West Highland Way, Why?

We decided to walk the West Highland Way in memory of a truly wonderful man, Hugh Carroll.  Hugh sadly passed away in December 2012, totally unexpectedly.  Hugh was Gill and Martin's dad, Gerard's uncle and my father in law.  Hugh loved to be outside and many years ago had walked the West Highland Way, among other walks.  It was an honour for all of us to walk the route, knowing we were walking in his footsteps and retracing a path he had once breezed along.  The stick with the carved head you can see in some of the photos was a present which was due to be given to Hugh but sadly he never recieved.  It was important to all of us that the stick was carried along the way to completion. Hugh was a great supporter of the charity Water for Life which is the reason for this charity being selected to raise funds.  Some of us had previously made a failed, 4 day attempt to complete the way which ended in Martin collapsing into a bush, on the first day.  Hugh, being the dutiful father came to pick us up from Balmaha and I think he laughed, just about all the way home, at our expense.  I know Hugh would be proud that we all completed the walk on this occasion and i'm sure he was looking down watching over us as we did it.  We all miss you Hugh.

Martin laying a stone at the top of the Devil's staircase for Hugh

West Highland Way Day 5 (Kinlochleven to Fort William)

After a good nights sleep in the cabins at the Mcdonald resort everyone strapped their feet up for the final push to the finish line.  We all went into the hotel for breakfast and it turned out to be the best breakfast we had had on the route so far.  Martin was seen eating his words from the night before along with his bacon and egg. Fair play to him, he apologised to the owner for his comments the night before and then complimented the chef for an outstanding breakfast.  There was some serious suffering going on and while we all intended to cross the finish line together we decided to set off in our pairs as some were feeling it more than others at this point.  The owner of the hotel directed Kerry to the local quacks to get her heel patched up with some special gauze after half her heel had peeled away in the form of a blister the night before. Nice.  Once the injury was patched up everyone was on their way. 

Into the Wild

It's a steep climb right from the off when you leave Kinlochleven and seems to be a lot harder than the ascent of the Devil's staircase.  Calf burn, like I had definitely woke me up and there was some serious sweat dripping going on.  It was also the busiest we'd seen it so far and there seemed to be loads of people on the route on this particular day.  Once the climbing finished the track levelled out but was again solid under foot.  We passed a couple of old ruins, on either side of the track and I can't help thinking the people that had lived there must have had calves like bricks and popping to the shops must have been a long weekend event.  After winding through around 6 miles of the magnificent mountains we decided to stop for lunch.  Our friend the Robin decided to join us yet again and I thought it was going to land on my shoulder at one point, it got that close. 

Batman's Mate

After lunch we travelled a few miles further down the track which wasn't too difficult and arrive at a big sign which said, Fort William 7.5 miles.  I thought it must be a mistake because I was led to believe, by Sherpa Wilson that we still had around 10 miles to go.  I have to point out at this point that when the Sherpa normally says 10 miles to go, that means 15 in real miles.  It's a bit of an affliction she has, ask Martin.  Apparently, by the time Marting and Kerry arrived at this point the sign had been removed so if you're looking for it you might not find it.  The route is a bit of a climb from here on a narrow track along a grassed hillside and this caused more leaking around the forehead.  There was a lot of ups and downs as we moved closer to the end and it seemed like every time we came out of a wooded area there was another drop into a gulley and a climb out the other side.  It got so steep at one point they have put a set of steps in place.  After one final climb we started on the final descent and could see the the beast Ben Nevis and the Glen Nevis camp site.  We knew we were close.  We followed a long, winding track before it straightened out towards Fort William.  Un-fortunately there was a short diversion in place, due to tree felling so we ended up cutting through the Braveheart car park onto the main road which we stayed on for the last mile and a half or so.  Finally we arrived at the original end of the West Highland Way.

