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purplecatWe were woken in the night to the sound of thunder and torrential rain. It had eased off a little by the time we set off just before 9am, but the weather forecast predicted rain until midday.
At this point the West Highland Way offered the choice between the traditional low path and a high path, put in place at some point when the low path "became dangerous". The guide book was full of statements like "This final section up Loch Lomond has a somewhat fearsome reputation" and suggested the high path was easier. Given our issues with age-related decrepitude the day before, we opted for the high path. This was a wide gentle upward slope following the path of the old military road which carried the red coats into the Highlands to suppress the Scots. A bonus advantage was that this meant we could carry umbrellas instead of sticks. Occasionally we got glimpses across Loch Lomond when the mist rose above sea level.
After about 8km we rejoined the main way. The rain was already easing and we swapped our umbrellas for walking sticks. The "fearsome reputation" involves a narrow path with a lot of up and down around tree roots and boulders and a certain amount of stone hopping across streams. Occasionally I needed to use my hands for a scramble but it was honestly not that bad - although we took it slowly. There were waterfalls.
After about an hour the rain stopped entirely and we had glimpses of sun.
Around lunchtime we reached the Inversnaid hotel which obviously tolerated rather than liked walkers. Put off by the need to divest of boots and rucksacks in a tiny over-crowded and humid room, we stopped briefly for a packed lunch at one of the picnic tables outside the the hotel and then continued.
Perusing the guide book suggested we were in for the most fearsome bit of this fearsome part of the walk. A trackless waste where "the general direction is clear" but there was no actual path - indeed no path was shown on the ordnance survey map. The trackless waste was something of a let down - the non-existent track had a packed gravel path and chiselled out steps over the trickier boulders. There was still quite a bit of up and down and we took our time. Regularly being over-taken by various walkers we were beginning to recognise and then over-taking them when they, for instance, stopped for a swim in the loch.
This segment came to its end as we reached the ferry to the Ardlui Hotel. I had been somewhat put out, when answering questions about the route from B. on Saturday evening to discover that the Ardlui was not in Inverarnan (the end of this particular leg in the guide book) but on the other side of Loch Lomond. I consulted Google Maps which said the route to the hotel involved a ferry. Further googling suggested the ferry was summoned by hoisting a signal. It turned out that the large party we'd kept over-taking yesterday were also stopping at the Ardlui hotel and had ferry times and details thus we learned that the ferry went hourly, but only if the signal showed. More by accident than design we reached the ferry stop at 16:11 when the departure time was 16:10. No ferry. With resignation we hoisted the signal and settled down for an hour in the sun with, it transpired, decent mobile signal.
We were a little surprised, 15 minutes later when two Germans appeared from the direction of the shore, lowered the signal and announced the ferry was present. Which it was.
We reached the hotel where, it transpired, I'd booked us into the bridal suite (or some such) with a very ridiculous bath.
By this time it was a lovely evening to sit in the hotel garden and look out over the Loch.
At this point the West Highland Way offered the choice between the traditional low path and a high path, put in place at some point when the low path "became dangerous". The guide book was full of statements like "This final section up Loch Lomond has a somewhat fearsome reputation" and suggested the high path was easier. Given our issues with age-related decrepitude the day before, we opted for the high path. This was a wide gentle upward slope following the path of the old military road which carried the red coats into the Highlands to suppress the Scots. A bonus advantage was that this meant we could carry umbrellas instead of sticks. Occasionally we got glimpses across Loch Lomond when the mist rose above sea level.
After about 8km we rejoined the main way. The rain was already easing and we swapped our umbrellas for walking sticks. The "fearsome reputation" involves a narrow path with a lot of up and down around tree roots and boulders and a certain amount of stone hopping across streams. Occasionally I needed to use my hands for a scramble but it was honestly not that bad - although we took it slowly. There were waterfalls.
After about an hour the rain stopped entirely and we had glimpses of sun.
Around lunchtime we reached the Inversnaid hotel which obviously tolerated rather than liked walkers. Put off by the need to divest of boots and rucksacks in a tiny over-crowded and humid room, we stopped briefly for a packed lunch at one of the picnic tables outside the the hotel and then continued.
Perusing the guide book suggested we were in for the most fearsome bit of this fearsome part of the walk. A trackless waste where "the general direction is clear" but there was no actual path - indeed no path was shown on the ordnance survey map. The trackless waste was something of a let down - the non-existent track had a packed gravel path and chiselled out steps over the trickier boulders. There was still quite a bit of up and down and we took our time. Regularly being over-taken by various walkers we were beginning to recognise and then over-taking them when they, for instance, stopped for a swim in the loch.
This segment came to its end as we reached the ferry to the Ardlui Hotel. I had been somewhat put out, when answering questions about the route from B. on Saturday evening to discover that the Ardlui was not in Inverarnan (the end of this particular leg in the guide book) but on the other side of Loch Lomond. I consulted Google Maps which said the route to the hotel involved a ferry. Further googling suggested the ferry was summoned by hoisting a signal. It turned out that the large party we'd kept over-taking yesterday were also stopping at the Ardlui hotel and had ferry times and details thus we learned that the ferry went hourly, but only if the signal showed. More by accident than design we reached the ferry stop at 16:11 when the departure time was 16:10. No ferry. With resignation we hoisted the signal and settled down for an hour in the sun with, it transpired, decent mobile signal.
We were a little surprised, 15 minutes later when two Germans appeared from the direction of the shore, lowered the signal and announced the ferry was present. Which it was.
We reached the hotel where, it transpired, I'd booked us into the bridal suite (or some such) with a very ridiculous bath.
By this time it was a lovely evening to sit in the hotel garden and look out over the Loch.