Midges In My Milk on the West Highland Way!

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West Highland Way 6th-15th June, 2009

The UK has some amazing long distance walks and this is just one of them. I first discovered part of the trail when I stayed in Fort William in 2006 to climb Ben Nevis.

Bern, Elizabeth and I took an early flight from London to Glasgow. From the airport we took a bus to Queen Street train station in the centre of Glasgow and then it was only a 20 minute train journey to the start of the walk.

Milngavie to Drymen - 19km (Camp overnight at Easter Drumquhassle Farm)

First of all we were going to have to start learning how to pronunciate all the Scottish names! Milngavie is pronounced 'Mul-guy' and I'm glad we learnt that when we were listening to the announcements at the train station! The rain started before we even started to walk but it was on and off and not too heavy. Passed alongside lots of farmland before reaching the campsite on the farm. It was a noisy night with a big group of drunken Scots away for the weekend raising funds for transplant recipients. It was highly amusing trying to decipher some of their conversations as their Scottish accents were very strong.

Wildlife Sightings: Highland Cows, 2 pheasants and Shaun the Sheep!

Drymen to Balmaha - 13km (Overnight at Balmaha Bunkhouse)

The sun was up at 4.30am but we managed to sleep just a little longer! We stocked up on food in the village of Drymen and enjoyed the sunshine. We had our first sightings of Loch Lomond today. We climbed Conic Hill with awesome views over the Loch and the town of Balmaha. In Balmaha we stayed at a very fancy bunkhouse with a nice lounge and cooking facilities. We had dinner at the local pub (The Oaktree) but couldn't sit outside for fear of being carried away by by Midges. Midges are tiny, annoying flies that bite and circle around you in swarms. They love the warmth and water and if there's not a breeze they are everywhere.

Wildlife Sightings: Way too many midges!!!!

Balmaha to Rowchoish - 16km (Overnight in Rowchoish Bothy)

The trail continued along the east side of the loch. We stopped in Rowardennan and left our packs at the information/Ranger Hut which at the time was not manned. We packed some lunch in to a smaller bag and started our ascent of Ben Lomond (974m.) thinking it would take about 3 hours to walk up and down even though our guide book said 4 or 5 hours. We did a loop, taking the steep path up and the more gradual path back down. Sensational views and again, a very sunny day.

When we returned to the information hut at 5pm it was locked and our packs were nowhere to be seen! A little bit of panic set in as we kind of needed everything in our packs! Thankfully Bern found a Ranger at a Hostel up the road who arranged for the hut to be re-opened. And thankfully our packs were safe and sound inside. This deserved a celebration - a drink of Irn-Bru (popular Scottish soft drink a bit like creamy soda) at a pub in Rowardennan. We continued on along the Loch (with our packs!!!) to Rowchoish Bothy which was well hidden in the forrest. In Scotland, a bothy is usually a stone shelter that can be used by walkers for 1 night free of charge to sleep and cook in. Although we didn't reach the bothy until 8.30pm it was empty. We lit a fire in the bothy, cooked dinner and I tried not to think too much about all the ghost stories I had just read in the bothy's visitors book!

Wildlife Sightings: Bern swears she saw the rear end of a small deer as it ran away through the ferns!

Rowchoish to Beinglas Farm - 13km (Overnight in Wigwam)

I wouldn't say that I slept well in Rowchoish Bothy - after reading about ghosts in the visitors log last night, I was thinking all sorts of things with all the noises on the roof!

It was a lovely walk out from the bothy through very green forrest full of ferns and wildflowers. We reached Inversnaid on Loch Lomond just in time to get on a boat across the loch to Tarbet (a town across the other side of the loch). We had fish and chips in a tea house in Tarbet before getting back on the boat to Inversnaid. We soon left the loch and reached Beinglas Farm where we stayed in our first Wigwam. It rained heavily in the evening and those damn midges still didn't go away. The midges were so bad that we had to resort to buying head nets. I had bites everywhere but they were particularly bad over my legs and arms.

Wildlife Sightings: Highland cows, highland sheep, baby frog and still loads of midges!

