Thursday 29 May 2014

West Highland Way

Wow!  What an amazing, exhilarating experience this was - 96 miles from Milngavie (near Glasgow) to Fort William, through some of the most stunning scenery Scotland has to offer.

I did the walk with my dad to raise funds for the PSP Association.  Neither of us are exactly super-fit, muscle toned athletes, so it was always going to be a challenge!  Dad is 72 and has a heart condition, so we just had to take it at a steady pace, plodding on whilst the younger, fitter walkers zoomed past!

I won't ramble on with a blow by blow account, as it's probably the photos that you're more interested in seeing!  Each day had its own unique features - beautiful woodland, pretty waterfalls, steep uphills, steep downhills, scrambling over boulders, crossing fast flowing burns, squelching through lots of mud, tramping along miles of old military roads etc.

So, here is a very small selection from the hundreds of photos I took.  We did get wet, but the weather was fairly kind to us really.  There were no midgies and, most importantly of all, no blisters!

Gorgeous, misty woodland at the start of our journey.

Dad on the approach to Conic Hill

 The view from the top of Conic Hill.  Shame the sun wasn't shining, but still a lovely sight. 

The start of our walk along Loch Lomond - it's awfy long (about 24 miles) and the path is really difficult.




Abandoned cottage at the northern end of the loch.






On Rannoch Moor, walking from Bridge of Orchy to Glencoe.



Black Rock Cottage, Glencoe

Buachaille Etive Mor

The view through my bedroom window at the Kings House, Glencoe.

Unspoilt Highland landscape, totally inaccessible by road - just wonderful! 



Here we are on our final day, having just climbed a steep hill out of Kinlochleven.

 The climb was well worth it for views like this!


Ben Nevis - we met several other walkers on our journey, a number of whom were planning to climb this giant the day after completing the walk.

A glimpse of Fort William at last - still several miles to walk though!

That last day was really tough - 16 miles on the hottest day of the trip. 
We were pretty exhausted by the end and were very glad of the showers in our b&b!



1 comment:

  1. Wow Kate - what an achievement for you both..and such stunning photos!
    I climbed Ben Nevis with a friend...both of us only kept going because we thought the other wanted to get to the top!! It was the middle of summer - we started in shorts and t shirts and needed jumpers at the top which was covered in snow! Happy memories of a beautiful part of the country! Thanks for the fab photos to rekindle those thoughts!
    Well done - inspirational!
    Ali x

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