Day 57 - 100,99,98.... (to be continued)

An unusual bench in the park at Alness.

The Cromarty Bridge carries the A9 over the Cromarty Firth.

I love it when they get the flags out for me (or is it to celebrate England's world Cup defeat?) this time it is at Dingwall.

I like the name Digwall. It comes from an evolution of "Thingvolls" which was a parliament in Viking times.

It was a good day today. It was mainly spent on good quiet country lanes and B roads which had proper cycle paths set off the road. the countryside was attractive gentle arable land framed by hills which were always to be seen in the distance. About 10 miles was along land overlooking the Cromarty Firth. Further interest was given by passing through several small towns - Conon Bridge, Maryburgh, Dingwall and Alness. To add to it all the weather was sunny but not too hot with a nice breeze. The only problem was that by the time we got to Morangie the Glenmorangie visitor centre was closed! I will just have to sample some in the bar tonight! I might also delegate Jean t ovisit it tomorrow to see if she can find any free samples.

I am now about 8 miles south of Tain, which I will reach tomorrow. I will also pass through Dornoch after crossing the Dornoch Firth - I haven't yet checked how high the bridge is yet! I do however know that it is the last Firth that I need to cross.

As you will have guessed from the title of today's blog I now have less than 100 miles to go to reach JOG - 98 to be precise! Although it is only a number going past the 100 mark gave rise to a wonderful sense of nearing the target.

Jean had a trip to some shops in Beauly, and in the afternoon visited a new RSPB feeding centre for Red Kites near to Dingwall. She also passed through Keithtown which unfortunately wasn't on my route.

A KBW to Bob for his kind offer of accommodation on the way south - I will get back to you on this Bob as I cannot think that far ahead at present.

"There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country. A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo. Even a bicycle goes too fast." - Paul Scott Mowrer.

Cheers

Keith

Day 56 - 8 weeks on the road

The end of today's walk, at Milbuie , was marked by a memorial to a local soldier.

The Kessock Bridge over the Beauly Firth- showing the path that I had to use. This wasn't easy with my fear of heights.

A view over Inverness as I approached this morning along the Great Glen Way. Beauly Firth can be seen to the left of the photo.

I have now completed 8 weeks on the adventure - and I can now see the end in sight (only 118 miles!). Inverness has been one of the landmark places in my mind from before the walk started - others have been Lancaster (half way), the Scottish border, Glasgow and the West Highland Way. I have always regarded Inverness as being in the north of Scotland, until planning the walk when I discovered that there are still over 120 miles to go when it is reached. Many people I have met on the walk have delighted in pointing this fact out to me!

The walk today saw me finish the GGW, although I did not bother to visit the official end which is at Inverness Castle. As I have said before my object is to reach JOG and so I found the shortest route through Inverness to Kessock Bridge and the road to Black Isle. I did not look forward to crossing the Bridge as I am not very good with heights. The photo shows the adequate footpath on the side of the bridge, although I would have liked the guard rail to have been a little higher! I did in fact cope with the height of the bridge, finding more problem with the wind created by the traffic speeding past.

Tomorrow I walk towards Tain. We are stopping tomorrow night at Glen Morangie (where the distillery is) and so I cannot promise that there will be a blog, or if there is, that it will be coherent.

Jean had a red squirrel day to celebrate her birthday - seeing one after dropping me off this morning. She then went on to enjoy the day by spending a couple of hours in a launderette! After lunch she visited a winery which we enjoyed and came away with plenty of samples of their products and also a donation to BHF! We have just got back from a very good meal at a restaurant called Rocpool - Jean really enjoyed her meal, but said that it doesn't excuse me taking her out to one of our favourite restaurants when we return home.

In Jean's Birthday Honours List she has awarded me a KBW for bravery in crossing the Kessock Bridge. She would also like to thank all of you who sent messages to her wishing her a happy birthday.

"If you pick 'em up. O Lord, I'll put 'em down." - "Prayer of the tired walker"

Cheers

Keith

Day 55 - 800 and other numbers

A view across the moor high above Loch Ness early this morning. An unusually open view for the Great Glen Way.

A Great Glen Way sign marking the highest point on the Way. Although it doesn't say it is 1245 ft above sea level and I was very pleased to reach it after a long climb uphill from the side of Loch Ness.

Urquhart (pronounced Urk hurt) Castle is seen in the centre of the photo (if you look hard enough!). Taken from the Great Glen Way above Loch Ness.

The bilingual sign at the entrance to "Drum" as the locals call it. Although it looks as though the Gaelic speakers do not have to drive carefully! This is where I clocked up the 800 miles for the walk.

Today I reached 7 miles from Inverness and the end of the Great Glen Way. In doing so I clocked up 800 miles - I have now walked 816 miles. Due to the decision to walk through Inverness I have increased the total mileage to 950 and so there are still 134 miles to go. As you will have gathered from the last two blogs I have not been impressed by the GGW - this continued today although there were more areas where it was possible to see the wider view. Overall I would not recommend doing the GGW unless it was part of a longer holiday to see the sights of the Great Glen - even then I would suggest a driving trip would be more interesting.

