Rose Suite (our room in Toronto)
(Above) Bluebells in woods (Milngavie)
(Above) Track away from Milngavie
(Above) View from my wildcamp, shame trees have been chopped
(Above) My home for the night
(Above) Day 2 and first target of the day (Conic Hill)
(Above) Light playing on one of the islands in Loch Lomand
(Above) view of Loch Lomand on the path past Conic Hill
(Above) Cloud on hills
(Above) View from Conic Hill
(Above) Another View from Conic Hill
(Above) Loch Lomand again from Conic Hill
(Above) Balmaha
(Above) View up Loch Lomand
(above) view over loch lomand with the mountains beyond
(Above) Ben Lomand
(Above) view from the front of Inversnaid Hotel
Beautiful view of Loch Lomand with Bluebells underfoot
(Above) A blanket of bluebells 
(Above) Looking down Loch Lomand from next to Cnap Mor
Jay and Wayper in the Surtees
Everything is Illuminated: This is a strange film and I found often quite hard to understand. I'm not sure if there was supposed to be subtitles at times or not (I didn't have any). So a lot of the time I was left guessing what was being said.
Distance: 1.57 miles
I also couldn't put off testing my Forerunner 305 any longer which came while I was away. It's a lot better than running with my etrex and tells me my heart rate, pace, distance, etc while I'm running.
I stopped here towards the end of the first day, it's a few hundred yards off the West Highland Way just before entering the Garadhban Forest. It's a small wooden building which offers a small selection of food and home cooking. I had a bacon sandwich and a sprite which was very nice after a hard days walking and I don't think it was all that expensive. Although a pint would of been nice, they don't serve alcohol. There are some toilets available around the back of the building where I filled up my hydration system(not with wee, but water).
I stopped here for lunch after a hard few miles following the road from Balmaha. The staff were very friendly and the bar lady was very nice, she had quite a bit of bother trying to pour me a pint of Kronnenberg. I ordered a burger here (as I did almost everywhere). While it was expensive at I think £7.95 or £6.95 it was very nice and was probably the best of the entire trip. The bar was very welcoming and cozy with a log burning fire, not that it was needed really as it was hot outside. They had 1 large TV at the end of the bar with the Rangers match about to kick off. I had another pint but a Fosters this time, so they wouldn't have the hassle with the Kronnenberg. I eventually forced myself to leave, one of the lads behind the bar asked me if I wanted another I said I better not or I'd be there all day. I wish I had spend the rest of the day there :-)
I arrived here after a very hard day and could hardly walk another step. The walkers entrance was through the back not quite sure why. Must be to keep the walkers from the posh people or something. You walk through a lounge and into a bar. I ordered a pint and asked if they had any rooms, the man looked at me puzzled (he was foreign) but a pretty girl (also foreign) said they were fully booked, my heart sank. I sat down with my pint and looked through my book hoping for something to jump out at me but it was either here or my tent another half-a-mile to the wildcamp spot. The pint didn't go down very quickly!
I didn't camp here but stopped here for a pint and another burger but was again very impressed by the establishment. The campsite looked very nice and the wigwams looked inviting, I ordered another burger but doubled the size to 1/2 pound because I was starving and got a pint of cider. It cost an extra £2.50 to double the size which again was expensive. I can't remember if the burger alone cost £9.25 or if that included the cider. The lady brought the burger out to me as I was outside and asked if I didn't like cheese, I looked at it and said I'm afraid I don't. She took it back and made me another. She said they had put it on before she could stop them. The burger was OK but dripping with fat and clearly a factory thing unlike a couple of the previous homemade ones. I was becoming a burger expert, lol. The campsite was very nice and would definitely be worth staying at.
This is the first Youth Hostel I have ever stayed at and was unsure what I would make of it. The man who greeted me was very welcoming and went through everything with me and gave advice on where to eat and gave me a voucher thing that let me get a 2 course meal and pint for £10 at the lodge. He said both pubs were nice but he would personally choose the lodge. The Hostel had a large dining area and a lounge with TV as well as very big kitchen, drying rooms and internet access. The dorm room I was put in had 4 bunk beds. All the bottom ones were taken so I picked a top bunk furthest from the door. The internet access was only 5p a minute, so cheap enough. There was a lady on reception on the morning and she was also very helpful. So in all quite a good experience although the room smelled quite a bit of sweaty socks in the morning but I guess that's to be expected, lol!
