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.