I will need to get my OS maps out for tomorrow onwards. This has not happened recently because I had guide books for both the WHW and GGW which contained descriptions of the route as well as the appropriate maps with the route highlighted. My plan is to walk into Inverness and then to cross the Kessock Bridge to the Black Isle. I then take minor roads to Dingwall and then along the west coast of the Cromarty Firth towards Alness.

The weather has not been as hot as I understand it has been in England recently. Yesterday we had 2 showers. Today it threatened to rain again but it never quite managed to do so. I have therefore been wearing my waterproof jacket the last 2 days with long trousers. The long trousers are not because it is cold but to protect my legs from ticks (which live in bracken) which can give you Lymes disease. I have worn them since the start of the WHW when I started walking along country paths. Hopefully tomorrow will be the last day that this will be necessary - although the weather forecast is for rain for the next few days so I may need to wear my waterproof trousers. Whilst on the subject of clothing I wore my trainers yesterday for the first time since the start of the WHW. I had to wear my boots again today as it rained heavily overnight and I thought that the paths may be muddy. I will wear them again tomorrow but after that I am back on the roads and will be able to wear my trainers, which I prefer as they are lighter.

Jean today visited the Loch Ness Centre where she learned all about Nessie. I don't think that she was paying attention as she came out not believing in Nessie! As I have not seen that much of the Loch (due to the trees!) I haven't seen Nessie myself - so you will have to make your own minds up!

As promised an update on the trip stats:

816 miles walked

134 miles still to walk

48 days walked

7 full rest days

16.7 average miles per walking day

57 degrees north of Inverness- north of Moscow!

97 bird species seen (can I make the 100?)

10 mammal species seen

10 men in kilts

20 counties visited (this will be the final total as Highlands is huge)

29 beds slept in

2 single malts sampled (honest!)

1 blind Uruguayan referee

22 walkers who have joined me (plus 2 dogs)

12 support drivers (not including pick up truck)

2 support cars used by us

2,368 miles in our support cars

5,397 money raised for BHF (donations still accepted!)

KBW's today to Martin, Sue, Julie and Sue for services to communication with the Scottish outpost.

"I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me." - Fred Allen

Cheers

Keith

Day 54 - I cannot see the walk for the trees!

A view of the path on the Great Glen Way - trees for mile after mile!

At Fort Augustus, on Loch Ness, for a coffee stop when I found Nessie.

A pretty lock keepers cottage 4 miles south of Fort Augustus.

Like yesterday I found it very difficult to find suitable subjects to photo today. The first 5 miles today, from Aberchalder to Fort Augustus, were along the Caledonian Canal. The views were pleasant if not spectacular. However after leaving Fort Augustus the next 16 miles were entirely on Forestry Commission land which meant hours walking along good paths but with only the occasional glimpse of Loch Ness, which was often well below the path. As I have said before walking on forest paths is not inspiring and it is all but impossible to be sure what progress you are making. After lunch at Invermoriston I estimated that I had 7 miles before meeting Jean at the end of the day and so we agreed to meet at 4.30 at the end of a very narrow minor road which went into the forest. In the event I probably underestimated the distance and also did not take into account that the path literally went uphill for at least 3 miles. This combination meant that I was almost an hour late - and could not inform Jean because she couldn't get a signal on her phone. Luckily she had worked out that I was walking further than I had anticipated and was not panicking too much.

I had no problems from my ankle or shins today. Still no blisters !

One thing that I have noticed about the waterways in Scotland is the dearth of bird life. So even when I can see the lochs etc there is very little bird life to see.

I have decided to continue on the GGW to Inverness rather than to leave it at Drumnadrochit as originally planned. Although the GGW has been a big disappointment; I have missed a little bit out by taking short cuts; and the remaining 18 miles after D'hit do not sound to be an improvement - I think that I would prefer to see the rest for myself. The LEJOG guide book that I have suggests that it is best to carry on to Inverness as the alternative route from D'chit is largely on an A road. It will also be good to stay in Inverness on Tuesday as it is Jean's birthday and I think that she deserves a good meal in celebration and as a thank you for all of her support work.

I saw the 9th man wearing a kilt today. He was a busker playing the bagpipes at the exit to a car park. The others have been - 5 men attending a formal dinner in Lockerbie; a waiter at the Drovers Inn at Inverarnan; and 2 members of a pipe band in Fort William. I will give you a full update of the trip stats tomorrow.

Talking of tomorrow I plan to walk to about 5 miles south of Inverness. If achieved this will leave me with a further 132 miles to go to reach JOG.

"Now shall I walk or shall I ride ? Ride - Pleasure said. Walk - Joy replied" - WH Davis.

