BRADLEY BOYS ‘09
WEST HIGHLAND WAY (95 miles)
‘It’s just a glorified pub crawl!’
APRIL 6th – APRIL 10th
Bradley Bhoys:
Paul, Chris, Stevie, Joe, John, Wee Kieran and Wee Ryan.
(Image above taken at the official start point of the West Highland Way, in Milngavie Town Centre.)
West highland Way DAY 1 MONDAY 6th APRIL ‘09
LOCATION: MILNGAVIE TO BALMAHA (19 miles)
CONDITIONS: OVERCAST THEN LIGHT RAIN.
COMMENTS:
The ‘Magnificent Seven’ rode out at 8:15am from Milngavie modelling the silliest looking headwear we could get our hands on. Paul was wearing a Guiness fly swatter, Chris had a straw hat complete with pig tails, I had a Brown wig and white cowboy hat (courtesy of John), Joe had a Celtic FC jester hat and John had a Russian military cosy toes for his head!
The 2 boys Kieran and Ryan, set off dressed in their CF trust T-shirts and full of the beans of youth. By the time we reached our first pace marker of Mugdock Park, their enthusiasm had weaken by a degree.
We were setting a good pace covering the first 4 miles in an hour or so and it wasn’t long before Joe left his ‘mark’ in the Woods just beyond the Park. As Joe caught up we left the trees behind and entered the deforested landscape near Carbeth.
We proceeded along the old forest road and took in the glorious views of Dumgoyne in the distance. The walk at this point was great, easy going with a bit of sunshine breaking through. We continued at the same easy pace to we reached our first planned stop at the Beech Tree Inn, near Dumgoyne Distillery. The look on the 2 boys faces when we realised there would be no coca cola, as promised, because the Inn was shut on Mondays, was priceless. Around 11am we had some sandwiches and shared 2 cans of lager, supplied by Joe, after covering 6 miles so far.
Continuing along the disused railway line towards our next planned stop of Drymen, the young boys were now flagging and being promised ice cream in Drymen to keep them going. Arriving where the Way passes Drymen at 1.30pm we stopped for a rest. It was at this point that Chris’s feet started to become a feature. Two large blisters underneath each foot where hampering his progress. After a short break and treatment to the feet, we were soon on the road again.
We were all doing fine until we emerged through the wood land of Garadhban Forrest and viewed Conic hill in the Distance. This was clearly no little obstacle. It was a worrying thought to have to climb this after 18 miles and at the slower pace we were doing as Chris’ foot pain kicked in.
He was in real pain now lagging at the rear as Joe, John and Kieran seared ahead to gain the top as quickly as they could. Paul went up next followed with me and Ryan and lastly Chris. It was on the accent of this hill that I first thought Chris might not complete the journey if his feet continued giving him the pain he was obviously in.
Eventually, after a slippy decent of Conic Hill, we reached Balmaha and the glory of a soft warm bed. We were all exhausted but euphoric at reaching our first destination. The BB meant a lovely warm shower then out again to the Oak Tree Inn for Scran and Guiness – Magic!!!!
The night drew to a close with Chris in Pain, Ryan and Kieran hyper due to excessive sugary drinks, and the rest of us fair Fluted. Little did I realise at the time that this was one of the more sober nights!!
What a day!
CONCLUSION: Terrific day but ominous pain to feet.
EFFORT: Medium – High.
RATING: 7/10
West highland Way DAY 2 TUESDAY 7th APRIL ‘09
LOCATION: BALMAHA TO INVERARNAN (21 miles)
CONDITIONS: RAIN THEN MORE RAIN.
COMMENTS:
The day started well with a hearty breakfast after a great night sleep in a very soft bed. Staring out at the rain, we all wondered if it would ever let up. Claire soon arrived, as planned, to take Kieran and Ryan home, bringing fresh sandwiches for today’s lunch. Shortly afterwards, we set off, around 9:30am, in full wet gear and 2 sets of feet lighter.
And that left 5.
The first section towards Rowardenan was very enjoyable with undulating terrain and good hikes. Most of us were enjoying a good pace but Chris was slipping further and further behind. Reaching Rowardenan at 1pm, it had taken us 3 hrs to cover just 7 miles. By now the heavy rain was falling steadily. Stopping for a pint, a bite to eat and a chance to dry out in ‘The Clansman’ bar in Rowardenan, we then headed onwards towards our next scheduled stop of Inversnaid, the 15-mile point in the days walk.