Not Quite There

This is not quite the end any more as the end of the route has been moved to the other end of the high street so we made our way to the Crofters pub in town to wait for the others.  Everyone arrives and we have a bit of a celebratory drink before walking the short distance to the finish line which has a map of the route carved into the ground and a chap rubbing his feet, sitting on a bench.  You get an enormous sense of achievement on completing the walk and while many have done it quicker, 5 days is difficult and sore.  To rub salt in the wounds our hotel is back down the opposite end of the town but we could hardly complain at having to walk a few hundred yards after completing the 96 miles of the West Highlan Way.

The Elite Explorers

West Highland Way Day 4 (Bridge of Orkey to Kinlochleven)

We all woke with the now familiar whinging about aching limbs, blisters and sore feet but everyone's mood was lifted by breakfast at the hotel.  All the walkers were wishing each other luck for the day ahead.  My hat goes off to the women who we had passed the day before who had twisted her knee on her first day of walking and was still going at this point and about to head out again.  We left the hotel, uphill for a change into a wooded area.  After a short gentle climb we followed a gradual descent to the Inveroran hotel.  There was a great scene here as Martin was hand feeding a wild hind deer.  A stag, not happy at this stuck it's antlers around the corner and Martin had it on his toes before the stag was able to invite him for a rut.

Martin's mate

 

There was a bit of a road walk before we arrived at Forest Lodge which looks un-inhabited but has a sky dish in the garden.  The building looks as though it could do with some pebble dashing but it's quite a size.  We paused for 5 minutes and read some information about Thomas Telford who built, among others the road we were about to take.  In his infinite wisdom, Thomas had built roads in the highlands that had a much more gradual ascent and descent compared to the previous roads which must have been nice for the locals and the horses. 

While I admire what mr Telford achieved and understand all the hard work that went into laying the road, brick by brick it didn't exactly agree with our plates(feet).  Gentle up and downs for 10 miles with some of the most breathtaking views on the walk so far.  We were definitely in the highlands now and at one point we were entirely surrounded by white capped mountains. The King's house hotel came into view, in the distance nestled amongst some pine trees but was still some way off and we wasn't getting there in a hurry.  We came past the Glencoe ski centre, crossed the road onto the tar track which led down to a couple of houses before arriving at the Kings house for lunch. 

3 Beasts - The mountain, the deer and Martine

Hobbits

The food at the king's house is great and the main table has chairs that wouldn't look out of place in a scene from lord of the rings.  I recommend the paninis.  We left the hotel after speaking with a londoner that was doing the west highland way for the second time and we were talking about the fact we were heading to the Devil's staircase which she informed us was not too bad and that we should be more concerned with what faced us on leaving Kinlochleven.  We didn't think we were going to be allowed to cross the bridge to get back onto the track because it was being guarded by a stag.

None shall pass

We walked the path, etched into the side of the mountain running parallel to the main road before crossing a bridge to the foot of the Devil's staircase.  The walk up wasn't too bad at all with quite a few switch backs but we were at the top quite quickly but it was coming down the hill which caused the most pain.  Plagued by snow and a long long stretch into Kinlochleven we arrived at about 20:30.  The girls went to get the cabins sorted at the McDonald resort while the chaps went and got food from the local chippy.  The chippy wasn't the cheapest and it closed at 9 every night but the food was superb.  Or it might have been due to the fact we were all starving.

Made it

The McDonald resort had cabins which, again were basic but perfect for walkers.  Heaters, power, hot showers, toilets and a bar which we were too zonked to try out.  Martine took exception to having to pay for breakfast the night before.  He was a bit concerned it might be "gash" as he explained to the owner before crawling back to his cabin.  Before crashing for the night everyone showered and tended their wounds.  There was still time for me to make a complete fool of myself after showering.  I flung the door open to what I thought was our cabin however the two startled boys, who'd i'd caught eating sweets were not impressed.  I stood in the door way for a second or two trying to work out who they were before realising my cabin was actually next door.  It was definitely time for bed.