Back to the West Highland Way

Had two good runs on the West Highland Way last week. Sunday started out looking  quite miserable -cold and  wet, but as the afternoon progressed it cleared up . As the first ( or last) section  of the West Highland Way is closed for tree felling I had to jog up the road to Lundavra which is two miles shorter than the normal way from Glen Nevis.
 Once  on the Lairig Mor I really enjoyed  the misty, moody atmostphere
. In Kinlochleven I paused for a tea. The view from the pub was amazing - the Pap of Glencoe silhouetted against a yellow and  orange sunset  and  both reflected perfectly in the still loch. There was enough daylight to get most halfway along  the Lairig Mor before I had to dig out my head torch.

On Tuesday I ran from Fort William to Bridge of Orchy . The forecast was bad and reality didn't disapppoint . It was really wet and windy on the Lairig Mor. Despite a good waterproof and  quite a few layers underneath I was soon wet through and  the strong headwind began to cool me. By the time I reached Kinlochleven I was frozen. However pot of  hot tea at the Tailrace Inn ( what a bargain at £ 1.40) and  putting on two extra layers of clothing sorted me out. I had reservations about carrying  on due to the severity of the  weather, but when I emerged from the pub I found  the  wind  had dropped and  the rain lessened. The next section to Glencoe was a delight ; the mountains wreathed in clouds,the rushing burns, the churring  of grouse for company, it was so good to be back on the West Highland Way.
At Kingshouse I took a quick look at the new cafe and  bunkhouse which looks quite smart. The main hotel is closed pending  a drastic refurbishment / demolition . From there it was up onto Rannoch Moor. Half way along  I met a walker and  we spent  a few minutes enthusing about the place. Even on a grey wet day it has a magic about it - being  totally surrounded by mountains and moorland . The only indication of civilization is the foot bruising cobbles of Telford's road which was built in 1803 and  apparently was the main road north until the 1930's.
I was quite tired when I reached Bridge of Orchy . I sat in the pub beside the blazing wood stove and  drank coffee. I rued my decision to have a dry January because a pint would have been lovely, shame it was the last day of  the month and not Februuary!
Helen was returning from a trip to see her parents so I was able to surprise her when I got on the train  home.

The two pictures on this post have no connection to the West Highlnd Way. I have been doing a series of simple landscapes with dramatic skies. The top picture is the coast near Arisaig, the bottom    one the fire road near Spean Bridge.