West Highland Way - day 6

Friday 9 June - day 6 - Inverarnan to Crianlarich (and Oban)

We awoke to a fine mist and hoped that it would clear. No such luck.

After a good breakfast we did a final pack, delivered our cases to a very full shelter being used by the tenters for their breakfast, before heading off.

The roar from the nearby water run was almost deafening. There had been more overnight rain, however light, feeding the streams running down the mountainsides. Bubbling streams and wet paths were to be our constant companions today.

Theme of the day: bridges. There were plenty of them that we crossed over and we would have appreciated a few more ... rather than rock hopping across streams.

And then there was the water:

Initially the track was good and firm although it did rise steadily. The light rain did not cause a great deal of concern. It simply made the photos a little washout.

We cam across sheep and cattle today. At one point we passed under the A82 (highway) through a "sheep crawl". It paid not to be too tall as a fellow hiker had a bit of an issue getting through the low tunnel. Even Jen managed to hit her head a few times as she did not bend over quite enough.

The sheep crawl

By the time we went through the sheep crawl the rain was heavier and the track muddier. In parts it was difficult to pick a track that was not going to result in mud over the boots. It was very slow going.

We did come across an impressive stone wall that was still in good repair. Many of the stone walls have been left to fall down and then been replaced by more modern fences.

At the end of todays section we headed down through a conifer forrest. On day 7 we will have to retrace our steps to start the day ... quite a climb.

On arrival at our hotel we were told that our room would not be ready until 3pm. Great.

Off we went to have lunch (and here is a food photo: soup and sandwich):

To fill in time we decided to take the train to Oban ... a recommended side trip. The scenery along the track was well worth the trip (although the photos from the train do not do it justice).

We actually had a bit of blue sky while on our side trip.

Oban is a reasonable sized town and there were some impressive buildings. To get to the island of Mull there is a ferry from Oban and there were quite a few people lining up for the ferry for the trip over to Mull.

Flower of the day: not sure what this tiny flower was but it was quite common along the early part of the track today.

Todays stats:

Distance (of the walk) 11.00km with an elevation gain of 374m