Best bits: meeting people walking on the West Highland Way
Worst bits: rain and bog
Distance: 13.6 miles
Last night was surprisingly quiet as we were parked next to the freight railway in Lidl car park. Emma joined us and Fiona drove us to the Braveheart car park to start our journey.
Emma had suggested we reroute from the A82 to the West Highland Way through Glen Nevis and then take a farm track back to the coast. Ben Nevis was going to dominate our views for most of the morning.
It was fascinating walking the WHW in the opposite direction from everyone else, especially as they were almost finished. There were so many people on the route today, of all shapes, sizes, ages and nationalities.
We managed to avoid the rain that was forecast until about 11:30. Then it was on with the waterproofs. Some people we met were glad to put on their waterproofs that they had bought especially for their trip.
It felt very strange as normally when I was at home I meet people at the very start of the West Highland Way whereas today I was meeting people at the end. It was still a long procession of people though.
We met people of all nationalities of many nationalities, lots of Canadians, Australians, Germans, Dutch and even a couple of Scots who were carrying tinnies on their way to the finish.
Pam and Andrew had met along the way and were walking to the finish together along with Andrew‘s dog Skye.
Fiona was waiting for us at the rendezvous point we could see Priscilla down the valley. A welcome site as it had just started raining and we were already wet. We jumped into the warmth of Priscilla with Fiona had cups of tea ready for us. We hung we took off our waterproofs and hung them up to dry in the shower room ready for our departure. Refreshed, warm and dry we stepped back out into the rain.
We had to walk through a farm yard and we had a long chat with the farmer who was lovely. Then on through his fields and the boggy areas that Emma had anticipated. I was glad I had my boots on. I also had to use my walking pole for stability across the mud.
Fortunately, this section was relatively short lived and we were soon out onto a forest track. It’s been lovely walking with Emma over these last three days and we chatted about all sorts of things ranging from our families, pensions, Mountain and Rescue, Girls On Hills and other the adventures and friends.
The rain continued all afternoon and we were glad to find a bridge across the river which Emma didn’t know was there. This brought us out back onto the main road and the cycle path and within a short time we were at our final rendezvous point for the day.
Emma kindly agreed to do the exit interview in the rain behind the back of the church while we waited for Fiona to arrive. Fiona was there within five minutes so we were able to jump in Priscilla strip off our wet clothes and get a cup of tea and cake and get warm. Then it was time for Emma to leave say goodbye as she hopped on the bus back to Fort William.
Fiona and I looked for somewhere to park up for the evening but the local campsite was full. However we managed to find Roam West pub on Brit Stops where we were able to park for free as long as we had a meal. And what a meal did we have? I was hungry and so I ordered a starter and a main course. That was a mistake. The starter was as large as a main course in most establishments. So I had gnocchi starter followed by vegan haggis, neeps and tatties for main course. I couldn’t manage to fit it all in as the portion was huge. But it was all very delicious.
The staff there were really lovely, especially Luke who was very taken by my challenge.
Back to Priscilla for a cup of tea before bed. I was very tired this evening as I’ve had a few disturbed nights sleep over the last few days. So I was in bed before 9 pm and fell asleep pretty quickly. This meant that I didn’t finish writing this blog. Sleep was prioritised over blog.
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