West Highland Way - day 11

Wednesday 14 June - day 11 - Kinlochleven to Fort William

The final day of our walk was to be the longest distance we walked in a day and also the most climbing. We had 24kms to cover and an expected elevation gain of 735m.

Having changed from the 2pm bus out of Fort William for the 5pm one we did not need to leave Kinlochleven prior to breakfast. This was good as there were no places where we could get food until we almost reached Fort William. Going without breakfast would have been a very poor option. We did get up at 6 o'clock and were ready to leave apart from teeth cleaning and putting on our boots prior to the 7:30am start of breakfast. Nevertheless we did not dillydally over breakfast and were out the door and on our way by 8:15.

At least it was not raining when we set out on our final day of walking

From our B&B we had to head down into the village before picking up the trail again. The first section took us up a path that climbed steeply through a birchwood. Fortunately there were zigzags to make the climb a little easier. There were a number of tricky creek crossings. The water was still up due to the persistent rain that had been falling for days. The aim was to get across without getting water in our boots. Jen became quite adept at rock hopping.

Jen tackling one of the creek crossings

We eventually popped out with views across the village.

After reaching a height of 275m we reached Lairigmor (the great pass) with sizable hills on both sides.

The day was dry and this seemed to lift the spirits of all the walkers. There was a lot more chatter. Walkers asked after each other and other walkers. Stops became real community affairs.

There were lots of bridges today, as well as rock hopping creek crossings.

Some of the bridges were in better repair than others.

Without the drizzle and rain we had some great views. These photos hardly do justice to the majestic peaks we saw along the way.

The track continued to wind around mountains and up and down, too. At times it was wide while it sometimes got down to a single file track.

Jen striding out in the lead

The ruin beside the track had a sign "Dangerous ruin. Keep out" however the guid book suggested that it at least would offer some protection if your were caught in a storm. It did look pretty solid ... more that can be said for some of the other ruins we came across.

The fork in the track allowed the walkers to use a bridge while vehicles could use the ford

There were frequent water flows across the track

One of the narrow sections of track winding its way around a hill

Large tracks of mountainsides have been used for tree growing. The shallow soil still manages for produce trees even if some do topple over due to the thin layer of soil in which they take root. We walked though quite a few areas where the trees have been recently harvested.

Logs piled up ready to the transported

From time to time we encountered walkers heading south. This group of schoolies were walking in a fairly tight bunch except for two stragglers who seemed to have really dropped off the back and lost contact with each other and the group.

We passed a number of waterfalls during teh day. That was not a surprise when you consider the amount of rain there had been.

One of the more surprising sights was that of a road maintenance vehicle doing an inspection.

Along the route there were plenty of plants, too. In the highlands plants have had to adapt to survive. There are a number of carnivorous plants feeding on insects. I'm not sure how many midges they manage to consume ... not enough as the biting creatures were still in evidence while we walked this final day. Here are two of the local carnivorous plants.

The Scots are obviously both a trusting and law abiding bunch. A number of times we came across tuck shops. These were unmanned with items for sale, a price list and somewhere to leave the payment. Here is one we came across.

What a pity they didn't provide hot drinks, too!

As we neared the end of the trail I went ahead as I had to collect my bus ticket and catch my bus. That allowed Jen to finish the walk at her own pace.

On the way into Fort William the trail passes by Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain.

At the base of the mountain is Glen Nevis a welcome valley leading towards the town.

On reaching Fort William you encounter this deceptive sign:

The finish of the walk is still some distance away.

Eventually I got to Gordon Square and the finish line:

A fellow walker kindly took these photos.

Jen made it to the finish line not that much after me. I took photos of her in Gordon Square on the next morning before we left Fort William.

We had made it.

On the final day we had walked a little over 24kms. The elevation gain was 853m - a little more than predicted.

We did it!!!

West highland Way - day 10

Tuesday 13 June - day 10 - Kingshouse to Kinlochleven

While we were having dinner last night a number of deer appeared just outside the cafe.

They certainly livened up the dinner crowd.


After breakfast in the cafe next to the bunkhouse we left Kingshouse in annoying light rain.

We crossed the river behind the Kingshouse Hotel and then followed a track that took us down to the A82. Fortunately we did not need to cross the road as the traffic was heavy.

Low cloud hanging over the mountain tops - yet again

Some of the stitching on my left boot had come adrift and it wasn't long before I felt my sock squelching. The track was sometimes stepped. At other it was just a rising track. The summit was marked by a cairn (a pile of stones). Cairns have appeared a number of times over the past few days. Obviously some people just like piling rocks on top of each other.

The gradually dropped only to climb over another high point.

Streams continued to pur down the mountainsides and along the tracks that we walked!

There were a couple of breaks in the rain and we quickly grabbed photos before the next squall of rain came.

 

Somewhere along todays route we reached 550m above sea level, the highest point on the West Highland Way.

Most of the walkers today had taken on the appearance of drowned rats. it was one of those days. At times the rain got heavier and we also had a cold wind blowing across us which made the walk quite chilly.

Jennifer striding along with low cloud obscuring the tops of the mountains

When we finally caught sight of the village of Kinlochleven it seemed that we were almost at the end of the days walk. This was not to be as we wound up and down and around before finally reaching the village.

Our destination for the day nestled down in the valley

It was a long, tortuous route down into the town however the track was pleasant enough.

Kinlochleven was a town purpose built to support an aluminium smelter.  The smelter has now closed down and the town, declare to be the ugliest village in the Highlands, has no set about redefining itself and tkaing on different roles.


Feeling cold and miserable we ducked into the first place offering food and had soup for lunch.

Finding our B&B was surprisingly difficult in such a small place. It turned out to be right on the very edge of the village.

We had been looking forward to having a wifi service today. No such luck. There had been some disaster and nowhere in the village had any connection to the internet.

Midges. There are annoying little biting insects. Normally they do not appear until around the middle of June. This year, because May was a particularly warm month, they were out and about early. There are a number of deterents and they are effective as long as you make sure that you get it on all exposed skin. On the first midge day we neglected the backs of our hands and these were attacked by hordes of the little blithers.

Stats for the day: distance: 14.5km; elevation gain: 423m