Beinglas Farm to Tyndrum - 20km (Overnight in Strathfillan Wigwams)

Some gentle undulations as we left Beinglas Farm and then we were surrounded by mountains as we got closer to Strathfillan. A little bit of snow was even left on one of the mountains. We stayed in another Wigwam tonight called 'Running Brave.' It was very similar to last nights wigwam - a wooden shelter with electricity, a small fridge, heater and mattresses on the floor. It was very comfortable except for the naughty midges that snuck in the door when we went out and got through a few gaps around the door even when it was closed. We had a fire drum outside the wigwam so cooked a BBQ for dinner.

Wildlife Sightings: a very baby lamb!

Tyndrum to Kings House - 32km (Overnight at Free Campsite)

It was an early start today as we had a big day of walking. It was a fairly easy grade of walking most of the day with a spectacular crossing of Britains largest expanse of open land - Rannoch Moor. It was incredibly exposed but thankfully the weather was on our side -it was another nice day. Some of the section today followed the train line and we weren't far from the road. We were very glad to finally see Kings House in the distance. We set up camp just near the stream at the back of Kings House and then found ourselves a table for the rest of the evening in the bar to play cards, eat and drink. Just after we ordered venison burgers for dinner someone told us to have a look at the deer wandering around outside! Hopefully we were not eating one of his relatives for dinner. There were a few deer wandering about, feeding and drinking from the stream. I don't think we have used our torches yet as it is light until almost 11pm and we just can't stay awake that long!

Wildlife Sightings: Deer at Kings House

Kings House to Kinlochleven - 13km (Overnight in Glencoe at Red Squirrel Campsite)

There was not a single cloud in the sky as we left Kings House. The mountain views were stunning. Not long after leaving Kings House we had to tackle the Devil's Staircase which was a bit of climb but the views at the top were well worth it and we had a box of Aussie BBQ shapes which we devoured! It was an incredibly long downhill in to Kinlochleven where we met up with Eric and Rosie. Eric and Rosie worked with Bern and Elizabeth in France during the last ski season. We had a really lovely afternoon (in the car rather than on our feet!) driving to Glenfinnen with Eric and Rosie where we saw Harry Potter's Hogwart Express go through the mountains. Okay, so it may not be called that but it is the same train and bridge that is crossed the movie. It would be a very scenic train journey to complete.
We set up camp at the Red Squirrel Campsite near Glencoe and then spent the evening at the Clachaig Inn - a very popular pub in this area among climbers and walkers. And the haggis is very tasty!

Wildlife Sightings: The midge count just continues to grow!

Kinlochleven to Fort William - 23km (Overnight in Glen Nevis Hostel)

Our final day on the West Highland Way. It was quite a steep climb out of Kinlochleven then lots of undulations. Part way up our climb out of Kinlochleven we stopped for breakfast. It is questionable as to whether I was eating breakfast or whether I was being eaten for breakfast! The midges were the worst ever! I was walking around with my mug of cereal and milk - walking to try and avoid the midges landing on me while I had my midge net over my head. My system of eating while walking and with net over head didn't work so well and I just ended up with Midges swimming in my milk!!

Today we passed hundreds of competitors completing the Caledonian Challenge - a 54 mile walk/run which starts just out of Fort William and finishes at Loch Lommand.

Soon after walking through the Glen Nevis Forrest we descended in to Glen Nevis itself which is just out of the township of Fort William. We reached the Glen Nevis Hostel before we actually reached the finish of the walk! But the finish of the walk was just a sign, a half an hour walk up the road. We walked in to town and stopped at the finishing sign, joining a big group who had just finished the walk and were celebrating.

Wildlife Sightings: I am sure the midges are following us!

Ben Nevis Ascent (Overnight in Glen Nevis Hostel)

Glen Nevis Hostel was right at the foot of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK at 1344m. We just packed some lunch and warm clothes and followed the main route up. The midges didn't enjoy the cool breeze and stayed at the bottom! There was a lot of snow on the top and as the clouds cleared we had some amazing views.

Wildlife Sightings: A Scottish man in a kilt carrying his injured dog down the mountain. The dog took a tumble and was refusing to walk the rest of the way - the dog kept stopping and sitting down.

Fort William to Glasgow to London

Our final leg of the journey was a train journey back to Glasgow and then a flight back to London. We had a couple of hours wandering around Glasgow before heading out to the airport.

A fantastic walk despite the midges!

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Photos

A Spot of Rain Signalled the Start of our Walk!
Out with the raincoats and pack covers!