Blog/Updates

Rowardennan to Dumgoyne
Actual distance 27.31Km or 18.3 miles (or 182,066 ice cream waffle cones)

Total Ascent 351m (or 3545 Cadbury’s ‘99’ flakes)

It was a little midgey this morning whilst packing and breakfasting but we survived our worst encounter yet. Jen even broke out her midge hat! They were a great incentive to get going and certainly helped us to leave at a decent time!

Today we switched from walking to fit in a sneaky bike day, allowing us to complete most of the rest of the West Highlands Way. The initial track was along the main road out of Rowardennan. It was fairly ‘lumpy’, with lots of short sharp ascents and descents and certainly didn’t have the magical views of the last few days. There were a few sore legs and some tricky moments but we managed to make it to Drymen in really good time for lunch. We had considered stopping in Drymen as planned, and essentially having a half rest day, but instead we chose to plough on for a further 9km and managed to get to Dumgoyne before calling it a day. We have therefore not only managed to catch up with our planned schedule, but are actually slightly ahead of where we’d hoped to be!

We are lucky enough to be staying with the Loch Lomond Mountain Rescue Team in Drymen this evening. Paul kindly showed us around their fabulous HQ this afternoon, and gave us a tour of there amazing vehicles. We then wandered down into Drymen for ice creams, before settling down with a film and some hearty chilli!

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Day 16 – Ardleish to Rowardennan

Actual distance 21.28Km or 13.22 miles (or 425,600 Jammy Dodgers)

Total Ascent 683m (or 5,939 cans of IrnBru)

This morning we left beautiful Lochgoilhead with the lovely team there waving us off. We set off to start the logistical nightmare of getting 3 vehicles around to the other side of Loch Lomond where there are very few roads. We drove as far as Luss, leaving Dan to spend the day shuttle driving/ cycling to move the vehicles closer to our end point, a task that proved to be more challenging than he had anticipated!

Unfortunately traffic was slow back to Ardlui Hotel so we had to wait quite a while for the ferry back to Ardleish. Once off the boat, we set off quickly, powering along the path until we reached what can only be described as a bouldering course! The kids were like mountain goats scrambling quickly up and down the rocks. The olds took it a little slower, with Jennie often resulting in just sitting down to descend the steepest bits. We had only managed 4km by the time Ollie was simply too hungry to continue, so we found a lovely sandy beach for lunch (and to have a break from the climbing!).

Refuelled, we ploughed on and after a few more rocky climbs the path finally opened up, leading to the Inversnaid Hotel where we stopped for a quick soft drink. The path was slightly kinder out of Inversnaid, but continued to be filled with regular steep rocky climbs and narrow stony tracks through overgrown ferns. Each stretch of the West Highlands Way has definitely had its own unique challenges, but, maybe because our legs are a little tired today, this stretch felt the most difficult.

We finally left the forest path and joined a far wider track that migrated with the road to Rowardennan. The paths through Scotland have had a variety of different creatures on them, with fairly tame and curious birds, beetles, fat black slugs, slow worms and numerous frogs. As we nearer our end point there were several tiny brown frogs, then a gorgeous big frog sitting there watching us!

We finished the day at the Rowardennan Hotel where we had a very delicious meal, and they even had a gluten free lager on tap! We then jumped in the car and headed down to our campsite for the night. Dan had managed to get 2 of our 3 vehicles to the campsite, so the last task of the day was for Phil and Dan to go back on the long drive to Luss to collect the last van.

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Day 15 – Mountgreenan to Ardleish

Actual distance 18.38Km or 11.42 miles (or 123 nuclear submarines)

Total Ascent 543m (or 5.66 Big Ben’s)

Staying with Scout Adventures Lochgoilhead

This morning we woke to blue skies and a pleasant 17 degrees. We were able to get out on the road fairly early, meaning we arrived back at our starting point for the day by about 10:30.

We set off through the woods passed areas that were undergoing a lot of logging and forestry care. There were copious signs warning us not to stay from the path for fear of death! Within the first 4km of the day we had completed the biggest climb of the day, and from them onwards the path was pleasant and fairly easy going.

Just after lunch we met up with a family from home, who have a Cub and a Scout in our Group. They were passing through on their way to Fort William and took a break in their journey to walk with us for a while. The path took us under the shortest railway bridge which even Ollie had to crouch to get through. It was so lovely to see familiar faces from home and for the kids to catch up with friends. A massive thank you for our gluten free treats and for the bubbles for the kids too.. a really lovely extra surprise. Good luck with your climb of Ben Nevis!

