The West Highland Way

Day 1:

Drymen-Rowardennan, 14 or 15 miles

Through the countryside and up a row of rounded hills collectively known as Conich Hill, for the first view of Loch Lomond. Conich's peaks also align with a string of islands running through Loch Lomond, all along a tectonic fault line (which I didn't even know existed until now) that separates Scotland's Lowlands and Highlands.

It turns out 14 miles is just a couple miles over the limit of the amount of walking I can enjoy in one day, and by about mile 12 I was ready for it to be OVER. Almost didn't manage to drag myself out into the rain again for the half mile walk back from our hostel to the village's one pub.

Days of walking and evenings in the pub, this will become a theme.

A glimpse back at Loch Lomond:


Day 2:

Rowardennan-Inverarnan, 14 miles

Beautiful views of the beautiful loch (and it turns out "loch" can mean either a lake or a sea inlet, just in case you were wondering), mossy, gnarly fairytale forests, climbing over rocks and through little streams. A whole herd of wild (and pungent) goats.

Lunch outdoors in the sun overlooking the loch, dinner at the old and atmospheric Drover's Inn. Slept at a place that had "wigwams," which, though I have doubts about their authentic wigwam-ness, were still fun as little wooden cabins.

The goats:


Day 3:

Rest day, lazy breakfast at the Drover's Inn (can we fit THREE pub stops into one day, we wondered, breakfast, lunch and dinner? Yes, we can!) Skipped ahead by bus to Bridge of Orchy, where we stayed in a hostel with one of the coolest concepts ever: built into a tiny town's converted train station. On a still-in-operation tiny town train platform. Run by a real character who used to be CEO of a railway company and regaled me with stories of his journeys on trains and ocean liners and even the Concorde.

All along the way, we crossed and re-crossed paths with other hikers doing the same route at various paces. This night, we fell in with three Scottish guys from Aberdeen, and had a roaring night at the pub with them. Lesson learned: If you allow Scottish guys to buy you a round of whisky just once, they will not stop buying you rounds until the pub closes for the night and throws them out!

With the Scottish guys in Bridge of Orchy:


Day 4:

Bridge of Orchy - Kingshouse, 13 miles

Everyone else seems to be doing 21 or 22-mile days, and thinking nothing of it. Conclusion: 12 or 13 is my perfect amount, thanks!

The day's walk was through a stunning moor landscape, wild expanses of grass and stark, dark mountains, with not another person (or road) in sight. Rain, rain, rain and wind.

The King's House Hotel was the only accommodation for miles, but it was also the perfect place to arrive after a day of slogging through rain and puddles, soaked through to the skin. I had an adorable single room down a labyrinthine corridor, everything carpeted and old and just a bit worn down, but it a pleasant way.

That night, a middle-aged Dutch guy who has a folk band and a Scottish teenage girl who plays traditional fiddle were practicing together in the hotel bar; when I asked about borrowing the guitar for a few minutes when they weren't playing, the guy insisted I come join them, and we exchanged a few songs, trying to find things we could all sing.

Kat had been bugging the guy to play the Loch Lomond song (you take the high road, and I'll take the low road), which he insisted he "didn't know" and was "just for tourists." But just as we were going to leave for the night, it turned out another man - the fiddle player's father - actually knew the verses to the song, and the Dutch guy played and the girl fiddled and everyone left in the bar sang along on the choruses.

The moor:

Day 5:

Kingshouse - Kinlochleven, 9 miles

Up the "Devil's Staircase," which was in fact neither devilishly difficult nor an actual stair case (both of which I'd been expecting), just a steep switchback rise up to the highest point of the West Highland Way. So that was actually fun, but the rest of the day's walk wasn't - it was raining harder than ever, and the path resembled nothing so much as a flowing stream, to the point that I gave up even pretending to try not to step directly in the water.

Was tired and cranky by the time we arrived in Kinlochleven, an unlovely former industrial town that wasn't visible through the rain anyway... But that night I went to bed early and slept for 11 hours, and am pleased to say that simple fact turned my mood around 180 degrees!


Days 6-7:

Kinlochleven

That was the end of the West Highland Way for us; we stayed put for a couple days, while hiking comrades from earlier points on the path caught up and passed us. We didn't do much - the tail end of an Atlantic hurricane brought torrential rains that didn't let up for days - but Kat and Maike enjoyed the indoor climbing wall, and I spent a day happily doing a couple translations from the climbing hall cafe. In the evenings, we again hung out in pubs and met locals.


Last day:

Kat and Maike departed for a last night in Glasgow before they fly out; I'm heading further north and west. Currently in Fort William (the actual ending point of the West Highland Way) and who did I run into on the town's main street? Some of the Australian hiking group we'd met one of our first days on the path. Of course!

Got a train to catch, over the Glenfinnan Viaduct (aka the "Harry Potter bridge") and out to the Isle of Skye. You'll hear from me anon!