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