We were feeling quite good considering yesterday’s mammoth effort – probably all the “training” we did last week – as we set off the the second leg of the West Highland Way
The weather forecast for today was rain all day and it proved to be correct for once. We headed off from the Bridge of Orchy into the rain. Bridge of Orchy ( Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Urchaidh) dates from 1751 and is located at the head of the Glen Orchy. The bridge itself was constructed by Government forces as part of a programme of pacification of the Highland Clans following the Battle of Culloden, which involved the construction of military roads from the Lowlands into the much wilder upland areas of Scotland. It crosses the River Orchy, one of the finest white-water rivers in the United Kingdom.
Walking onwards, the scenery was still spectacular but in a very different way – the rain didn’t really spoil the views at all. The path ran alongside the railway and the River Orchy for quite some time – some puddles but nothing unmanageable.
We passed through Tyndrum (Scottish Gaelic: Taigh an Droma meaning “the house on the ridge”) and started up into the forest path that would occupy the next few hours. It seemed to go up and up forever and then it was time to start descending to cross the A82 and pick up our lunch. From this point the path was a nightmare with multiple streams to ford, long puddles and large areas of mud. This was difficult but only a foretaste of what was to come.
We continued on the path, heading towards Loch Lomond and a “nice“ lakeside walk onto Inversnaid. Part of the walk involved a detour down a muddy field as one of the bridges was “out” and some great views of the River Falloch in full flow.
Finally we reached the shore of Loch Lomond (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Laomainn – ‘Lake of the Elms‘). It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area and second only to Loch Ness in water volume. We had been warned that the path was “not the best” along the shore but we were very unprepared for what we came across. It would be safe to say that some of the sections were borderline “rock climbing” and it seemed to go on for ever. We did achieve another milestone of 400km walked to date. After a long 11 hours walking 48k we arrived in Inversnaid – tired but undefeated!
Tomorrow is heading down to Glasgow (Milngavie)