We said our goodbyes and continued along the path towards the Falls of Falloch. As the falls had a car park and were adjacent to the West Highlands Way we had naively assumed there would be a path from the road that joined with the West Highlands Way. As we passed it became clear that this wasn’t the case. Dan had come to meet us at the falls and had to wade across the river to reach us!

The sun was blazing and the kids were all starting to wilt as we continued, so we stopped at the Beinglas Campsite for a break and a drink before pressing on to complete the last 4km of the day. This last part of the path was very different and not particularly pleasant, with narrow, winding stepping stones and lots of overgrown bracken obscuring the track.

We finished the day by raising the buoy up the flag pole at Ardleish to signal to the shuttle ferry boat that there were passengers waiting to travel back to the west side of the loch. As we sat and waited on jetty the rain started to lightly fall for the first time all day which was actually quite pleasant.

Back at Lochgoilhead we started to pack up ready for our departure tomorrow, then went down to the Loch side to explore and see if we could spot any Loch monsters! After dinner we went to join the fantastic volunteers who are running ScotJam for a campfire. Ollie interviewed Nicky (Scotland Commissioner for Cubs) about ScotJam (available here), we all got lots of cuddles with Bonnie (a beautiful Golden Retriever), Ollie was taught how to use a bow saw and we of course toasted some s’mores. A massive thank you to the whole team for making us feel so incredibly welcome and for your amazing hospitality.

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Day 14- Bridge of Orchy to Mountgreenan

Actual distance 17.44Km or 10.84miles (just over 212 football pitches)

Total Ascent 286m (approximately the height of 57 male Giraffes)

Staying with Scout Adventures Lochgoilhead

It was a sad start saying goodbye to Cara (who we hope will rejoin us!) and Bethan’s grandparents (who will also hopefully rejoin us for the end!)

We consoled ourselves with an awesome breakfast in The Real Food Cafe in Tyndrum before heading off back to the Bridge of Orchy to start day 4 of the West Highlands Way. We started off strongly with a quick march down to Tyndrum. We then had lunch at the The Green Welly Stop before jumping onto our bikes for a few kilometres (Dan had checked the route for us ahead of time!). As we were feeling good we ended our day walking for a few more kilometres to allow us to even up the next few days.

It was fairly windy at times today, with the whistling wind telling our watches that we were in too noisy an environment. Jennie foolishly forgot to take her antihistamines this morning and in the circling wind was really suffering. Ollie used her ailment as an excuse to make up a new verse to a well known campfire song- listen to it here on YouTube!

This afternoon we have driven to meet the amazing team at Scout Adventures Lochgoilhead who kindly invited us to stay with them for 2 nights between the Scouts leaving and Cubs arriving at their Annual ScotJam. We’re looking forward to not having to pack everything up before we walk tomorrow, and to therefore being able to get on the road in good time!

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Day 13- Glencoe Mountain Resort to Bridge of Orchy

Actual distance 17.78Km or 11.05 miles

Total Ascent 360m

We has a relatively easy day 3 of the West Highlands Way having done two super hard days. Surprisingly the biggest problem we had was the sun having not anticipated quite how hot it can get in the highlands in summer! Jennie now has quite a comedy glasses tan line that the younger members of our group think is hysterical!

Although the day was relatively easy, it still took a moderate amount of concentration. We thought the hardest part of the West Highlands Way would be the hills and the midges, but the bit we have found the most difficult is the ankle-rolling stones and loose gravel used to make the path. It is almost impossible to walk and admire the view at the same time due to the an unpredictable surface underfoot!

With one final climb left, we stopped at Iveroran Hotel for a quick refreshment and Ollie found an accordion and almost gave us a quick tune. Happily we stopped him when more customers came in!

Today was changeover day for our support crew and we say goodbye to Jayne and Paul and their amazing support and humour (despite Hattie spitting tea across their motorhome)! We welcome Dan, Bethan’s dad who heroically drove up to join us in a day, bring with him a most excellent casserole courtesy of Sarah (thank you!), a small supply of forgotten things, plus a few treats from family at home.

Day 13 was sadly unlucky for one of our party. Unfortunately Cara has had to temporarily withdraw from or epic adventure due to problems with her knee- an exacerbation of a long standing condition. We will miss her quiet enthusiasm and support greatly, and hope she will be back with us to continue the journey soon.

