Day Trip to Ben Nevis - June 19, 2010

Malcolm left for Glasgow early this morning and Dad and I had breakfast. He persuaded the kitchen staff to make me some sandwiches and I was on my way towards Glen Nevis by 8:40 am. By 9 am I started on the trek up to Ben Nevis. At 4406 ft it is a mecca for people in the UK wanting to stand on the highest point in their land, and I was not alone as I set out up the rocky path. The last time I tried this walk was around Xmas/New Year 1994/1995 and we hit a thick blizzard about half way up. Completely whited out, we decided to turn back and I was very glad to do so. So today's trip was something of a bit of unfinished business and I felt in good shape as I hiked. The route is in two stages, after a short climb there is a route along a gully that connects you to the Ben. The views are breathtaking all the way up, despite the fact that you don't actually see the summit for at least an hour. Once again it was a perfect walking day with temperatures around 20C/70F and clear skies offering good visibility. I summited around 11:45 am after a lengthy toil to the top and even a scramble up a snowy bank towards the end. The summit is very barren and rocky with a hiker's refuge for really bad conditions. Today was just windy and chilly at the top and I would definitely have benefited from a wooly hat and a pair of gloves for the last section/summit. Nevertheless it was great to be there and I wandered around taking in the views for about 30 min followed by a wee dram and lunch before beginning the decent around 12:15 pm down the same track. I got back to the base around 2:30 pm and was really pleased to see that they had converted a barn into a pub strategically positioned to lure in weary hikers. I did not resist! After a quick drink I was back in Fort William around 3:15 pm and met up with Dad who had had a relaxing day at the guest house. The trip up the top was the perfect way to end the walking week and I look forward to another trip sometime in the next 5-10 yr once the boys are old enough to make it. It was really great to see people of all ages on the mountain, and lots of dogs too! Dad and I caught the evening train back to Glasgow and returned to our starting destination in Milngavie for one more night of B+B before we part company tomorrow. I discovered it is Father's day tomorrow so have got him a little surprise - it's not often that we are actually in the same location any more on FD.

Things I have learned this week

* long-distance walks are fun and I should do more of them;

* never leave for a day's hiking without your sandwiches;

* never go up Ben Nevis without a hat and gloves;

* that there are 850 golf courses in Scotland;

* it's well worth taking a week out of a busy year to be with people you don't often see;

* that there is no shame in wearing jazzed up running shoes for hiking - my columbias served me well this week and kept me blister free;

* that there is also no shame in walking poles for getting you up and down hills;

* never attempt to read the guide book while walking;

* that England will most likely never win the world cup in my lifetime;

* that 8 yr old kids can make it up Ben Nevis;

* that age is no barrier to doing something

Characters on the WHW

On these types of vacations, you almost inevitably run into the same groups of people over and over again who are on more or less the same schedule as you. I made up nicknames for some of the more memorable characters described below to protect their anonymity, and because we usually didn't know them.

On day one, we met the young couple "Teresa and Steve" walking hand in hand along the way sharing a backpack and (for some reason) carrying a plastic bag which annoyed me no end (why couldn't it fit in the backpack? I thought this all afternoon). They were very nice and were always well matched in pace with us and finished the way on Friday along with us.

Also very early on we met two 50-something buddies "Ben Doon and Phil McCavity" who set off on an electric pace and cruised past us a couple of hours into the walk. I thought they looked like really experienced walkers. Their pace gradually slowed over the day and was reduced to a hobble as we reached the Oak Tree in Balmaha. Ben had awful blisters and Phil had a dodgy knee. We never saw Ben on day 2 (or again for that matter) and he must have caught the bus home. Phil bravely hiked onto Inversnaid but the last we saw of him, he was in a sorry state catching the ferry over to the other side of Loch Lomond bound for home also.

A lot of 50-60-something married couples seem to hike the trail (at least they did this week). We met Terry and June, a couple of apparently empty nesters with a bit of time on their hands and our paths criss-crossed right the way to the end of the way. Like many people we met, they were amazed at how well Dad did, and he usually got to his destination quicker than they did! They had a good laugh when he dashed back to return his keys at the Bridge of Orchy.

A very agreeable character we bumped into in the pub at the Bridge of Orchy was Jock from Montrose. Jock wanted to hike the way last year for his 50th birthday but broke his ankle. He's an early riser and starts his hikes at 6 am when nobody else is around. We weren't quite on the same schedule and needless to say we didn't bump into him again!

Pictures from Day 5

Day 5 - Kinlochleven to Fort William

Another beautiful day in paradise and the last leg of our walk began around 9 am this morning as we left Kinlochleven for a sharp 300 m climb onto Lairigmor. Once again we forgot our packed lunches! This time at least we ordered them, just forgot to pick them up. Didn't bother to run back down the hill to get them and preferred instead to rely on our copius supplies of water, bounty bars and jaffa cakes which proved to be sufficient. The moor itself was relatively easy walking once we climbed up the hill and we made a good pace along the old military road for about 7 miles. After a brief snack on the jaffa cakes, we pushed on for Glen Nevis and were rewarded by excellent views of Ben Nevis on the way down. Malcolm and I were thinking of trying to walk the Ben today as well, but once we realized it's an extra 5-7 hours on top of the 6 hour hike to Fort William we decided to leave it for another day. For me, that other day will come tomorrow as I'll give it a shot. Our route to Glen Nevis was by this time quite straightforward and we all felt like quite accomplished hikers by this stage. Following a pleasant walk down through the woods, the trail pops out on to the A82 at the bottom of the Glen and from there it was a 20 min victory march into Fort William. We ended the day just after 3:30 pm. For once we got to our destination well before 7 pm! All of us were mighty relieved to see our guest house for the night just meters away from the finish of the walk and we duly staggered to our digs and checked in. A few celebratory drinks were then consumed and a nice dinner at Brown's restaurant in FW. We were soon brought back to reality though, as we watched Englands woeful display against Algeria - it's nice to know that the real world hasn't changed much in our absence. The whole week has been quite fantastic - I wasn't sure how we'd all hold up to the challenge and there have been a few hairy moments along the way, but we're all feeling great at this point and daring to dream of WHW2020!

Pictures from Day 4

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.