Week 14 – Culicoides impunctatus – Welcome to the Highlands

After a couple of weeks battling my way across the Border, striding over the Southern Uplands and ambling along the canals of the Central Lowlands I’ve finally made it to the Highlands.  Technically I crossed the Highland Fault Line at Balmaha on the shores of Loch Lomond but I’ve always felt that the Highlands start at Glen Falloch where the big mountains suddenly appear as you climb up from Loch Lomond.

Crossing the Highland Line also coincided with the final end of spring, I’ve been following and enjoying the spring flowers since leaving Land’s End, but by Loch Lomond the last of the bluebells have gone over and the early summer flowers, particularly foxgloves have arrive to take their place.

Foxgloves and ferns by Loch Lomond.

Sandra demonstrating the benefits of using an umbrella in Scotland

Looking down Loch Lomond

This week I’ve followed the West Highland Way from the campsite at Milarrochy Bay up to Fort William.  FORT WILLIAM!  I can’t believe I’ve walked to Fort William; it’s the gateway to the Western Highlands and Hebrides and the place where I’ve started off on so many adventures.  It’s always felt like a long way to drive from Lancaster but to walk from Land’s End feels almost impossible, but here I am, 1026 miles from where I started.  The actual 1000 mile point arrived as I was descending into Glencoe along the old military road which had whisked me up from Tyndrum, over the edge of Rannoch Moor to deposit me in the bar of the King’s House Hotel for a celebratory pint and drop of Lagavulin.

I’d arrived at Tyndrum, our first campsite in the Highlands after a pleasant walk from Beinglas near the head of Loch Lomond and along Glen Falloch; from there to Fort William the West Highland Way follows one of the old military roads built in the eighteenth century by the army as they went about the business of subduing the Highlands.  Although the roads have deteriorated into rough, stony, tracks they still provide fast easy walking across the highlands.

Glen Falloch, start of the big mountains

Tyndrum was also where we met that bane of the Scottish Summer, the highland midge (Culicoides impunctatus) a tiny beastie that despite being only a couple of millimetres long possesses jaws capable of piercing human skin.  A few individuals had been hanging around Milarrochy Bay but the winds whipping across Loch Lomond most of the time kept them under control.  By Tyndrum the wind had gone and the resulting calm, damp and warm(ish) weather was ideal for them and they proved quite irritating.

We had other, much more welcome, visitors at Tyndrum, Diane and Pete popped in for the night, cooked a lovely curry and provided great company and lots of wine; it was wonderful to see them.  I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the number of friends who’ve come to see us, their visits have been great morale boosters.  However we almost didn’t make it back to the campsite to see them, there had been an accident on the A82 near Tyndrum and the police were diverting heavy traffic all the way out to Oban while smaller vehicles were sent down a very minor road with passing places.  This turned out to be a extremely stressful for Sandra driving, if there had only been a few cars this would have been difficult but not impossible, as it was, with all the traffic being diverted down the single track road it was a nightmare.

Every passing place became a bottleneck and the heavy rain had softened the verges, at one point we ended up axel deep in the liquid mud of the verge after trying to avoid a very stroppy red car who wouldn’t make any effort to move backwards.  Only the arrival of a very helpful Isuzu 4x4 saved the day.

After that adventure Diane and Pete’s provision of several bottles of red ‘nerve tonic’ was much needed, although it made my subsequent ascent of the Devil’s Staircase out of Glencoe somewhat harder work than it should have been, a somewhat muzzy head adding to the discomforts of the wind and rain.

Glencoe, the mountains are magnificent, if somewhat shrouded in rain and mist

The weather has inevitably played a large part in this expedition, and the past few days have been particularly bad, although they could have been worse, it has been a succession of cold, rainy and very windy days across most of Scotland with only the occasional few hours of sun to relieve the unpleasantness.  I was however very lucky when one day I needed good weather, on the long walk from Tyndrum to King’s House was dry and bright if cool and breezy, if the weather had been bad that day it would have been a long and miserable walk indeed.

As it is the walking has been some of the best so far, it’s inspiring to be back in the highlands and walking through the big mountains again, the old military roads have proved to be fast and easy routes through the landscape and while better weather would have been very nice the cloudscapes have given the hills added drama (and water).  All in all I’ve been pretty lucky with most of the weather most of the time.

one of the Mamores range of hills as seen from our campsite in Fort William. We’re not climbing them this trip but they are so inspirational we’ll be back.

Sandra and Arthur on the old military road between Kinlochleven and Fort William

I’ve also been very lucky with the amount of support I’ve received from Sandra and even Arthur.  This was emphasised when I met a chap walking south into Glencoe, we exchanged pleasantries and I discovered he was walking from Cape Wrath to Hastings, a walk of comparable length to mine.  On hearing I was walking to John O’Groats he looked at my relatively small rucksack and asked how I was managing, when I said I had a wife driving the camper van and providing support he was green with envy and kept saying, “you lucky, lucky, lucky chap!”  So a big thankyou to Sandra for all her efforts.

When not providing superb support for this expedition Sandra can generally be found swimming, in the instance in Loch Lomond

Fort William, end of the West Highland Way, I think the end might just about be in sight from here.

The week ended on the high point of walking into Fort William at the end of the West Highland Way, which is where I have to make the single biggest decision of the trip (apart from starting), to either go north and west through the highlands or follow the Great Glen up to Inverness and then up the east coast to the finish.  Until a couple of weeks ago I was probably going to take the western highland route, but after meeting a John O’Groats to Land’s End walker a couple of weeks ago and finding there is a new path up the east coast which avoids the A9 (the main reason for considering the western alternative) I’m taking that route.

Campsites have been altered and the new route plotted in detail, I’ve even bought a new map of the Great Glen Way which starts where the West Highland Way finishes and will take me up to Inverness, from there I’ll be using the map Carne gave me of the John O’Groats trail and the end of this adventure.  That’s the new plan and by the end of next week I expect to be in that fine city.

This week’s and the trip’s totals.

 Week’s Total :-    77.5 Miles                        9,921 Feet of Ascent,                     173,162 Paces,                  29.5 Hours of Walking.

 Walk Total to date:-        1026 Miles         108,369 Feet of Ascent,               2,295,588 Paces,              454 Hours of Walking.

 Land’s End to John O’Groats walk approximately 85% completed.