Journal:
Knowing I had an easy day, I seemed to take longer
to have breakfast and get going, and didn't leave
the hostel until 8:45am. It was already bright
and sunny, though cool enough to make for very
pleasant hiking. For the first 20 minutes, I
had to retrace my last steps from yesterday, back
through the pine forest, to rejoin the West Highland
Way.
For most of its route
after leaving Loch Lomond, the
West Highland Way follows the 18th-century military
road built by General Wade to pacify and control the
Highlanders
which makes for easy and very pleasant walking.
The grades are not too steep and the surface firm,
if a little stony underfoot. After a kilometre
or two in the forest, the rest of the day was mostly
in the open along the floor and sides of valleys
bordered by high treeless mountains.
I reached Tyndrum, half
way for the day, late morning and stopped outside
the store there in the sun enjoying a sausage roll
and flavoured milk for a while.
There were a lot of walkers out making the most of the
weekend's fabulous weather. For the rest of the day, the
pyramid-like Beinn Dorain (1074m) dominated the way
ahead, but the scenery all around was classic
Scottish Highlands and the easy walking meant that I
could maintain a good pace, while still savouring
the views. Around 1pm, I found a shady spot by
a bridge and had lunch, before walking the last 5km
to the Bridge of Orchy, my destination for the day.
I checked into the hotel's bunkhouse at 3pm and had time for
a quick shower and clothes rinse before returning to
the hotel and enjoying the last hour of the Italy v
NZ game over a large Diet Coke. It was a good
game and a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.
After the game, I got on
the phone and booked some places to stay after Fort
William, finding out whether they would provide
packed lunches as well as dinner, bed and breakfast.
There will only be one shop in the last 10 days, and
only about five hotels, and I want to minimise the
amount of food I will need to carry so, knowing
whether I can get lunch helps the planning. So
far I have been able to get a room everywhere
there's the possibility of accommodation, though a
couple were a bit expensive.
Tomorrow morning, my
friend, Ian, drives up from near Glasgow and will
meet me at the local station where he will leave his
car and join me for the last two days on the West
Highland Way to Fort William. From there, he
will catch a late-afternoon train (there aren't many
on this line) back here to retrieve his car and
drive home. I'm grateful that he's taking the
trouble to do this and I'm sure we will have a good
few days, especially if the weather holds.