By now Chris was at snails pace and needed to be kept in sight at all times. This meant that our overall speed was a great concern with 20 odd miles to cover today. After a further 2 hours we were all really concerned for him. We were traversing some seriously harsh terrain along the Loch side and Chris was finding the way very tricky as his problems with his feet began to affect his legs and balance.
As we reached Inversnaid he was putting on a brave face but it was clear he would struggle badly over the next 6 miles. At 4pm we left Inversnaid targeting arrival at Inverarnan for around 7pm. Chris almost immediately fell behind. With the weather worsening and fatigue setting in, I told the rest to go on and I would stay with Chris to see him to the BB. In failing light, due to the heavy cloud, I knew I had to leave Chris alone for a time. My legs were beginning to cease up at his pace and pretty soon I would be in no condition to help him when needed. I explained as much to Chris and set off.
Quickly catching up with Paul and bypassing him, I soon caught Joe and John. We three stayed together at a better pace than any other point of the day. We reached the BB at 7:30pm, greeted by a freezing cold caravan with no obvious drying facility. Paul arrived seconds later totally drenched by fresh monsoon-esk rain. Quickly changing into dryer clothes which had been delivered by the bag carrying service, I grabbed a head torch from a friend and headed back up the hill to retrieve Chris.
The first few steps from the caravan will never be forgotten, they were the hardest of my life, but pretty soon I loosened up and got moving.
Retreating back along the path towards Inversnaid I met Chris about 1 mile from the BB. It took another hour to get him back down and we arrived at the caravan at 8:50pm. Now dark, we were both shattered.
Initially intending to repeat the last evenings banter, we headed for dinner and a pint at the Drovers Inn, but we weren’t really fit for it. Being too exhausted and cold, we hardly touched our dinner, compounded by the time we were able to sit down to it. Within an hour we finished up heading back to the BB for some kip.
Unfortunately it took another hour to set up our front room to dry out our gear for the next day. This meant Joe and I slept right there to keep an eye on the wet gear through the night, needless to say Joe couldn’t get into his bed if he tried anyway. Chris was comatose across it.
Having called home earlier, Chris let us know his Way was finished; he was being picked up the following day.
CONCLUSION: The hardest day of walking I think any of us has done, compounded by the stop start pace in bad conditions.
EFFORT: High, very demanding.
RATING: 7/10
West highland Way DAY 3 WEDNESDAY 8th APRIL ‘09
LOCATION: INVERARNAN – BRIDGE OF ORCHY (19 miles)
CONDITIONS: DRY THEN WET LATER
COMMENTS:
Waking in the caravan in lower than normal spirits, we faced the prospect of Chris leaving us this morning. With a chap at the door our breakfast was then delivered in catering bowls. This was entertaining as, upon finding a loaf in the fridge the night before, we thought this was a kind gesture to allow us to make our lunch for today, unfortunately it was actually intended for this mornings breakfast toast!
The day started, again, with rain as we set off. We had said our goodbyes to Chris, leaving him in the Drover’s, and headed up the glen towards Crianlarich (6 miles away). Setting a much better pace than the previous days we very quickly got into a high spirited mood. The going was easier than yesterday on good wide surfaces but the weather was as bad with rain and high winds. However, we arrived at the ‘wooden gate’ above Crianlarich at 10:45 am, after only 2hrs walking.
We decided to miss out walking down the 15min diversion to Crainlarich and headed straight on towards Tyndrum, which was another 6 miles distant. We stopped just above the gate on a wet hillside and had a cup of soup and a piece of chocolate. One memorable moment was as we topped the hill 30 steps later to find the 2 ‘German’ guys sitting at a nice picnic bench enjoying their scran!
The next few miles were very enjoyable, walking through undulating pine encrusted woodland paths in dry weather! Motoring on we reached Tyndrum at 1:15pm. As we had covered 12 miles in just over 4 hrs we decided to have a treat lunch in ‘Paddy’s Bar’. This excellent wee stop restored sore feet for 30mins allowing us to enjoy 2 pints of the black stuff and a plate of soup, pure Magic!
After covering 12 miles, we had enjoyed a great morning’s walk and a refreshing lunch. Leaving the pub behind we started up the road towards one of my favourite glens, and just as the sun came out, there ahead was Beinn Dorian, dominating the skyline above the Auch Glen.