Cheers

Keith

Day 53 - Trees and more trees

A view over Loch Lochy back towards Ben Nevis.

The Laggan Locks on the Great Glen Way where we had a picnic lunch today.

The ruins of Invergarry Castle taken from the opposite bank of Loch Oich. The boat on the left also looks as though it has seen better days!

Today was certainly one where it was necessary to focus on the overall objective of reaching JOG, and to grind out the miles. This was because the scenery was by and large boring - or perhaps I should say that it was not possible to see the scenery because most of the day I was walking along forest tracks with minimal views of Loch Lochy and Loch Oich that I was walking parallel to. The actual paths themselves were very good and easy walking. In the morning from Gairlochy to Laggan Locks I amused myself by birdwatching, which is not easy in what was mainly a pine forest. In the afternoon from Laggan Locks to Aberchalder I resorted to first my radio and then my ipod to keep me going.

I may be getting a little jaded after over 7 weeks on the road, or I may have been spoiled by the magnificent scenery and atmosphere of the West Highland Way - because even when the trees did open up the views did not inspire me . The GGW so far is also much less used than is the WHW - I did not see any walkers going south today, and only 4 others going north. Because the Great Glen area is better served with B&B's and hotels than the area of the WHW there is not the gatherings of walkers in the hotels which helped make the WHW so special.

I am still in search of short cuts. This morning I chose to stay on a very quiet B road instead of following the GGW as it meandered fairly aimlessly through woodland.

Although Jean and myself have been bitten by a few insects it is no worse than if we had spent time out of doors in any part of England. We have certainly not yet seen the fabled Scottish midges. We have heard about them - the B&B where we stopped last night had a machine to deal with them. Apparently midges identify their prey from the carbon dioxide emitted from breath. The machine emits carbon dioxide to attract the midges from a radius of 50 yards. Once they approach the machine they are sucked in and killed. The B&B that we stayed at at Crianlarich were considering buying one of these machines as well. I guess that we must just have been lucky - so far!

Thanks to Colin Findlayat the excellent Riverside Lodge Gardens B&B at Spean Bridge for his donation to the BHF as well as for the wonderful hospitality. Tonight we are staying in Fort Augustus which is at the southern end of Loch Ness.

Tomorrow I hope to walk to to about 7 miles south of Drumnadrochit. I will need to decide by tomorrow night whether I am going to follow my original plan to leave the GGW at Drumnadrochit or whether to continue on to the end of the GGW at Inverness. The latter route is about 5 miles longer but does give us more options with accommodation as Inverness is well served with hotels etc.

There were 2 aspects of today's walk which gave me some intellectual interest. Yet again I found myself walking on old military roads - a lot of both the WHW and the GGW is based on roads that were built in the 18th century by the government to make troop movements around the highlands easier. Between 1724 -1740 240 miles of military roads were built by 500 soldiers. The leading figure involved with the construction was General Wade who is remembered in the National Anthem where his work is referred to as "crushing rebellious Scots". Together with the miles walked on old Roman roads I have walked many miles on roads which were constructed for military purposes. The other topic of interest were some butterflies that I spotted - however despite studying my book tonight I have been unable to identify which species they were.

"Walking isn't a lost art - one must by some means get to the garage." - Evan Esar

Cheers

Keith

Day 52 - One Way ends and another begins

The view from our B&B just outside Fort William - overlooking Loch Linnie. The clouds soon lifted and it became another warm sunny day.

Ben Nevis towers above the Fort William area.

River Lochy near to Gairlochy, where my walk finished today. This is on the Great Glen Way 10 miles north of Fort William.

Neptune's Staircase, on the Caledonian Canal at Benavie, a flight of 8 locks which is a local tourist attraction. Jean can be seen in the bottom right of the picture. We had lunch in the hotel next to the Staircase. You will remember that yesterday I took on the rather more challenging Devil's staircase in the WHW!

Although I know that I will not have followed every yard of either the WHW or the Great Glen Way, today was the day when I finished the WHW and started the GGW. Looking at the maps this morning I noticed short cuts that I could take both to finish the WHW and to start the GGW. As my objective is to get to JOG I had no problem in taking both short cuts saving me about 3 miles in total.

The walk today was fairly uneventful. I did have a few twinges from my right shin this morning, but after putting some gel on it I had no problems this afternoon. It is however a reminder that I must not take things for granted. I now have 185 miles to go, and while it might seem easy compared to the 945 starting figure I have reminded myself that it is still the distance from Coventry to London and back!

The highlight of today was seeing Ben Nevis from many different angles. I am always surprised to see snow on a British mountain in June! I did take several photos of the mountain showing the snow but unfortunately I uploaded the wrong photo - you will therefore have to believe me about the snow!

Jean had a cruise on Loch Linnie this morning, seeing seals, gannets and cormorants. She also enjoyed driving the hire car down the single track roads which are prevalent in these parts.