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Day 12- Kinlochleven to Kings House

Actual distance 18.96Km or 11.78miles

Total Ascent 761m

Day 2 of the West Highlands Way was a little easier though again it was a late start as we had to take the vehicles to the end-point first and then took a cunning short cut on the way back to our starting point, only to find our way blocked by roadworks!

It was a doubly tough start as we were hoping to start with a full Scottish breakfast. Disappointingly the campsites restaurant couldn’t serve us as they had a party of 28 coming in, so it was back to a chocolate spread sandwich and an instant coffee for us all!

We set off in good spirits, with the older adults taking the walking poles for the first time (as they were accidentally left in the car yesterday!), and the youngest kids quickly stealing them! About 2km into our ascent Ollie announced his toe hurt, and on inspection he had a paranychia (infected skin around his toe nail) and broken skin around it. With a good clean and a magic Compeed dressing he was able to continue.

It was a long trip up the valley with constant climbing for about 4 hours, peaking to around 555m. The views were utterly spectacular and well worth the climb. The peak was immediately followed by the dreaded ‘Devils Staircase’, which happily was actually easier than the descent into Kinlochleven yesterday!

With only 4km left along a fairly flat and well demarcated path, the girls (who hard walked slightly ahead of us as they were desperate to reach the toilets at Kings House) attempted a shortcut. This resulted in one of them falling in the river whilst using stepping stones. Let’s just say they were both told off and have learned not to stray from the path again!

We reached Glencoe Mountain resort in fairly good time. Once again Paul and Jayne were utter stars and had not only pitched the tents, but also made a rather lovely chickpea curry for us all. Phil even found time to listen and comment on the Big Man in The Woods vlog this evening. He told us off for not vlogging enough on our journey, so we promptly did a quick interview with the kids, which resulted in Hattie’s second accident of the day (and a lot of giggles from us all!). Enjoy!

For the kids interview click here – An interview with the kids about todays adventure

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Fort William to Kinlochleven

Proposed distance 20.12Km or 12.5 miles

Total Ascent 573m

First day of the West Highlands Way and it was another tough one (it does seem like everyday is tough but they just keep on getting harder!). 20km doesn’t sound like much but it was almost 5 hours of hard slog on very unstable rocky terrain, followed by a steep and difficult descent into Kinlochleven. Although the walking was hard, the scenery was utterly spectacular, making the hard slog worth it! Hopefully the photos below will give you a little inclining of the sheer beauty.

By the end we were all struggling, with sore feet, knees and thighs. Phil had the first walking fall, slipping on a rock on the descent into Kinlochleven. Fortunately no real injuries were sustained but his pride was a little dented!

Unfortunately we were one down today as Hattie was wiped out by the epic ride yesterday and, after struggling up the first very steep ascent of the day, decided to bail out. She had set up the tents for when we arrived at MacDonalds Hotels and Cabins which was absolutely amazing, and Jayne and Paul had bangers and mash ready waiting for us.. an absolute treat. Oh and having a bar in the campsite is a nice touch too!

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Day 10 – Fort Augustus to Fort William

Actual distance 59.45Km or 36.94 miles

Total Ascent 698m

Phew- it was a tough one today. We finished the Great Glen Way but it really had a sting in its tail.

We had planned a long cycle to finish today but were slightly flummoxed by the diversions on our route. By the Bridge of Oich the Sustrans route 78 was diverted back onto the main walking trail causing us to do lots of climbing and technical descending (or a walking) further exacerbated by our second puncture of the adventure.

The puncture was swiftly dealt with and we were away. We descended into Invergarry, refilled our water and boycotted further off road climbing deciding the A82 would be a better choice for a few Km. We quickly got back on track but then the low level trail round the north side of Loch Lochy was closed and a long stretch of logging track ensued with lots of dastardly climbs to test us!

We did survive but it was a close run thing! We were saved by Paul and Jayne who met us with 7Km to go and rode into Fort William with us where we ended up at McDonalds for tea! In our defence despite leaving the campsite at 10 we didn’t start riding till after 12 as we had to pick up fresh water from our support crew, drive to Fort William to leave the van for later and then drive all the way back to Fort Augustus to park and start! We finished at 19:30- a little over the 4hours activity which we optimistically planned!

Once we had collected the car and got back to the campsite it was past 10 so we headed straight to bed to prepare for tomorrow- hopefully this will be less brutal!

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