Walking along on the old military road the terrific mountain scenery all around lifted our spirits greatly, to the extent that it was easy to forget how hard the trek had been so far. The blend of scenery and variable weather had snow-capped mountains, under patchy blue sky to the front, and rain clouds bursting further up the Auch Glen, creating glorious rainbows. In all it was something to remember. At one stage we were treated to a breathtaking double rainbow, which was the lowest I had ever seen.
As our bodies began to feel the pace, we realised targeting arriving in Bridge of Orchy for 4pm may have been a bit unrealistic. By now John had developed a Shin splint and Joe had a foot problem, probably due to artificially drying our boots the previous night!
However, we reached the Bridge of Orchy Sleeper at 4:30pm and we then (two of us), had to walk down to the Bridge of Orchy Hotel to collect our bags!!! On our return, I ended up on the top bunk of three and Joe was on the opposite side of the room from us, 1 up amongst the other guests!
The accommodation in the West Highland Sleeper was very good value for money and the patrons couldn’t have been nicer, providing a very welcome evening meal as well as the planned breakfast the following morning. After a well earned shower and shave we then hit the Hotel to get some drinking done and try and catch any football on the telly.
The night was one to remember. Although the hotel wouldn’t turn on the TV for any sport, probably because their guests were still eating, we had a great time with the rest of the walkers on the route. As the four of us sat drinking, first Alison then her husband Willy John Paul Francis McBride, joined in and it wasn’t long before 2 other lady walkers joined us for a wonderful fun filled night. We even managed to still be partially sober by the time the ‘Elite’ 4 man North Face team from Edinburgh, arrived about 3 hours after us….again! We all sat together and got well and truly smashed!
As we left the hotel and headed back up to the sleeper, maybe it was just the booze but it was one of the most stunning moonlit nights I can recall. The wind was driving the cloud north and the full moon was turning everything silver, it was magical.
CONCLUSION: Great views along the way and a wonderful night sky made today the best yet for sheer enjoyment. The weather wasn’t too bad, the accommodation excellent and the whole experience of spending the night in a converted railway station just added a bit of something special to the whole week.
EFFORT: Medium – High
RATING: 8/10
West highland Way DAY 4 THURSDAY 9th APRIL ‘09
LOCATION: BRIDGE OF ORCHY TO KINLOCHLEVEN (21miles)
CONDITIONS: POOR. RAIN FOR 90% OF THE DAY.
COMMENTS:
This morning we were all up nice and early at about 6:45am full of beans ready to face what we expected would be the hardest of the 5 days trek. We had all had a great night in the hotel sharing stories and laughs and way too much booze, with all of us secretly feeling the effects. The bunkroom of nine all had been drinking together and there was great comradery using the only communal lavvy, especially since we had all had about 8 pints of the Black stuff the night before!
Setting off with our first destination of the Kings House Hotel in mind, about 12 miles away, we climbed out of Bridge of Orchy. This initially was a pleasant, but steep 400m accent from the valley floor, but we soon felt the night before working on us. Things got even better when we (after joking about it since placing them there) realised we left our whole pack of sandwiches back in the Sleeper’s fridge. What a laugh as the 4 of us, sweaty, hung over, Guiness soaked men looked back down to the Sleeper and thought; ‘I’m no going back for the them!’
Deciding to push on regardless with 2 chocolate bars and 2 flasks of soup between us, we carried on. Starting our decent towards Inverornan, our 2-mile marker, the ever present rain was falling heavily, pushing us on. We had a lot of ground to cover and it wasn’t going to be easy. As the decent continued, John’s shin splint began to give him real concern, popping his first of many painkillers, but the relentless pace wasn’t slackened.
Driving on across the first stretches of moorland in heavy down pours the trek was the wettest to date. Keeping our heads down we didn’t stop again until we reached the River Ba. As we paused on the bridge crossing for a cup of soup, the prevailing wind battered us into submission, and of we plodded again. We tried everything to keep our minds off the road ahead as the scenery gave no distraction with the weather blanketing everything in mist and rain. Name games, ‘I spy,’ and any other distractions were used to keep the monotonous walk at bay. Happily, this done the trick.
Approaching Black Mount, we had been walking for 3+ hours in barren landscapes and the change, cresting the rise above the A82 was very dramatic. Walking down the hill towards the ski lifts, with Glen Coe in the distance and the Kings house Hotel about a mile away, you could be forgiven for thinking the worst was over. The wonderful scenery, although partially hidden by low cloud, was back in abundance, with Etive Mor grinning down on us.