Tomorrow I carry on the GGW to Aberchalder which is 5 miles south of Fort Augustus. This part of the GGW is fairly flat and on good surfaces. This has restored my belief in my fitness because the hills and poor surfaces on the WHW were starting to make me believe that my legs were becoming worn out. However after 10 miles on flat canal paths, along the Caledonian Canal, I now believe that I am still in reasonable working order.

The change of Way has heralded a change in scenery from the rugged and desolate areas through which the WHW passes to the the much softer pasture land and gentle hills of the GGW. However I only had to look over my shoulder this afternoon to be reminded of the Highlands as Ben Nevis is still dominating the views even from 10 miles away.

I have had some new eating and drinking experiences whilst in the Lochaber district. Last night I had a vegetarian haggis (think about it) and tonight I had a pint of beer (yes, only 1!) made from heather - it was surprisingly tasty and dispelled the thought that the Scots had been winding me up when telling me that heather was used to make beer.

"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go." - Robert L Stevenson

Cheers

Keith

Days 50 and 51- Sun cream to woolly hat

The path, known as the Devil's Staircase, out of Glencoe zig zags uphill. I pretended that I stopped to take the photo - it was actually to get my breath back! Other West highland Way walkers can be seen struggling up hill.

The path winds its way into the distance - typical of today's route.

Me with Benno , from Holland , who is also walking LEJOG.

Me, woolly hat, and the new hire car.

The warm sunshine of the last few walking days deserted me today. I therefore didn't need to put suncream on - I did however resort to the woolly hat for most of the morning walk from Kingshouse to Kinlochleven. Although it did drizzle for most of the morning it never got really bad and I marched along quite happily - helped by overtaking quite a number of backpackers slowed down by their heavy loads. I also met a backpacker from Holland 2 or 3 miles from Kinlochleven. after speaking for a few minutes we realised that we were both doing LEJOG. His name was Benno Tymense and he is doing LEJOG the hard way - he did the South West coast path to Minehead and also did the Pennine Way. He estimated that he had walked about 1,000 miles to date compared to my 750. He started walking on 2 April and hopes to finish by the time of the World Cup final. We had lunch together and when I set off for another 8 miles he set off to find a campsite for the night. He said that he will be supporting England against Germany on Sunday. thanks for the donation to BHF Benno and good luck for the rest of your walk.

After meeting a lot of walkers this morning the afternoon was in complete contrast and I went over an hour without seeing anyone at one point. This had a certain serenity about it and it was wonderful walking through the mountains with only the occasional sheep for company. I managed to reach a car park to meet Jean about 6/7 miles from Fort William and the end of the WHW. Despite the problems in walking along the banks of Loch Lomond I have really enjoyed doing the WHW particularly as it has a sense of camaraderie along the paths as well as at the hotels along the Way which are used almost entirely by walkers and a few cyclists.

Tomorrow I move straight from the WHW to the Great Glen Way which starts in Fort William.

In response to Bob's question about my schedule - I hope to reach JOG on Monday 5 July ie a further 11 days walking. This schedule assumes that I can walk about 20 miles a day (where conditions allow) and do not have any more rest days. I realise that this may put some strain on my shins but I know that I will be able to give them a rest soon, and that if necessary I can walk through any pain for say 100 miles or so. I would not have said that when I first had the shin problems when there were over 600 miles to go. I have 202 miles to go at present having walked 743 so far.

Jean had a good day visiting Glencoe, with its striking scenery, and went to the National Trust visitor centre and the Folk Museum. She learnt that a certain Lieutenant Lindsay was involved in the Glencoe Massacre and was one of the ones made to take the blame to shield their senior officers. She also obtained a donation to BHF from the lady at the Museum.

Yesterday was a rest day. Unfortunately we had to spend the time travelling 70 miles each way to Perth to resolve the problems with our car. We had been told that a new gear box was required and that the cost would be about equal to the value of the car. After a lot of discussions we decided to get the car repaired. We have hired a car for the rest of the adventure.

Today's KBW's are :-

Benno - for being as crazy as me and for his generosity

Sue and Neil - for help with our car problems

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." - John Muir

Cheers

Keith

Day 49 - Cars!

The Glencoe ski resort ski lifts can be seen on the top right of the photo. This was taken near the end of the walk today.

A view across Rannoch Moor showing the desolate nature of the area.

A bog on Rannoch Moor.

John Muirhead and myself on the Bridge of Orchy before starting today's walk.

We eventually received news from the garage that the car needs a new gear box. As the price that they have quoted is more than the car is worth it looks as though the car is a write off. We are therefore having a rest day from the walk tomorrow and travelling to Perth to hire a car and to retrieve all of the belongings in our car. We will return to Bridge of Orchy to stay tomorrow night and I will resume the walk on Thursday. Although the news about the car has not been good we are relived that the uncertainty is over and that we can continue with the venture.

