The first thing is the eating/drinking/sleeping establishments I err tested ;-)
Premier Travel Inn - Milngavie:
Much what you would expect from a national hotel chain. It cost £49 for a night and £7.50 for the unlimited breakfast thing. You got a nice enough room with TV, tea making facilities, bath, shower, etc.. Next to the hotel is the Beefeater where your breakfast is served. It's far from the cheapest place to eat/drink but is nice and the staff are friendly. I had a burger (I think) the night I got there and a full English breakfast or should that be scottish. For the price the price the Breakfast was a bit disappointing, I didn't have any cereal which I could of, just the cooked breakfast but with 1 egg, 1 sausage, 2 small rashers of bacon, tomato and a couple of mushrooms £7.50 was incredibly expensive. I should of asked for seconds. I'm sure it was supposed to be unlimited, I never really saw any toast but must of been on the table at the front somewhere?
Cairneach Milk Bar - Outskirts of Drymen:
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).Rowardennan Hotel:
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 :-)Inversnaid Hotel:
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 got another pint in and asked about food and was shown a takeaway menu, I was thinking more about a proper sit down meal and again asked if there was any rooms at all, didn't care what or how much. The girl said she would go and check, she reappeared and told me to see the girl on reception. I spoke to girl as instructed and she asked what type of room I wanted. I said a single but didn't really care. She said that was good then and said they had a single with a shower. It sounded like heaven to me. The way she was saying it though I had visions of some cupboard. She asked if I wanted an evening meal but said I'd already ordered a takeaway meal :-(
I picked up my takeaway burger and headed for my room and was quite shocked to find it was very nice. A single bed with TV, kettle and a seperate bathroom with shower cubicle, toilet and basin. Far from what I had envisioned and it only cost me £25!
The following morning I left without a breakfast as I wasn't sure if it was included or night. The room was very nice and the whole hotel looked nice with fabulous views so I found out when I left by the front door rather than shuffled through the back. My only problem was it felt like they were trying to keep walkers seperate from other guests otherwise the place would of been fantastic. Oh and there was some communication problems with bar staff because they weren't Scottish but Eastern European I watched as they struggled with almost every customer. They were very pleasant just a slight communication problem.
Beinglas Farm Campsite:
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.Crianlarich Youth Hotel:
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!Rod & Reel - Crianlarich:
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?)Ben More Lodge - Crianlarich:
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.Burger King - Glasgow Central:
I have only added this in because I bought a whopper as I was rushing to get my train to Newcastle. I have never eaten burgers from McDonalds or Burger King before because of all the stuff they add in but this was one of the few things I could see was already done on the shelf thing behind and I was starving. It actually wasn't too bad considering it had mayonnaise and god knows what else in.
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