Day 4 - Bridge of Orchy to Kinlochleven

Another perfect day weather wise - no rain at all and plenty of breeze during the 34 km (21 mile) hike. Attempted to have an early start today and got going with breakfast around 7:30 am. Malcolm is vowing to go vegetarian on us for the rest of the trip and we had a hearty meal with good veg sausages. Tactical error then ensued as we realised that none of us had placed an order for packed lunches! This increased the motivation to get to Kingshouse for a pub lunch as it's about the only place between here and Kinlochleven. Crossed the Bridge of Orchy and were promptly attacked by a swarm of midges around 8:30 am. The "Off" seemed to be working, though not before a few bites were suffered. Proceeded 750 m up the trail before hearing "hold on lads, I've found something in my pocket" - Dad promptly shot off back to the hotel to return his room key before Malcolm or I could offer to back track - though neither of us were that keen, to be honest. Some 15 minutes later Dad reappeared having now crossed the BoO three times muttering "all that wasted energy!" much to our, and our fellow hikers' amusement. We then proceeded through a brief wooded section to Inveroran followed by a sharp climb to breathtaking views of two valleys. We subsequently argued for a while about where, exactly, Glencoe was. Subject still unresolved, we proceeded down the hill past the Inveroran hotel and climbing again onto the moors. Spectacular scenery rewarded our toils up the hillside for the next 2 and a bit hours. The highest point of the morning was 445 m (1460 ft). Malcolm placed a stone for Dad and me on a grassy knoll some 50 m higher up. Dad and I were grateful for the rest, followed by a shot of schnapps from our Austrian friends (see accompanying article!) before descending down past the Glencoe ski centre and Blackrock cottage to the Kings House Hotel. After the Bridge of Orchy, this was a bit of a let down but a good lunch was had by all and we got a break from the sun for a bit. After the break, we set off again bound for the Devil's staircase, a steep climb back onto the fells an hour further up the track. Dad was very worried about the climb, but he doggedly fought his way to the top and we thought that we were home and dry at 548 m - the highest point on the WHW. This was about 5 pm. It took us another two hours to get down to sea level again back to Kinlochleven. As has been the pattern for the past few days, the last hour or so of the walk seems to never end. As we write this report, we're sitting back at 0 m enjoying a pint of guinness and catching up on the world cup. Only 14.5 miles to go tomorrow - all of us are exhausted but determined to get to FW.

Pictures from Day 3

Day 3 - Ardlui to Bridge of Orchy

Another beautiful day in paradise for us began in Ardlui this morning. Dad woke Malcolm and I up and we had a hearty breakfast before catching the ferry back over to recommence battle on the WHW. Malcolm's ankle seems to be just about ok this morning and we got back on the trail at 9:30 am. The first hour was straightforward enough and saw us out of the Loch and into the lowland-highland country. Stopped for a pit-stop at a campsite/bar and bought some sarnies for the day. They also sold walking sticks so Malcolm bough himself a pair (sold to him by the local chef, you had to be there!) which helped his walking no end and gave Dad and I some ammunition to save for later on. We all picked up the pace thereafter and had a cracking walk to Crainlarich enjoying much easier terrain than yesterday evening (where we were basically in Rob Roy's footsteps!) and made our way through very nice lowland hiking. Had lunch around 1:30 pm just outside the forest before Crainlarich before segueing into a busy afternoon in the forest which was interspersed with spectacular views of the glen. After about an hour's walking in the forest we hit the valley and took a well-earned break at [editor, please insert here later on!] which is just one of many great places along the trail catering to hikers.

We were all pretty darned beat around this point, and Malcolm bless his heart had the great idea to buy some lucozade which we all partook. Dad was really quite tickled by this and bought a bottle of coke, which we soon consumed. It was fair to say that this purchase transformed our afternoon. Dad set of in overdrive and there was no holding him back for the rest of the day. We met up with a nice couple who we hiked back to Trymen with, then we carried on for the last 6 miles (which seemed like an eternity) to the bridge of Orchy. It was really spectacular walking, but took us much longer than we thought! We eventually rocked up at BOO at 7:20 pm tired but happy. The BOO hotel is absolutely awesome - it makes Ardlui look like a tin shed. The place here has to be seen to be believed. We were wined and dined this evening amid fantastic views of the bens and all swore to come back here soon.

