West Highland Way Day 1 (Milngavie to Balmaha)

The trip was well planned out by the experienced walker amongst us although for some, the realisation of doing 96 miles in 5 days had almost been too much and had caused some apprehension in the few days running up to the start.  Gerard was worried about a little bit of snow and Martin was crying in his sleep with the thought of doing, on average 20 miles a day having only been able to get out for a couple of training walks with Kerry.  The rest of us, the partners Brigi, Kerry and myself just kept quiet and went with the flow.  There was a couple of reasons for us doing the walk, apart from the challenge, one of which was to raise some money for a couple of charities.  Me, Gill, Martin, Gerard and Brigi wanted to raise a few quid in aid of Water for Life and Kerry was raising money for Chest Heart and Stroke, the other i'll go into more about the other reasons later.  Anyway the day was here and we met at the start line in Milngavie to take a few photos before we left.  We finally got under way at 09:55, a bit late but there was still a few others leaving at that time and being a group of finely tuned athletes we were confident we could make up time with our power walking techniques.  You can see the athletic frames here.

One of the great things about taking on this kind of walk is bumping into people doing the same thing for different reasons.  We got talking to a group of 3 women who were also walking to Balmaha on the first day and were walking to raise money for Alzheimer's.  Obviously not in our fitness league, or so we thought until they said one of them, Linda had previously run half of the route.  We let them shoot off ahead but we passed them and them us several times during the day and later in the week.  As we left the town onto the route we moved away from the hustle and bustle of civilisation although we were never too far from a road.  Everyone was on good spirits and having a laugh.  The weather was cold but there was bright sunshine.  There was loads of wildlife to see and during the first couple of miles it seemed like a Robin was going to follow us on the route.  We finally got into the hills after a few miles and saw some Buzzards, a Kestrel and then a Peregrine falcon.  The scenery got better and better the further we went but the one frustrating thing was the amount of litter that had been left at the side of the path.  Why can't people just take it with them until they get to a bin?  We had planned for our first stop to be at Drymen and just a few miles before the stop we came across a table, under a tree with cakes, tea and juice and a sign showing that a young girl, Iona was trying to raise money to travel to Chile to teach English to disadvantaged children. 

A worthy cause and I needed a drink.  Iona's mum was there due to Iona not being well that day and I paused for a brief chat with her before moving on to Drymen.  Just before getting to Drymen there was a bit of disagreement to which direction we should go, on the road or over the fields.  Through the fields is the correct way and you drop down onto the field at the bridge.  There are west highland way signs on the field to make sure you go in the right direction.  It was obvious the team were starting to feel the aches and pains after a bit of road pounding and when we arrived at the Winnock in Drymen people start doing some weird exercises to relieve the pain.  I have no idea where these came from but whatever floats your boat I suppose.  Apparently Gerard and Brigi (seen below) are draining the lactic acid from their legs.  I didn't bother saying anything.

With the exception of Gill and Brigi everyone's answer to the pains were to have an alcoholic drink or in Martin's case, have a drink and a whinge.  Being upper class, I went for vin rouge but whatever we all drank it tasted amazing and well earned however we still had a way to go on the first day.  There were some diversions in place from Drymen, Sherpa (Gill) Wilson led us out completely the wrong way and then almost lost her map.  Luckily she realised about both and got us back on track towards Balmaha.  With Conick hill being closed there was only about 7 or 8 miles to go from Drymen.  After a couple while we came off the road and into the forest or what remains of it.  There had been some tree clearing going on which allowed us some stunning views of Loch Lomond but also meant a few diversions.  These were well sign posted and led us to a farm track which was the scene of Martin's collapse on a previous failed attempt around 3 years ago.  Martin re-enacted the collapse but I can honestly say, the only thing i've ever seen as funny as the original was when Del Boy fell through the bar on only fools and horses.  Everyone was lifted by Martin's acting skills and at the end of the track we turned right on the road for the last couple of miles to the Oak Tree Inn, Balmaha.  We stayed at the Balmaha Bunkhouse which is virtually opposite the Oak Tree.  The accommodation is run by Jock the ex squaddie and is reasonably priced, has hot showers and cooking facilities if you want them. 

Balmaha Bunkhouse

We headed for the pub for a couple of shandys and a feed.  The food was good, as was the service and a good atmosphere but we were all pretty hanging so didn't stay too long after we'd finished eating.  Now there's many ways to try and look after your feet and Gerard decided he wants to buy shares in Compede after trying them for the first time between Drymen and Balmaha but Martin had his own methods.  He sat at the side of Loch Lomond, took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his trousers and dropped his feet into the water which must have been at minus temperature even though it wasn't quite frozen.  The robin appeared again and I think it was thinking, he's mental. 

Martin the Gnome

Unfortunately Gerard and Brigi's night is not so good as some other walkers decided to party into the early hours before allowing people to get some sleep.  The rest of us managed a better night's sleep in spite of mine and Martin's fits of snoring.  A swift elbow from the missus stopped it every time.

The elite team

From left to right, bottom row: Gerard, Brigi, Kerry, Martin. Top row: Gill, Me(Gav)

Not a clue what Gerard's doing here