WHW training

Last weekend I did the first 60 miles of the West Highland Way. By good fortune the weather was excellent. I started from Milngavie at 1pm on the Saturday. I felt very slow and regretted the weight of my rucksack . In addition to my sleeping bag, bivvy bag, sketching stuff, food, water and spare clothes I had bought along a wood gas stove and a kettle so I could brew up in the morning. There were lots of people ot walking and a few runners , some of whom were WHW race friends. Beyond Drymen the skylarks were singing and there were  primroses beside the path and tadpoles in the pools. It really felt like spring . Conic Hill was gorgeous with Loch Lomond  shimmering  in the sun beyond. I didn't stop for long at Balmaha but I did get a beer at Rowardennan. By then the beautiful evening was coming to an end.

Evening on Loch Lomond- painted from a photo taken last week

I continued on in the dark to the Rowchoish bothy where I decided to stop for the night. It is curious that both bothies on the Lochside are old byres -the adjacent farm houses having long since fallen down.Obviously the houses for the cattle were better constructed than the houses for the people. There was only one other person staying in the bothy and  he was already bedded down so I didn't get to talk to him. It was a cold night and I was glad of the spare clothes I had brought.

 In the morning I tried my woodgas stove which is meant to be able boil a kettle on a handful of twigs or pine cones . The theory is that if wood is heated it produces combustible gases. Once the wood starts burning in the stove the gases are channelled through the hollow walls to the top  where they ignite- it works more like a gas stove than a fire. It did function quite well until my kettle boiled and I managed to knock the whole thing over! Fortunately I had enough water and  fuel to start again .

Sunday started misty and cool but still dry. The kind staff at Inversnaid Hotel refilled my water bottle, they refused any payment saying that they filled about one hundred a day! I stopped at Dario's memorial book and wrote a message.

I always find I am slow starting on the second day and this was no exception . I did pick up after Beinglas Farm though and maintained a reasonable pace until Tyndrum. Here I stopped for a cup of tea before the final section to Bridge of Orchy. After a whole  weekend of fine weather it  started to rain. I was in a good mood from two days on the trail and didn't mind (especially as I was heading to the Brige of Orchy Hotel where the bar is always warm and snug) .

 I had a few hours to kill in the pub before getting the late train home. On the train I met up with Helen who was returning from a visit to see her parents; it was a nice end to great weekend on the West Highland Way.