We feel like we've broken the back of this walk and, with only about 35 miles or so to go, are looking forward to the final two days. It's been absolutely epic so far - Dad has been rolling back the years, and Malcolm has defied the odds of 24 hr ago to walk with a dodgy ankle to put us 48 hr from glory! Can't wait to get stuck into day four to Kinlochleven tomorrow! Who knows, maybe we can pull off one of the great British sporting achievements in recent memory?

Pictures from Day 2

Day 2 - Balmaha to Ardlui

Woke up to glorious sunshine in Balmaha and were all feeling reasonably ok after a good night's rest. After breakfast, we hit the trail again with the goal of walking the length of Loch Lomond. From Malcolm's stepometer it turned out to be ~50,000 steps on a journey that started just after 9 am and kept us busy till 7 pm! Although deceptively easy in principle (how hard can it be to walk along a lake after all?) we found the going very tough at times, with lots of scrambles along the river bank followed by easy periods of walking. The rewards for all this hard work are plentiful, however, with amazing views of the loch (photos to follow tomorrow!) throughout a sun-beaten day. We made good time in the morning, covering the first 10 miles or so pretty easily and lunched at the Ben Lomond park (resisting the temptation to climb up Ben Lomond) and thinking that we'd be at our Hotel in Ardlui by 5 pm. How wrong we were, though, as the afternoon was much tougher with lots of tricy tree roots and rocks to negotiate as the train snaked its way up and down the hillside for the next 6 hours! Everybody did brilliantly, though, especially Dad who kept motoring along all afternoon. Around 4 pm we made it to Inversnaid and stopped for some liquid refreshments (lager and lime for me and lime and soda for Dad and Malcolm). Around 4:30 we hit the trail ready for the last 5 miles and thinking we would be back by 6 pm. It took us much longer to negotiate all the winding paths that hit us, and by 6 we were still nowhere near the end. After another hour, we were finally rewarded with a view of our hotel for the night on the other side of the loch. Malcolm was telling us this while reading the guide book at the time and tripped over, niggling his ankle in the process. It's a bit swollen but hopefully will be ok for tomorrow. Finally made to the jetty and called the ferryman over to pick us up. We were mightily relieve to hit the Ardlui hotel just after 7 pm where a hot dinner was waiting for us. Dad and Malcolm both turned in by 10 pm. I stayed up a little bit longer writing this up. But it's time to turn in now - my knees are screaming like small babies and it's time to put them to bed. Tomorrow we have a change of pace ahead of us as we leave Loch Lomond and are bound for the Bridge of Orchy. I think all of us a quietly confident at this phase, and hopefully all will go well tomorrow as we push on past the half-way mark. Will post some pics tomorrow night!

Pictures from Day 1

Day 1 - Milngavie to Balmaha

After a restless night battling jetlag and excitement, we all had a cooked breakfast at the Travel in and hit the trail. Got on the road by about 9:10 am after dropping our bags off with some shifty looking characters. Conditions just about perfect - 15C or 60F and overcast skies. The way starts off very simply in parkland before tracking an old rail trail followed by lowland hiking. Took a long time to find a suitable lunch spot and ended up stopping in front of an estate around 1:30 pm after about 12-13 miles. Seemed like we were going to be in the digs by about 3 pm at that rate. Shortly after lunch we made it to Drymen (pronounced drimmen) and enjoyed a nice forest trail leading up to the culmination of the day's walk - Conic hill (apparently there is more than one way of spelling this). It was no conic section, however, dropping up and down before making the ascent with breathtaking views of Loch Lomond. Dad did fantastically well up the hill and Malc and I took a quick detour to the summit for more of the same views (see subsequent posts!). The piece de la resistance, however, came on the way down which was a bit testing on the old knees of all of us. Safely made it to Balmaha around 6 pm and the trail rolled conveniently into the Oak Tree pub. After a wee dram and a rub down we had a spot of dinner and recounted the day's walking. Dad booked us into a single room with three beds so it'll be quite pally tonight. Malc and I opted for the camp beds. I'm sure we'll all sleep through the night. Everyone doing fine and not too much the worse for the day on the trail. Malc has a blister which we're going to pop before lights out tonight, but other than that we are all doing pretty well. Looking forward to the walk along Loch Lomond tomorrow which should be a breeze after Conic today!