I popped in here as it was the closest pub to the Youth Hostel and though I'd have a look before going over the recommended one. The section near the bar is quite small and there were some locals sat there and 1 walker. I ordered a pint of cider and sat down and looked at the menu, there wasn't much on the menu I fancied. The pub kind of reminded me of the uplands where I used to go years ago. A bit rundown which mainly locals frequent (I think?)
This place was quite a bit further from the Youth Hostel than I thought, I had been shown on a hand drawn map where it was and he made it look like it was a few yards from the Rod & Reel but it must of been about half a mile or so from the Youth Hostel which is a fair way when your feet are killing you. I opened the door and straight away it looked more inviting for some reason, not sure why. I ordered a pint and sat down, I heard the lady say that meals weren't being served until 8 for some reason. While I was sat there a man came in and started talking to me saying he recognised me from the hotel in Milngavie and asked how I was getting on. I spent a few minutes talking to him and several more people came in all in the same party. There must of been about 10 of them, some of the others I had recognised from walking through the forest on the 1st day. Anyway I ended up getting a meal before 8 and I chose the soup which was Tomato and basil which was very nice and chicken breast again this was very nice and I asked for a pint of lemonade. I'd already drank 3 pints over the 2 pubs. A guy came in who was the musical entertainment which I had to move for because I was sat where he needed to setup. I left before he started so not sure if he was any good. One of the nice things about this place is you can sign the wall and leave messages, I didn't though. This is again somewhere I would happily go back to.
anyway at least i got to see some of the views, i will be back to do
the west highland way again but finish it and enjoy it.
although i may of been in pain for most of the last 3 days it has
still been worth it. totally by random heather small singing proud has
just come on my mp3 player. not sure proud is the correct word but i'm
pleased i made the decision to come home early and not suffer on to
the end. yes i would of then felt proud i made it but what would my
memories of been, PAIN.
i had a big smile on my face on the last train, not quite sure why.
maybe it was the fantastic views it wasn't because it was over.
probably looked like someone high on drugs or something.
i hadn't realised the stations in glasgow were quite that far apart
when rushing from one to the other, picked up my tickets and grabbed a
whopper from burger king as they were ready. don't really like half
the stuff in it but i was hungry.
oh i forgot before i left i spoke to a bloke in his sixties i would
guess. who i had seen on day 1 and was staying in my dorm in the youth
hostel. i told him i was going home. he said he had exactly the same
problem last year and gave up at the same point. i had seen him
attending to his feet the 1st day. i was pleased that someone else had
done exactly the same and knew what it was like. happy he came back to
do it again.
last night a bloke stopped and asked how i was getting on. he said he
recognised me from the hotel before i set off in milngavie and had
seen me camping the 1st night. he pointed me out to one of the others
to see if he recognised me, he did. they were in a group of about 10
doing it. i recognised a couple of the others mainly because 2 of the
short blokes were very noisey and that stuck in my mind when i had
been following them.
to be honest that was more like what i was hoping for, talking to
people doing the same thing but i guess i hadn't been that sociable
the first 2 days, too busy just trying to keep going.
suppose i should stop rambling on and jumping about from subject to subject.
i got talking to a couple from stockton for a few miles, that helped
and took my mind off how i was feeling. they stopped and i carried on
for a bit, from this point on it got harder and harder. the last 3
miles took me ages and i just wanted out of here and to go home. i
eventually got to inversnaid and had decided i was gonna get a room in
the hotel and go home tomorrow if i could.
i got a pint and asked the girl about a room but she said they were
fully booked. i really didn't want to spend the night in the tent as
it had been raining for 2 hours and i wanted to properly attend to my
feet.
i ordered some food and asked again if they had any room at all, i
didn't care if i had to pay more. she went off and came back and told
me to go to the reception. she said what room did i want i said a
single but didn't really care.
i ended up with a single room with a shower, a bath would of been nice
as i had trouble even standing in the shower. the room only cost me
£25. i would of easily paid £150 if i had too.
as i just wrote by now i was having problems just standing. i forced
myself to stand there in the shower, where i noticed i have a lump on
my hip, at the top of the pelvis where you can normally see the bone.
