Tuesday 13 June 2017

West Highland Way - day 8

Sunday 11 June - day 8 - Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy then to Inveroran

We awoke to yet another wet day. Such is life.

After a pleasant breakfast we headed out into the rain. At this stage it had eased off and was light.

We ducked in the the Green Whelly to grab some supplies for the day, a couple of demi baquettes and 4 bananas, to supplement our various other bits and pieces. We had 14.5kms ahead of us and were not sure of how many opportunities we would get to stop.


Someone had a sense of humour. The sign on this fence free gate read "Please close the gate"
Today we walked on fairly good surfaces. most of the way was on old military roads which meant that they were fairly firm underfoot. It also meant that they acted like creeks and were often awash with water.

There were a number of stiles today (our theme for the day) and another sheep creep ... this time passing under the railway line.



Our second sheep creep
We also encountered a number of stone bridges some of which were noteworthy.



The rain kept on coming and going as we walked. Sometimes it was a light drizzle. At other times it was much heavier.

We came across some highland cattle. They were very unfazed by the people walking passed
A group of "walkers" we encountered. There were a number of groups out for a Sunday stroll as well as runners and people on bikes (in addition to this youngster)
Cloud kept sweeping through obscuring the tops of the mountains. Just when we would think that we would get clearer views it either began to rain or fresh cloud moved in. Still, some of the photos were OK.





We were pleased to see Bridge of Orchy appear just on 11kms from when we set out. The pub was an impressive building and was doing a good trade with the passing walkers.

After a lunch of soup and a coffee it was out into the weather again for a further 4km to complete our days walk.

Water was pouring under the Bridge of Orchy as we passed over it.

From Bridge of Orchy we had a steady climb up through a pine forest before passing across moorland where we were hit by strong gusts of wind and driving rain. When the rain cleared we did get some pleasant views.







We were pleased to see the small cluster of buildings at Inveroran even if it seemed to take ages to zigzag down the hill to the settlement.

It was great to strip off our wet outer layers and then have a warm shower.

After dinner I went out to look at the rather wet countryside in the vicinity. The stream which runs next to the hotel was a frothy, churning mass of water with waves of a foot or so.



By the time I returned to the hotel three deer had wandered into the yard. It seem that the local deer are happy to pinch any scraps from the kitchen they can find.


All up we walked 14.84kms with an elevation gain of 358m.



There is no wifi access at Inveroran and EE, my service provider, is only showing up very intermitantly hence the delay in posting day 8.

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