Today I walked 13/14 miles from Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse. The majority of the walk was across Rannoch Moor which is a desolate bit of land. All the life that we saw in about 10 miles of walking were a handful of meadow pipits and a few flies (but amazingly still no midges - which was just as well as I had forgotten to put my insect repellent on). the weather was again sunny but the wind helped keep the temperature down. I can't think what the Moor would be like in poor weather. There was however a feeling of being somewhere special where there is no interference from modern life.

As mentioned yesterday I walked today with John who is from Bathgate. We both agreed that it was very much for the best that we were not walking across the Moor on our own. It would have felt incredibly lonely.

All of my ailments are still behaving themselves and I felt very good walking today. This was helped by the paths mainly being of good quality and there not being too many hills to deal with.

As I am not walking tomorrow the next blog will be on Thursday when I hope to walk to about 5 miles short of Fort William and the end of theWest Highland Way.

Today's KBW goes to John for walking with me for a day and a half and for being such a wonderful character.

Today's thought is that I should have remembered to bring the list of quotes with me when I came down to the residents lounge where I can get a strong enough signal from the hotel's wifi.

Cheers

Keith

Day 48 - On and off the road

A view along the River Cononish.

The hills are now definitely becoming mountains as I walk north.

A self portrait of the happy walker celebrating reaching 700 miles.

A "sheep creep" which allows passage under a railway line. A bit of a tight squeeze especially if carrying a large back pack.

No positive news about the car. It reached the Jag garage in Perth this morning but they were unable to look at it today. We therefore do not yet know what the problems are.

Initially Jean and I were pretty fed up with the car problem - mainly because of the uncertainty of it all. We have however been able to take a more philosophical view, and we know that something will turn up - we just do not know what! We managed today as I walked from the B&B at Crianlarich to the hotel in Bridge of Orchy (about 14 miles) whilst Jean (and the luggage) was very kindly given a lift to Bridge of Orchy by the proprietors of the Craigbank Guest House - thanks very much Charles and Karen.

Tomorrow I plan to walk to Kingshouse a distance of 14 miles part of which crosses Rannoch Moor. The hotel offer a transport service so that I can get a lift back to Bridge of Orchy after the walk. Jean will be OK as she has Wimbledon and the World Cup to watch on TV. I may be speaking too soon but this is the first hotel for several days where the TV, internet and our phones all work and I can upload photos to the blog.

Wednesday will be more of a problem if we still do not have the car. We will however worry about that if it happens. I would like to thank Neil for his kind offer of his Dolomite - but I suspect that I will have reached JOG before he is able to get the car through an MOT!

I have joined up with Andrew Gardener (yesterday) and John Muirhead (today) for several miles. This has made the walking easier as talking to others takes ones mind off the process of walking. Both were also raising money for charity - I wonder how much people raise by walking the WHW each year. I have arranged to walk with john again tomorrow.

My ankle seems to be better and the reduced schedule has improved my shins. Everything else is in full working order. I felt tired for the first couple of miles today but I think that this was probably due to the nervous energy that I wasted yesterday, and the rigours of part of the clamber along Loch Lomond on Saturday. However after a few miles the going unusually for Scotland became flatter and it felt much easier walking.

I promised an update of the walk stats:-

4,973 pounds raised so far

718 miles walked

227 miles still to go

24 beds slept in

96 bird species seen

7 wild mammal species seen

19 walkers have accompanied me (plus 2 dogs)

12 support drivers

1 pick up truck

6 men in kilts

41 days walked

7 full rest days

17 miles average each walking day

2000+ miles in our car (exact number not known as we do not have car at present)

2 types of single malt drunk

19 counties walked in

"The Americans never walk. In winter too cold and in summer too hot." - J B Yeats

Cheers

Keith

Day 47 - Major hitch

A very short blog today. I walked the 7 miles to Crianlarich as expected this morning - thus bringing up the 700 mile total for the walk.



This afternoon we had out usual rest day tour - unfortunately the gear box failed in the middle of nowhere. Amazingly the AA got a break down vehicle to us within 45 minutes. The garage could not sort the problem and so the car is being taken to the Jag dealers in Perth for them to run things through their computer.



Tomorrow I hope to walk to Bridge of Orchy as planned. Jean and the luggage will come along by train , taxi or our hosts at the B&B have offered to drive her. We are booked into the Bridge of Orchy hotel for 2 nights, and hopefully by Wednesday the car will have been sorted and be back with us. If not we may have to hire a car for the next couple of weeks, although Jean is not too keen on driving a different car.



Because of all of these problems I am running late tonight and so cannot do a full blog. I was planning to update all of the stats - hopefully I will have time to do so tomorrow.

"Keep smiling" - Keith Lindsay

Cheers
Keith

Day 46 - Loch Lomond reprise

At present I am unable to upload any photos. I will try again later, but I apologise if there are no photos today. They were mainly even more scenes of the Loch anyway - you have probably seen plenty already.



