We wake up to a Yellow weather warning (!) for the last and longest day of the WHW. I try to find the positives, noting for instance that the chances of rain drop to a mere 80% at 2pm. And that wind does not appear to be a major feature. Clad in full waterproofs we hit early on what will become an ongoing feature of today: streams in full spate from the heavy rain. At the first hurdle Matt helps a couple navigate over the water and the woman tells me crossly that the situation is "ridiculous". I don't disagree. The sheep seem unbothered either way. An initial steep climb with dramatic views back to Loch Leven and the Pap of Glencoe is followed by a steady ascent to the natural halfway point of today's walk - Lairigmor. The hills rise steeply either side of the glen and with the occasional ruined croft the landscape feels enclosed and lonely. I can well believe the tale that the nearby Lochan Lunn Da Bhra is home to a Waterbull, a mythical creature that emerges from the deep to drag other cattle to their deaths. Eventually we meet an information board which marks our half way point and decide not to take the 'easier option' of continuing to follow the military road in to Fort William (considering the weather and the sore feet I am trying to recall the basis of this decision - I think the completest in us both must have won the debate!) This was however the right choice for as we approached the immense bulk of Ben Nevis patches of blue sky appeared and then, with almost perfect timing, we watched a large bird of prey make its way along the valley. This time, unmistakable. A golden eagle. Once down in Glen Nevis we have only one concern: reaching the official end of the WHW at the 'sore feet' statue in the town centre. Drenched, cold, tired and with very sore feet, we eventually trudge those final few steps, take some photos, before collapsing with a pint in the Black Isle Bar. We made it! Actually, no turns out we have another mile of walking to our B&B but beer and pizza provide just enough fuel to get us over that final line.
Jennie x
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Today begins with a buffet breakfast at the hotel and then straight out in to some of the most inspiring scenery Scotland has to offer. The crags of Buachaille Etive Mor tower ominously as we make our way alongside the main road to the fantastically named Devil's Staircase, the top of which at 550 metres marks the highest point of the WHW. The name applies specifically to the engineered ascending zigzag aspect to the military road likely built in 1750 by some 450 officers and men and who probably gave it this name; a previous name 'Mam Grianau' has passed in to obscurity. The views are dramatic as the weather starts to deteriorate. This section is known for being hazardous in bad weather with no shelter and a risk of exposure. Indeed during the construction of the Blackwater Dam in the early 1900s some of the 'navvies' (labourers on big engineering projects) who crossed the section to seek out whisky at Kingshouse (presumably as a respite from their desperately hard lives) sadly perished on the route. Thinking on these stories we start to make the long descent to Kinlochleven. The landscape is bleak moorland and with heavy showers and a cold wind options for a rest are limited until we find a crag which blocks the worst of the breeze while we have a well earned lunch. The bulk of Ben Nevis can be made out in the distance and there is no denying the beauty of the panorama. Eventually we meet the pipes running down from the dam towards Kinlochleven and the moor turns in to pleasant woodland. We are grateful to reach the town via a pathway which takes in the industrial heritage of the town as a site where high grade aluminium was produced. After checking in to our B&B we head out to find some food and have pizza and Guinness overlooking the head of Loch Leven. I was slightly perturbed by one especially decorative garden facing the main road, not due to its curious display of colourful inhabitants, but rather the fact I am 99% certain a hidden camera was observing me observing them... I decided to comfort myself with the idea that this was a modern art installation making a comment on modern society and the perpetual gaze of the camera lens, including my own. Or, alternatively, it was just weird.
Jennie x So here we are, Rannoch Moor, one of the last wildernesses in Europe. The road is flat, the road is long. The scenery impressive. You do feel like you could be one of General Wade's soldiers marching to subdue the highlands. Or perhaps a Jacobite saying cheers very much for the roads, that's helped us quite a lot actually to launch an attack on the ruling British Army. Either way, there's plenty of time to think and poeticise. Rannoch, by Glencoe by T. S. Eliot "All the way, the road had been among moors and mountains with huge masses of rock … giving it the aspect of the burial place of a race of giants … anything so bleak and wild, and mighty in its loneliness, it is impossible to conceive" We don't encounter too much in the way of wildlife, however I do find a caterpillar and I am not sure which butterfly or moth it will become. Answers on a postcard, although postcards probably won't reach Rannoch Moor. We have our lunch tucked underneath an old bridge and are surprised to find a flock of chaffinches quite keen to share our sandwiches. A bit of a surprise, I expect to see the soaring eagle and not the humble chaffinch. But both are welcome. It feels like a bit of a trudge now but we've passed over Rannoch Moor and into Glencoe, where we can see in the distance the fabled Kingshouse Hotel, the only accommodation for miles around. We're told there's a wedding so we can't eat in the bar and the prices are extortionate, but we eventually persuade them to allow us to purchase some food without sitting in the restaurant. There are stunning views of the mountains all around. We're grateful that we set out fairly early as whilst we're having a beer the heavens open and a lot of fellow walkers arrive very wet. Jennie does wish it to be known that a bunk bed in a hostel block is not normally considered an acceptable standard of accommodation. However it was either this or a very pricey hotel room. I'll take the top bunk then. Water off a duck's back.
Matthew From Tyndrum we have what is, in miles at least, a fairly short walk ahead. But there is an ascent after we reach Bridge of Orchy and we have to follow the military road up and over a ridge, then down to the Inveroran Hotel on the other side. We know we've got plenty of time so we enjoy a slower pace, and it's pretty good weather, sunshine and rainbows bursting out all over the place. We reach Bridge of Orchy without too much fuss which as expected consists largely of a bridge over the river Orchy but does also conveniently have a hotel for a quick refreshments stop. Just as we set off again I spy a bird ahead which I am 70% certain is a golden eagle. It certainly doesn't look or feel like a buzzard to me and this this is the right area. This could technically be our first ever sighting of one but it didn't come down low enough though for us to be certain, so we have to hope we will have another sighting later. We have seen one of the white tailed eagles that dwell near Tentsmuir Forest in North East Fife, and which I was surprised to learn is actually the largest UK bird of prey. On we go and march up our hill in increasingly beautiful weather to reach a rather windblown tree beside a cairn at the top As we descend we have fabulous views towards the ominously named Black Mount range of mountains which fringe the remote Rannoch Moor, which we will be experiencing tomorrow. But first a pleasant and easy decent to the Inveroran Hotel, which is probably one of our favourite places we have stayed so far. The only slight problem was the shower leaking to the floor below so I felt obliged to point this out to the management. I immediately regret this decision because they temporarily close the lounge room with free single malt whisky for the guests. Doh! Lovely place to stay in the middle of nowhere. I don't think we've got any injuries at this point and we are feeling pretty good!
Matthew |
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