The West Highland Way - part two

Day 30, Tyndrum to Inverarnan,  23.30 + kms. Beinglas Farm
Day 31,  Inverarnan to Rowardennan, 22.90 kms
Day 32, Rowardennan to Drymen,  23.00 kms
Day 33, Tuesday, Drymen to Milngavie,  18.60 kms
Day 34, Milngavie to Glasgow, 19.75  kms
(Plus another 5.5kms to and from dinner!)

I seemed to have been thwarted often on this path in that each time I tried to stay in the historic pubs they had no vacancies. This was the case at Inverarnan where the Drovers Inn was full and so instead I stayed at a place called Beinglas Farm, a combined campsite, bar, shop and B&B.

In future, with estimated times, I am going to have to add in "blather time", allowing an extra couple of hours because I spend so much time chatting to people along the way!  Again, heading for Beinglas Farm I arrived late, not far off dark.  Not only had I met walkers heading in the opposite direction, but on this day I also met the two "mad Scotsmen", Tony and Harry.  The special thing about this was that they have been the only people I have seen more than once.  These two brothers were in the area for a weekend of walking from a base camp.  It was really nice to see them crossing the bridge, and felt like I had seen some real friends that day, though sadly it was to be the last time our paths crossed.  More blather time!

One of the internet guides I have occasionally referred to has a key at the bottom of each page saying how easy (or difficult) the stage is, and a bog factor.  The next day was the first time that I had struck real bog that I had to somehow negotiate.  The stage only had a bog factor of 2, meaning that it might be a little boggy in parts, but it took some time to negotiate, as cows had gone through and churned up the bog!  Out of interest, a bog factor of 5 is:- " it's a swamp.  Snorkel reccomended"!

This was the stage that people had been warning me about - "it was rocky, it has a lot of tree roots, it's so hard- take the bus"!  It was also the stage that I was to see Loch Lomond for the first time, and so I wasn't going to miss out.  In anticipation of paying the baggage transfer people to carry my bag just for this difficult stage I did buy a little stowaway backpack at " the Green Welly", a petrol station "plus" in the village of Tyndrum.  However, it was to no avail, as they had finished the day before and so I had not choice but to carefully tread on the tree roots, climb over boulders, and in one scary instance, climb down a "ladder"!

The step ladder I had to descend with a full pack.  I'm a person who thinks a chair is high enough to stand on so you can guess what I thought on seeing this!

On this day not only did I have to contend with bog boulders and ladders, but also had to negotiate frequent streams flowing across the track.

This day was hard, and again I got in just as darkness fell, but was rewarded for my efforts with a bath in my hotel room in which I could soak my tired muscles!  The other reward on this day, and the following one, were the stunning views I had of the " bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond".  Stopping to admire this beautiful place also meant my day's walking took longer.  Hopefully the pictures tell the tale!

My first glimpses of Loch Lomond (above and below)........

...... and what began as cloudy, misty days turned into lovely sunny ones.

On the second day along the Loch I could smell these animals long before I saw them!

Even labouring up Conic Hill with a full pack was worthwhile with, looking back, the views of the Loch.  Day trippers were out, as were the cattle!

                    

A Spanish family from Barcelona heading up Conic Hill........

....... and one of the distractions on the way up!

Looking back at Loch Lomond (above and below), with the islands in the middle, marking, along with Conic Hill, the fault line.

Though the West Highland Way finishes in a village called Milngavie, which is almost a suburb of Glasgow but has still retained it's village atmosphere, I still had one more days walk into Glasgow.  Yet, as I walked right onto the heart of this city along the Kelvin Walkway, the only thing that showed I was in a more populated area was the increased number of joggers and dog walkers.

 Leaving the village of Drymen it was difficult to see where the path went as it crossed a field.

Further along the autumn foliage started to show more strongly.

 The Kelvin Walkway (above and below) which I followed into Glasgow was very rural, despite being so close to the city.

In Milngavie there is an official "start" obelisk, though in my case it was the "end"!

This section of my journey ended in a special way, having dinner with Charlotte and her husband Donald.  I met Charlotte at the hostel way back at the start of this journey, when we shared accommodation in Strommnes on Orkney.  The final part of this evening treat was, after dinner, at the Ben Nevis Bar listening to traditional Gaelic music.  A fitting end to this section of my walk which has covered around 540 kms so far (not counting my wanderings around the towns at the end of the day.)

I am now going to turn into a tourist for a few days and have a rest before starting to walk again, but more of that next time.