Today started off very well, again with bright sunny weather, and I was given my wish for a slightly lower temperature. This was assisted by me walking along the east bank of the Loch which meant that the sun was hidden behind the hills for all of the morning. I reached Inversnaid by 11.45 in time for an early lunch, feeling good and having made good progress on smooth paths.



This enjoyment was soon to disappear as most of the path after lunch - from Inversnaid to Inverarnan, was appalling. The path often consisted of rocks, boulders and tree roots and often required more clambering than walking. I do not know how I would have managed it had the path been wet. The host at tonight's B&B confirmed that he has heard many tales of woe from this part of the WHW, as people do not appreciate the difficulty of the path before setting off. He does however promise me that the path is a lot better from now on.



The nature of today's walk also made it difficult to fully appreciate the fabulous scenery. Firstly the path was often through trees with the Loch barely visible. Secondly The poor state of the path meant that I had to walk with my eyes down on the path to avoid tripping over rocks etc. Luckily I managed to avoid any damage although I did stumble several times.

Because of the nature of the WHW, being off road to a large extent, it makes it difficult to divide into stages. Jean has come up with a plan which involves having 2 half days rather than a full rest day. Tomorrow I am therefore walking only 7 miles from Inverarnan to Crianlarich (where we are staying for 2 nights) with the afternoon being free for sightseeing.



Still no sign of the dreaded midges. I have been told today that they are not too prevalent at present because of the dry, hot and windy weather in recent weeks. I will keep you updated.

The highlight of today was seeing a pine marten. It was on the path only about 10 yards ahead of me having just caught something to eat. Jean also had a wildlife experience when she saw an osprey whilst driving.

KBW's today for Des and Margaret, and Graham for services to communications.

" Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake" - Wallace Stevens (or should it be loch?)

Cheers
Keith

Day 45 - The bonnie bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond

A view over Loch Lomond from the West Highland Way.

And another.

The view from our accommodation at Balmaha (pronounced Balmaha!) showing a helicopter about to land.

When I took this photo I thought that I was capturing a Highland Cattle bull - however Jean doesn't think that it is a Highland Cattle, any ideas?

Today I walked the 14 miles from Drymen to Rowardennan. I can know officially announce that this is pronounced Row ar denn un (with "row" being pronounced as in an argument rather than as in rowing a boat). The early part of the walk - the 6 miles to Balmaha was very easy walking with very good even, well marked paths on relatively flat terrain. I did however opt for the easier "lower" route which misses out Conic Hill - I am not here to climb mountains! The second section to Rowardennan was however very tough with lots of up and downhill sections and the paths in many places were of more dubious quality. Towards the end I resorted to the road to avoid further punishment. This means that I will not be able to claim that I have walked the WHW but this is not my objective - getting to JOG is!

The weather is still bright and sunny - a few degrees lower would be ideal for walking.

I am pleased to sat that my various leg problems are holding up well. I have worn boots rather than trainers for the last 2 days and this gives my ankles more support over the uneven ground. There were a few times today when my left ankle had an opportunity to be painful as I stumbled on loose rocks etc but it did not take them - let's hope that this continues.

Tomorrow I walk to Inverarnan which is again about 14 miles. My guide book says that this section is generally recognised as one of the toughest of the Way. So although 14 miles is less than I normally achieve in a day it may still be a good challenge. I had a good reminder today that all miles are not equal. In any event I will have to make it to Inverarnan as the road does not go past Rowardennan. After dropping me of Jean will have to retrace her route south down the east side of the loch and then travel north on the west side to meet me to the north of the loch (are you still following this?).

Martin told me in an email that the BBC had a feature on the trouble that the midges were causing this year, and he asked me to recount my experiences so far. I think that he was probably looking for some tales of woe - if so he will be disappointed to learn that we have not yet encountered any midges. My insect repellent spray and wipes are still waiting to be used. I expect that they will be soon.

I would like to thank Eddie (who I met on the Way yesterday) for already making a donation on justgiving.com. Really appreciated, thanks Eddie.

Today's KBW's are :-

Martin - for his continued communications via email,

Eddie - for proving that there are still some good guys out there.

"Walking gets the feet moving, the blood moving ,the mind moving. And movement is life." - Bruce Chatwin

Cheers

Keith

Day 44 - West Highland Way

A taste of things to come - taken from just outside Drymen (pronounced Drimmen) Loch Lomond can just be seen to the centre left of the picture.

One of the many scenic pictures that I took today. The scenery was wonderful and I understand that it gets even better further along the Way.

The Glengoyne Distillery where I took time out to sample their splendid whiskies. Thanks to Yvonne who gave me descriptions of all 4 of the malts that I sampled.

About to embark on the WHW from the official start point in Milngavie (pronounced Mull-Guy).

As I write this sitting on the banks of Loch Lomond in tropical Scotland it is amazing to think that I started walking this morning from Partick in the centre of Glasgow. (We are staying at Balmaha for 2 nights and so we are 4 miles ahead of where I have walked to - so I will need to go back to Drymen tomorrow morning to rejoin the West Highland Way.) It feels like another world.