What's normally a little bump is about twice its usual size.
i really wanted to give up when i got here and still may have too, if
i feel anywhere near like i do now there is no way i could carry on
all the way to the end. the problem i have is i have to walk to
crianlarich to get a train or bus. which is where i was going to
tomorrow night anyway, a youth hostel awaits me.
tomorrow is shorter than the last 2 days, thank god at 13 miles. today
must of been about 18. there is 1 other place i could probably get a
bus from and that's invernan. but It's not an official stop and you
have to flag a citylink bus down which would get me to glasgow.
i'm really not sure what to do. i felt so bad today though that i
wanted to cry but what's the point in that it wasn't going to help.
this is supposed to be a holiday and i'm supposed to be enjoying it
but due to the feet it's turning into a nightmare.
i am going to get some sleep and lie in and will see how my feet shape
up tomorrow i have a 13 mile walk one way or another. It's the half
way point as well at crianlarich!
i was awake from just after 4 am but waited until 5 before stirring. i
had had a capacino however the hell you spell it, eaten a cereal bar
and packed up and away before 6:30. another tent had appeared a bit
further down from me but no sign of the occupants.
my feet are still hurting but so badly. one of the hard parts of the
day will be coming down off this hill. i think it might hurt a bit.
what the hell i'm carrying on anyway...
i spoke to a friend just before i started to walk into the forest and
she said it had been horrible weather at home. it had just been cloudy
here with no rain. about 10 minutes after i came off the phone it
started to drizzle and has done ever since. i brought my old phone and
put my sim in it, for some reason everything works except sending
texts. why can i ring but not text?
the last few miles have been very hard, my feet are killing me.
stopped a couple of miles before here and had a look at my right foot.
the heal was really sore but i couldn't find a blister then i pressed
the skin and realised the entire heal is 1 huge blister, its about 3
inches long and 2 wide. the blister i'm on about!
I really felt like giving up and was thinking about struggling to
balmaha and going home but its a couple of miles yet. i almost had a
tear in my eye at the thought of having to give up after 1 day.
i struggled on to this planned spot which wasn't helped by a diversion
that added a bit extra to the walk. i rang my dad to let him know i
had arrived here and told him how i felt. he tried to encourage me,
which maybe worked a bit. i feel better now i'm laid down and have
popped the blisters and stuck a huge blister plaster over the worst
one.
i will see what i feel like in the morning. when i get out my tent i
can see a nice view of loch lomand hopefully that will inspire me in
the morning :-)
It's a shame this is such a negative post because i so wanted to enjoy
today. someone did warn me when i was on the top of great gable that
the first 2 days weren't good but after that It's much better.
i'm hoping i can find a pub at about dinner time tomorrow and have a
meal and 2 drink. today i stopped in the milk bar just outside drymen
and had a bacon roll. if i can do that each day it will be good. i'm
gonna put the stove on soon and have some food and a drink. i can hear
my stomach rumbling!
i might post again a bit later on, it gives me something to do!
i was stood at the bar thinking i will have either a pint of lager or
a magners. i decided while i was stood there that as i was in scotland
i would have a whiskey and an iron bru, the numpty asked if i wanted
it in the same glass. the whiskey was only a bells they didn't have
any local ones :-(
the whiskey was my last alcohol for the night or i will be hung over
tomorrow. quite a few in here now but think i will go back to my room
soon or i will end up getting another pint in!
i called in a pub in the town and had a pint but looked like they
weren't serving meals all the stuff was put away. i suppose it is
friday night. i have come back to bring the beefeater next to my hotel
and am waiting for my burger to turn up. i am on my second pint of the
day and can feel it, That's that only cereal does for you. food has
just turned up so gotta go ...
Distance: 3.15 miles
