Journal: |
I got up at 5am and, after packing up and having a donut and
coffee, left the hotel and a very quiet Kirkintilloch at 5:45am.
I was a man on a mission. I had managed to book a bed at the
Rowardennan Youth Hostel on Loch Lomond for the night, but knew it
was probably more than 50km away, which would make it my longest
day. On the plus side, I knew that the first half would be
relatively easy walking along a disused railway and then roads.
On the negative side, I knew it was forecast to be sunny and warm.
I calculated that if I could walk five sessions of two and a quarter
hours each, I would average about 10km per session. I carried
a drink and snack for each break and would limit them to 15 minutes,
except for lunch which would be 30 minutes.
It was overcast and the early miles went fairly easily along the
rail trail which passed through farmland backed by increasingly high
hills, with the odd village every few kilometres. There were a
couple of people out early with dogs or riding bikes, but I mostly
had it to myself. I wasn't seeking to walk fast, just keep a
steady pace. By the time of my third (lunch) break, my route
had joined the West Highland Way and left the rail line and roads
for a conifer plantation in the hills. The West Highland Way
is a popular 88-mile walking track from near Glasgow to Fort
William, and I had already caught a few walkers, including a man who
had left Lands End about a month before me and was following the
same guide book. I had also entered "midge" territory and the
tiny biting insect was quite an annoyance while stopped for lunch
though not a bother while walking.
As I climbed higher and left the forest for the moors, I got
expansive views to the south over Loch Lomond and then, when the
path passed over the shoulder of Conic Hill, I also had spectacular
views north and west over Loch Lomond and a clear view of Ben
Lomond. It was a perfect summers day for sightseeing and as I
descended from Conic Hill, I met quite a few walkers climbing the
hill from the small village of Balmaha on the lake side, including a
large group of teenagers, most of whom had very inappropriate
footwear and clothing for hiking.....but they looked cool.
I reached Balmaha around 3:30pm and took my last break there,
enjoying an ice-cream and cold drink and watching all the
holiday-makers. After Balmaha, the West Highland Way followed
the eastern shore of Loch Lomond northwards through pretty woods
with occasional views and past stony beaches where quite a few
people were swimming, sunbathing and camping. By this time, I
knew I was going to reach my goal sometime around 6:30pm, but I was
getting quite tired and knew I had developed a deep blister on my
right heel which was bothering me. The fatigue was offset by
the great scenery and the knowledge that I had set myself a stretch
target which I would achieve comfortably.
I knew the Youth Hostel did not serve evening meals and also that
it was about a kilometre past the village of Rowardennan so, when I
arrived at the latter, at almost exactly 6:30pm, I stopped in at the
pub and had dinner. The England v Algeria game was scheduled
for 7:30pm and I was tempted to stay and watch it, but was very
tired and desperately needed a shower and to take my boots off.
I finished dinner and wandered the last kilometre to the Youth
Hostel and checked in at 7:30pm. The first thing I did was
about five minutes deep probing with my penknife trying to find the
blister deep under the callus on my right heel. Eventually, I
struck pay dirt! It turned out they had a TV at the hostel
and, after I had a shower and rinsed my gear out, I was in time to
watch the last half of what had proved to be a poor standard game.
I have about 32km tomorrow to the next Youth Hostel which should
be an easier day, but I will try to make sure I don't waste time so
that I arrive in sufficient time to do a much-needed load of washing
tomorrow night.
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