the last one before Kinlochleven. The first part of the day was pleasant with the odd short flurry of rain, progressing into heavier bursts as we approached the day's destination of Bridge of Orchy. This was one of our more luxurious stops and we did enjoy a good meal in a very relaxed atmosphere.


MONDAY, 31st May, 2010



We woke up this morning to the most wonderful day with wall to wall sunshine. We had Rannoch Moor to conquer today and to date we had only ever seen it covered in mist, cloud or thunder plumps. We set off over the hill to Inveroran where I told everybody one could get a good coffee and chocolate cake. As 'sods law' would have it the hotel was changing hands that very day and although we did get a coffee there were no goodies to be had. Fortunately we had ordered a packed lunch at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel as there is no civilisation for some 10 miles between Inveroran and Kingshouse. There are few obvious landmarks to stop for lunch but around the Ba Bridge there are some hillocks and boulders on which to perch. One soon realises that anywhere with paper handkies lying around is not the ideal spot to eat!

Kingshouse came into view not long after lunch but it took a surprising time to get any closer as the route twists and turns. We reached Black Rock Cottage to find a whole film crew, possibly Germans, capturing every angle of the place. A little further on, nearer the Kingshouse, a group of elderly Americans were being tutored by a gentleman of similar vintage who could have passed for Richard Attenburgh. Someone had given them a list of equipment necessary to walk in the Highlands as they had everthing but the ice pick.

As we approached the hotel I spotted some wild deer grazing and tiptoed into a good position to take some photographs. I need not have bothered as one of them came trotting up to me. I expect the grazing around the hotel is rich and they are used to people feeding them. I offered "Bambi" some of my shortbread biscuit which he clearly enjoyed as he became my new best friend. I note that the herbivores spend most of the day eating just to get enough nutrients. However, after half a piece of (well-named) Walkers shortbread my new best friend sat down to sun himself for a while. Of course, maybe I misinterpreted and he was really feeling sick!

We were at our destination by 3 p.m. and were able to sit out at the picnic tables with a cup of tea just enjoying the atmosphere of the majestic mountains all around us. Even in the sunshine they had a sinister edge to them. A gentleman we had seen at Bridge of Orchy with his daughter, and again en route, joined us at our table. He was very interesting as he was an actor who did voice-overs for a living. He had originated from a very bad area in Paisley but had left many years ago and was now living in Brussels. As we talked it transpired that he had written a book and had participated in the "Wake up with Words" at the Edinburgh Book Festival a few years before. His name is John Boyle and I have since purchased his two books although I have not yet read them.

Kingshouse only has 3 stars but there is something very "couthy" about it as the food is of a home cooking standard. They do a very good venison casserole but my new best friend sort of put me off the idea! Groups of people who by this time have a lot in common (e.g. blisters) mingle and chat. My walking friends will be surprised to learn that the big brown dog which is about the size of a stuffed bear is still there. We reckoned he was on his last legs some three years ago as he slept most of the time even then.


TUESDAY, 1st JUNE, 2010



After the most wonderful one-off "Brigadoon" day yesterday, today dissolved into the drizzle we are familiar with around "Buchaille Etive Mor". At least it was to be a short day of some 9 miles but it did include the "Devil's Staircase". It was apparently named by the workmen who orginally hacked out a path although it is generally agreed that it is not as tough as it sounds. At a particularly steep corner near the top some wag had placed an old pair of boots sticking out from a pile of stones. To come boot to boot with this was certainly amusing although a little disconcerting. The worst of the day was the long downward path into Kinlochleven where, once again, the town seemed closer than was the reality. Today I had developed a cold and felt pretty lethargic by the time we reached our destination. Our accommodation was at the "Highland Getaway" which to me sounded as if it would be fairly basic. In contrast to my expectations it turned out to be the nicest accommodation of the trip with a large, light and airy room overlooking the water on one side. It even had a T.V. which was a rare luxury as many places in the area do not get a signal. In preparation we took Travel Scrabble with us which John had bought in Holland. Unfortunately the instructions were in Dutch which meant we had to make up our own rules which of course we did not always agree on! The vision of me lugging a Scrabble dictionary in my rucksack caused a lot of hilarity between son Marcus and son-in-law Phil but is not true!

We got into the chat at breakfast with an American we had seen a number of times over previous days. He was a Harrison Ford sort of character with a pony tail hanging down his back topped with a "Temple of Doom" hat. He said he came to Scotland every year on his own just to do some walking. He had met up with a Dutchman and they teamed up for part of the route. As I had had previous experience of the route he was interested in what was in store for the last day. I told him that it was a tough climb out of Kinlochleven but the middle bit was flat


WEDNESDAY, 2nd JUNE, 2010





I felt much better this morning although armed myself well with paper handkies. The climb out of Kinlochleven is similar to the Devil's Staircase in difficulty. My perception of the middle part of the route along the "Larig Mor" being flat was rubbish. We bumped into "Harrison" along the route and I grudgingly had to admit that I had lied about it being flat. He and his Dutch friend accepted my apologies with good humour. There are some nasty hilly forest tracks towards the end of the day eventually leading down into civilization. We felt that there was an unnecessary amount of walking along the main road at the end when it would have been possible to continue on forest tracks a bit longer.

It is a basic 14 miles walk to Fort William "Woollen Mill" where the route officially ends at the moment. We found a suitable passerby to take our final picture by the obelisk before stopping at the Woollen Mill Tea Room for a cuppa. Refreshed from that we decided just to hoof it into town to the B & B and also research transport for the morning. I had not booked our train as the fare was nearly £100 for the two of us and I was not sure if we would make the 100 miles. It occurred to me that we should research the bus as we both had bus passes anyway. It transpired that the bus left at 9 a.m. and took an hour less than the train.

We identified the pub in town where we were to get our last stamp and completion certificate. After a shower and brush-up we had our final meal of the trip in the Cranog Fish Restaurant. We were able to say goodbye to our fellow hikers as most of them had also chosen to eat at the Cranog.


THURSDAY, 3rd JUNE, 2010

We rolled our cases downhill to the bus terminal in good time for our trip back to Glasgow. When we arrived in Glasgow we were directed to the Milngavie bus stop which was to take us back to the Premiere Inn where we had left our car. I had to ask the driver to let us know the best stop for the Premiere Inn. By the time we approached our destination half our fellow travellers on the bus were offering advice. Even the woman in the seat behind who had been detailing her ailments stopped to join in. (It could only happen in Glasgow!) We could not believe how slick the whole trip was.....and cost nothing. I suspect that the free bus passes will not go on much longer.