WHW Day 6, Wed 20/06/18 Glencoe to Kinlochleven

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Glencoe to Kinlochleven 9 miles

The cafe did not open until 9am so not early start today. We had a bacon roll & toast & tea before setting off. Only 9 miles today so we thought there was no desperate rush to set off & eventually left about 9.45.
First part of the walk from the Glencoe mountain resort took us behind the Kingshouse hotel which is currently closed for refurb. Refurb? Practically a whole new hotel being built! A huge extension underway but nowhere near finished. Would love to go back next year to see the finished building - might just do that.
Highlight of the day - 5/6 deer grazing by roadside did not seem at all bothered by our presence & walked along side us & crossed path in front of us giving us a great photo opportunity!
Our walk today had the best scenery of the whole walk, in my opinion. Glencoe mountains are nothing short of breathtaking - very dramatic scenery causing me to stop & ooh & aah every 10 minutes, taking photos with both phone and camera, much to Michelle’s annoyance as she wanted to push on. As we passed the glencoe iconic view, I glanced at the hill on the right and did a double take with dread. Those little coloured ants I could see towards the top of the mountain were people - and this was undoubtedly the dreaded devils staircase!
Wow just wow, knowing this would be a helluva slog, off came the jacket & a glucose sweetie popped in my mouth & we were on our way. As usual, terrain really difficult & the steepness of the climb really did get our hearts pumping. I had to have quite a few short little breaks to enjoy the scenery & slug water on the way up, but was heartened to note that every time I looked up, the “ants” were getting bigger & bigger meaning we were getting closer to the top! I wondered if my breathing would ever return to normal so we decided to have our sandwich at the top of the “staircase”
I noted people higher up on the summit to the right of us but was relieved to note this was not part of WHW route! We were going downwards next.
However, my relief soon turned to disappointment when I realised that going downhill on such a sharp gradient on pebbles & uneven surfaces was no picnic either, & before long I was feeling every joint in my body. We continued downhill after a brief uphill climb again and as always, as we got nearer our destination for the day, the miles seemed to drag & be never ending. In fact the last mile down into Kinlochleven was one of the worst bits of the walk for me as I kept slipping & near losing my balance on the steep gravelly road. From our first thankful glance of Kinlochleven in the distance from the top of the hill, it took us about 50 mins to actually reach it. Then when we reached the outskirts of the town we went the wrong way & ended up adding nearly another mile to the walk - could’ve kicked ourselves when we realised we’d gone round in a big loop, especially as we were aching all over with feet like a furnace!
We found our guesthouse (The Bank House) relatively easily and were delighted to find it was modern, tastefully furnished with really comfy twin beds. Ensuite was tiny but the shower so welcome & reviving.
We went to pub along the road for a drink & decided to go with landlady’s recommendation for dinner - the Bothy Bar at Macdonald Resort, she said this was a bar mostly used by walkers, had good food & had great views right down Loch Leven. However after having a drink at Highland Getaway, we had just left for the 10 minute walk when the heavens opened - torrential rain had us diving into next pub, The Tailrace, for shelter. We met the Bristol couple on their way out & they said the food was good. We looked at the menu & decided that we would forget about going to the Bothy bar as it was still pouring & we felt quite tired again and couldn’t be bothered walking there, & so decided go back to Highland Getaway as the curry on their menu seemed more appealing to me. It didn’t disappoint! The restaurant had beautiful views too. By the time we finished our meal, we couldn’t wait to go back to guesthouse & relax with our PJs on!
Def needed to get feet up ready for final day - couldn’t believe tomorrow was our final day! What a week it had been so far.

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