Tomorrow I will walk to Rowardennan nearly all along the east bank of the Loch. The weather forecast is for more sun - I cannot complain because it is certainly better than the rain that I understand is fairly common in these parts. I have been telling the locals that I am bringing the good weather with me - apparently yesterday Glasgow was the warmest place in Britain!

The visitor centre at Milngavie was very welcoming and, because I am walking for charity, gave me a free Log Book, which when completed will entitle me to a certificate to evidence my efforts. They were very interested in my LEJOG walk and said that they would put details of my blog etc on their website.

I have met many interesting people on my travels. Another one today was Eddie, who was walking south, who had heart problems 3 years ago and said that walking was something that he had since learned to enjoy. I said I would mention him on the blog and he said he would donate to the BHF - there you go Eddie I have kept my side of the bargain!

I had a pleasant diversion of a few hundred yards off the WHW when I visited the Glengoyne Distillery for a free whisky tasting. I sampled four of their malts, which were all very good - and I still managed not to get lost afterwards!

The WHW is certainly proving to be good for tourism - I have already met walkers from Germany, France and the US as well of course plenty of Brits.

In the captions to the photos I refer to the pronunciation of the various place names. Since leaving Glasgow I haven't yet spoken about a place without being corrected on its pronunciation. Some like Milngavie ("Mull-Guy"), where the WHW starts, are impossible to guess, some like Drymen ("Drimmen") are not quite so bad. I still haven't managed to get my destination for tomorrow, Rowardennan, sorted out - it appears to be all in the emphasis on the various syllables.

I noticed a hierarchy of walkers today. At the bottom of the list are those simply out for a gentle walk and doing only a few miles; next are those doing only one of the stages of the WHW; next are those doing the full WHW but using hotels and B&B's. I still haven't worked out whether doing the WHW as part of LEJOG is of a higher rank than those who are carrying full camping gear etc - I think that it is but I think that the backpackers probably think that they are superior!

"My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing." - Aldous Huxley

Cheers

Keith

Day 43 - Two thirds and still walking

Two bridges cross Avon Water,a tributary of the Clyde, near Hamilton.

I appreciated the welcome, but they had miscalculated - I completed two-thirds of the walk today!

Hosts George and Annette in their pretty garden.

There are a series of these adverts - Mexico, because their moustaches remind me of my grandma; Cameroon because it rhymes with Macaroon etc. I haven't yet seen one which says England because they are British - if I do I will let you know.

Whilst it would be untrue to say that I enjoyed my walk through Glasgow it was certainly interesting and was a lot better than I had feared. Jean also found it easier to drive into the city than she had thought may be the case. I did however see several examples of the stereotypical Glaswegians - I will let you fill in the gaps! There was a row of shops where about half were empty, the open shops were a family lawyer. a criminal lawyer, a cheque centre and a charity shop - I expect that a soap could make a plot out of this!

I apologise for continually talking about numbers but I am an accountant. I have now walked 650 miles which is over two-thirds of the way to JOG. The exact two-thirds point was just outside the entrance to Hamilton Golf Club. I now have less than 300 miles to go (295 to be exact) - and whilst I know that it is still a long way and that they will be hard miles, it does feel good to have less than 300 to go. You may remember that when I had done one-third I said that all I had to do was repeat what I had done - twice. Now I can say that all I need to do is half of what I have already done.

A guide to walking LEJOG that I have says that the final third is the hardest as the body starts to fail because of over use. I understand what they are saying - but only time will tell. The slight problem with the walk did not appear again today. The left ankle had only one twinge when I landed on an uneven path.

Tomorrow I start the West Highland Way and hope to reach Drymen.

Today's KBW's are to George and Annette our hosts for tonight. Thanks to them for hosting us when we are only known through a common acquaintance. As we do not expect to have any more hosts or support drivers or walkers I have decided that future KBW's will be awarded to the best feedback to me via the blog,by email, text or by phone especially to people who reply to the questions that I sometimes ask.

"Walking would teach people the quality that youngsters find so hard to learn - patience." - Pepper Giardino

Cheers

Keith

Day 42 - Bikes and birds

Well - it was a slow photo day! Just to prove that the sun does shine in Scotland.

The shape of things to come. In the middle distance (if you enlarge the image) are the high rise buildings of Glasgow. In the distance are the hills that await me on the West Highland Way.

Some of the 650 riders taking part in the charity ride organised by James Cracknell. Steve regrettably is not in the picture.

After such a good day yesterday it was probably to be assumed that today would not be the same, and so it proved. Steve who walked 2 days with me in the South West is taking part in the James Cracknell bike ride from John O'Groats to lands End in 9 days. I found out yesterday that we would be travelling in opposite directions on the B7078 today. Jean and I therefore made an early start to try to see Steve ride by. However although we saw nearly all 650 go past we didn't see Steve. Our theory is that he took the advice that I gave him last night to use the very good cycle path rather than the threadbare road. The problem caused by this is that the path is to the left of the trees that can be seen in the photo - so we wouldn't have seen him. Jean however was compensated by James Cracknell waving to us as he went past.