It was roughly 11am, at this point and estimating making Kings House in 20 minutes, didn’t seem unrealistic. As it happens the distance was actually about 2 miles, and we arrived wind swept and sodden around 12 noon.
Enjoying a very welcome lunch in the Walkers bar, washed down with a single pint of the good stuff, we let our clothes dry out a bit on the 6-foot tall backed chairs! This also gave us the chance to meet other travellers already in the pub. The general consensus was that the up coming ‘Devil Staircase’ was a great experience but the decent into Kinlochleven was difficult. They weren’t kidding.
At 1pm, to the surprise of most of the walkers there, we geared up and headed back out into the howling rain on our last stretch of what had already been a long day. Confident of success, we weren’t about to let a bit of rain stop us, especially since the 2 guys from the pub the night before had just came in and said they had had enough, He He!!
Having just covered 12 miles in 4 hrs, we expected to cover the next nine in a further 3 hours, reaching our BB for 4pm. Setting off, heads down, we drove on into Glen Coe and the foreboding Devils staircase. Luckily the wind was on our backs or I don’t think we would have made it as easily. We reached the bottom of the hill after an easy 2 miles and immediately headed up, again probably pushing too quickly. We climbed the 1000 ft in about 35 mins being ecstatic at the top. The climb had been punishing buffeted all the way by a harsh cross wind.
High spirits were short lived, as the decent down towards Kinlochleven began. Maybe it was just the terrain or the tired bodies but this ‘protracted’ decent was excruciating especially for John and me. John’s shin was agony, popping pills like sweets and my knees and lower back joints were on fire with every step. We both had 2 poles each and the pace became a crawl.
The first section, down to the pump station of about an hour, let us see Kinlochleven in the distance but the terrain was stepped and uneven and every impact grated. Our pace dropped considerably as did our spirits. The next section, was a smoother gradient, with less steps, being the approach road up to the pumps, but this was difficult for different reasons. Due to the mature of the grit surface, our tired bodies slipped and jarred as gravity seemed to accelerate us down hill. I felt as though I was continuously ‘putting on the brakes’ which sent shockwave up my already tired legs.
We just wanted it to end. I doubt anyone would have rejected a lift down to the BB at this point.
With a short break after about 90 mins climbing down, Paul shared a Snickers bar with me and I’m convinced this got me home. The energy hit was instant and we pushed on again emerging into Kinlochleven town centre at about 4:15pm.
The BB was lovely, a stereotypical highland guest house run by 2 wee old women and all the swirling florally finishes you could pack in. As I lay awaiting my turn in the shower, I felt as though my feet were on fire. Once in, I showered for what seemed like half an hour, but when we arrived at the local Pub for dinner and booze, surprisingly it was just after 5pm. We had covered 21+ miles through terrible weather and rough terrain, again at about 3 miles an hour.
With a cracking meal, we enjoyed some football on TV and had a family pool tournament while waiting on our fellow walkers to come in. The ‘North facers’ passed the pub looking extremely wasted at about 7:30pm and maybe with hindsight it was a good thing Joe never caught them to rub there faces in it again. Willy came in alone at 8pm and shared a few jars, as Alison lay comatose back at their BB.
Leaving around 10pm to head to the BB we managed to loose Joe in the 300 yards to the house. Once again that ‘no chance’ expression was on all of our faces, but finally John picked up the baton and went to find his big brother. Ten minutes later we sat chatting to our hosts before heading to bed for 11pm.
CONCLUSION: Excellent middle and end but the decent into Kinlochleven was the hardest walking I’ve ever done.
EFFORT: High
RATING: 9/10
West highland Way DAY 5 FRIDAY 10th APRIL ‘09
LOCATION: KINLOCHLEVEN TO FORT WILLIAM
CONDITIONS: HEAVY RAIN THEN BRIGHT AND WARM
COMMENTS:
After a great night and a wonderful sleep, we sat at breakfast wondering if this would match the other memories of this leg. We were not disappointed. The ladies provided an excellent table of food and I can’t praise them enough. Our BB stay at Hermon House was the best of the trip.
