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Journal: |
Knowing I had an easy day, I seemed to take longer to have
breakfast and get going, and didn't leave the hostel until 8:45am.
It was already bright and sunny, though cool enough to make for very
pleasant hiking. For the first 20 minutes, I had to retrace my
last steps from yesterday, back through the pine forest, to rejoin
the West Highland Way.
For most of its route after leaving Loch Lomond, the West
Highland Way follows the 18th-century military road built by General
Wade to pacify and control the Highlanders which makes for easy and
very pleasant walking. The grades are not too steep and the
surface firm, if a little stony underfoot. After a kilometre
or two in the forest, the rest of the day was mostly in the open
along the floor and sides of valleys bordered by high treeless
mountains.
I reached Tyndrum, half way for the day, late morning and stopped
outside the store there in the sun enjoying a sausage roll and
flavoured milk for a while. There were a lot of walkers out
making the most of the weekend's fabulous weather. For the
rest of the day, the pyramid-like Beinn Dorain (1074m) dominated the
way ahead, but the scenery all around was classic Scottish Highlands
and the easy walking meant that I could maintain a good pace, while
still savouring the views. Around 1pm, I found a shady spot by
a bridge and had lunch, before walking the last 5km to the Bridge of
Orchy, my destination for the day. I checked into the hotel's
bunkhouse at 3pm and had time for a quick shower and clothes rinse
before returning to the hotel and enjoying the last hour of the
Italy v NZ game over a large Diet Coke. It was a good game and
a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.
After the game, I got on the phone and booked some places to stay
after Fort William, finding out whether they would provide packed
lunches as well as dinner, bed and breakfast. There will only
be one shop in the last 10 days, and only about five hotels, and I
want to minimise the amount of food I will need to carry so, knowing
whether I can get lunch helps the planning. So far I have been
able to get a room everywhere there's the possibility of
accommodation, though a couple were a bit expensive.
Tomorrow morning, my friend, Ian, drives up from near Glasgow and
will meet me at the local station where he will leave his car and
join me for the last two days on the West Highland Way to Fort
William. From there, he will catch a late-afternoon train
(there aren't many on this line) back here to retrieve his car and
drive home. I'm grateful that he's taking the trouble to do
this and I'm sure we will have a good few days, especially if the
weather holds.
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