The good news today was that I received a text telling me that there is a full page article about my walk in the Coventry Telegraph today. This contains the blog address - so welcome to any new readers.

Waiting to see Steve allowed me to spend an hour or so birdwatching in the Lanarkshire countryside- something that my need to do the miles doesn't normally allow me to do. This allowed me to see a snipe displaying, when they fly somewhat like a bat but also make a noise called "drumming" which makes it sound like a flying vuvuzela. The other bird spotting highlight today was to see the first redshank of the trip.

In terms of walking I did 18 miles along the B7078 to reach Larkhall. Most of the route was on good cycle paths on quite roads. However the few miles after Blackwood was a nightmare as not only did the cycle path disappear there was often no proper verge to retreat to - this was certainly worrying as there was an inordinate number of quarry lorries speeding along the road.

The scenery today was not very interesting,being flatter and more developed as I approach Glasgow.

I have received an email from Martin (who walked 2 days with me in Warks and Staffs) in which he gently reprimands me for not including sufficient details of the problems that I have encountered. He says that with the football not being so good and some of the soaps being cancelled he needs my blog to give him some drama. The best that I can come up with today is that I have an occasional very slight pain in my left calf. My shins and left ankle are perfectly serviceable on flat ground (although I am still taking painkillers as a precaution), but I am a little concerned that I will find the going tougher when these problems are exposed to the tougher terrain of the West Highland Way. There you are Martin - some suspense for you as well.

Tomorrow I walk through Glasgow. My original plan was to walk along the Clyde Way to Partick where we are staying the night. However I am considering changing this plan and to walk along the city streets in order to save a few miles of walking. This will then hopefully put me into a position to start the WHW on Thursday. I will make the final decision later tonight.

As well as seeing James Cracknell, Jean had a good day visiting New Lanark which is a World Heritage Site, just outside Lanark. As well as enjoying an interesting visit she was pleased to find the place having failed to find Wigan Pier and the Ribble Steam Railway on the trip so far.

"As a nation we are dedicated to keeping physically fit - and parking as close to the stadium as possible." - Bill Vaughan

Cheers

Keith

Days 40 and 41 - 600 miles and a coincidence

An attractive view over the Clyde valley from the B7078 this afternoon.

The river Clyde near to the village of Crawford - which was the 600 mile mark of the walk.

The intrepid walker celebrates reaching a total of 600 miles, with Lindsay Tower in the background.

The statue of the Ram at Moffat which signifies the role that the town had in the wool trade in the 1870's.

I had a very good day today. The roads were good, the weather was sunny but not too hot, and the views especially in the afternoon were lovely. Even better the ankle that I twisted on Saturday did not cause me any problem, which was a very pleasant surprise as I had expected some trouble from it. I chalked up a new county as well - Lanarkshire.

I reached the 600 mile mark near to the village of Crawford. By an amazing coincidence this village contains the remains of Lindsay Tower.This was inherited by the Lindsay family in 1215 as a result of a marriage. It was occupied by English forces led by Edward 1 until it was relieved when William Wallace led a force which stormed the castle in the winter of 1296/1297. As you can see from the photo it is no longer in very good repair so I won't be looking to stake my claim to a part of it!

You may remember that I reached the 300 mile mark at Norton Lindsey (sic) - lets wait and see where the 900 mile mark is!

I have now walked 610 miles which leaves 335 to go. I have reached a place on the B7078 about 4 miles north of Abington. Tomorrow I continue along the B7078 and hope to reach Hamilton on the outskirts of Glasgow. Steve Twigger (remember him from Cornwall and Devon) is presently cycling from JOG to LE - I met the organiser of their ride today and I learnt that they will be cycling south along the B7078! I will try to speak to Steve tonight to see if our paths will actually cross. It is possible that they will not as they leave East Kilbride at 6.30 and so may have already passed before I have had my breakfast!

Yesterday was a rest day and for the second week running it rained for most of the day. Jean and I therefore did a circular car trip to Peebles visiting several lochs and reservoirs as well as the Grey Mares Tail waterfall. We are staying at a hotel just outside Lanark for the next 2 nights.

Thanks for all of the messages of support - comments on the blog, emails and phone calls. They really do boost my determination to succeed knowing that so many of you are supporting me. I look forward to receiving more comments from you.

To celebrate the fact that I am in Rabbie Burns country the quote today comes from the world famous poet, and will ensure that I do not become complacent about the next 335 miles.. It is amazing how his name gets used in marketing - at the Italian restaurant last night they had a "Rabbie Burns Pizza" which included haggis amongst its ingredients.

"There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing." - Rabbie Burns

Cheers

Keith