Gearing up setting off on our last leg of our epic journey, it seemed only appropriate that it should be raining. It was also true to form that the day began with a hard climb out of the valley! The first objective was to walk for 6 miles or so, have a short break and finish the last 8 miles at a nice easy pace.
Within 10 minutes John was clearly struggling with his inflamed shin splint. We discussed him getting the bus to Fort William but he quickly dismissed the idea, straightening his back with determination and setting the pace in front of us.
The first mile or so was relatively easy going in the heavy rain, but then as we began to climb, the terrain became much harder. This climb, in my opinion, was as tough as the devils staircase the day before, but maybe that was the 8 pints of Guiness from the night before talking. However, at the top of the hill thankfully, there wasn’t the same decent back down, with a generally flat walk through beautiful valley scenery.
We once again were walking at a good pace, even with john’s injury worries, and covered the first 6 miles in about 3 hours. The walk along the Sheilings towards the ruin at Blar Chaorainn was relaxing, but yet again the weather was removing any enjoyment of the surroundings scenery because generally we couldn’t see any!
We reached the end of the military road in the valley at Lundavra, where yet again we discussed John taking an easier and quicker route to Fort William via the tarmaced road, which would have taken 2.5 miles off his distance. After about 20 secs he dismissed the idea and started up towards the forested hillsides of Blair Macdrynie. He was in pain but showed real determination and desire not to let his injury stop him.
An hour later he was glad he chose to continue, as both the weather and the terrain changed for the better. The rise from Lundavra to An Dun leading into Glen Nevis consisted of soft marshy soils and winding paths, suiting his injury better. With the weather brightening up we managed to appreciate the scenery a bit more. As the sun eventually shone clearly, the views of the hills where terrific and we all took plenty images on camera. We then re-entered the last stretch of covered woodland and emerged above the caravan park of Auchintee at the foot of the Ben Nevis walking route. We were nearly there.
Taking the opportunity to get the wet gear off, we stopped for a breather before walking down easy terrain towards the public road below. Yet again this distance was deceiving as the time to reach the road seemed to drag on and on.
Reaching the banks of River Nevis we proceeded along the carriageway towards the town centre. Within 15mins we were met by Chris, who had came up on the train to meet us, with some welcome liquid refreshments and we all walked together, as we had set out, to the end of the way reaching it at 2:30pm.
After photos at the signpost (one taken of all of us by an English Latvian!) marking the end of the way, we headed to the pub near the railway to freshen up. We had covered 14 miles in 6hrs and took the opportunity to have a wash and a tidy up at the visitor’s centre, before moving onto the town centre.
Quickly finding an Irish pub in the centre called Crofters for some lunch and a pint, we immersed ourselves in platitudes for completing the Way. When we got up to leave around 5pm for the train journey home, needless to say we were a bit worse for wear. Picking up 6 bottles of red wine and other refreshments for the celebratory return leg, we anticipated a wonderful journey home. Indeed it was, making new friends and singing all the way!!!
WEST HIGHLAND WAY CONCLUSION:
Although 7 started the ‘Way’ we lost the 2 boys as planned on day 1, but losing Chris on day 2 was a real blow to him. Finishing in the style we did as 4 brothers was a terrific and memorable achievement, one that will not leave me.
The West Highland Way shocked me for a few reasons, but mainly because no book, pamphlet or DVD had prepared me for the amount of climbing involved. Throughout the week I reckon we climbed approx. 5000 ft over those 5 days, which was much unexpected. I’m glad my personnel preparation consisted of so many hills, but this wasn’t deliberate and was more luck rather than good planning.
Using accommodation, showers and no camping was a good decision for us and enabled us to maintain the SAS speed, each day. The only disappointing venue was Inverarnan, where frankly, it was poor. Having not prepared the caravan for 5 soaking travellers in advance, even though we called ahead with a correct arrival time was very poor. Also having no artificial drying area out with the caravan was absurd in these conditions, leaving the customers to dry gear in the space where we slept.
Overall, I loved the walk; I love the company, I loved the scenery (when I could see it) and I loved the way new friends were made along the way, fellow travellers braving the elements with the same light hearted welcoming approach, but just at slower speeds!! Having spent a wonderful evenings with these new friends and the way in which everyone conducted themselves was a great testimony to us all.
It was wonderful – See you next year, and the year after and the year……….
EFFORT: LAST DAY (MED) OVERALL MEDIUM.
RATING: LAST DAY (8/10) OVERALL 9/10.
