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Itinerary:
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Day 1 Drymen: Travel to starting point a small
town north of Glasgow that is a gateway to the highlands. If you
arrive early there is a teashop with home made cakes across the
green and the small Clacan Inn where Rob Roy used to come down for a
swift pint whilst collecting "Blackmail."
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Day 2 Drymen - Rowardennan
(15 miles / 24km):
Gentle scenery on the bonny banks of Loch Lomond. Passing
highland cattle in the fields the route winds up through forest and
across the moors up to Conic Hill, which from the summit gives great
views over the loch, and across the islands there. This marks the
boundary of the Highland fault and officially the start of the
Highlands proper. The way drops down to Balmaha by the water, and
then winds its way towards Rowardennan along the Loch shore with
tree-framed views. Rowardennan marks the road head, and
a convenient place to stay at our pleasant hotel. An extra
day here would
be advised if
you wanted to make an ascent of
Ben Lomond.
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Day 3
Rowardennan – Inverarnan
(Ardlui) (12 or 14 miles / 19 or
22km): Today you
walk in the shadow of Ben Lomond
for much of the time, following the Loch edge path. There are
no big ascents to make,
but a few short steep ups and downs. You can pass by Rob Roy’s
Prison and cave: cave
areas where he is said to have held up in times of difficulty and
held prisoners at his pleasure. You could perhaps have a drink at
the hotel at Inversnaid before
either walking on to Ardleish, where
you can raise a buoy on a pole to attract the attention of
the ferry man who will collect you and transfer you to our hotel on
the western side of the Loch (approx 3 pounds not included).. If you
fancy the longer option, or if the weather is too rough, you need to
continue to Beinglas farm or the Inverarnan Drover’s inn to call
for a taxi to transfer you to the hotel (not included).
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Day 4 Ardlui
to Loch Tulla: ( 15 miles / 24.15km or 21 miles / 34km)
Two choices today: It is a long way from here to Loch Tulla,
if you are a strong walker then it is fine, but otherwise we advise
you to use the taxi (included) to take
you to Crianlarich or further,
to reduce the day to a more manageable length. Crianlarich lies
under another big peak; Ben Mor. The
largely valley route goes via the ancient priory of St.
Fillan associated with both Robert The Bruce and Rob Roy, through
the moraines of Dalrigh, where the Bruce was defeated in 1306, then
via the old mining settlement of Tyndrum where a seam of gold has
been recently found. The route continues up past the peaks of Ben
Lui and Ben Dorain to the Bridge of Orchy for a quick dram before
continuing on to Loch Tulla (Inveroran), a beautifully situated lake
surrounded by Scots pines a remnant of the ancient Caledonian
forest.
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Day 5 Loch
Tulla to Rannoch Moor and Kings
House: ( 10
miles / 16 km) Leave
the relative leafy tranquility of Loch Tulla and head up on the old
military road across the wilds and the heather clad wastes of
Rannoch Moor, past Ba Bridge, claimed to be the remotest part of the
route. The views become ever more expansive with views into great
corries once filled with glaciers. Often you can see deer on this
section and there is a great interplay between land, lake, mountain
and sky. A cairn memorial to Peter Fleming, the inspiration to his
brother Ian for the James Bond character. The military road winds
down to the old drovers Inn near the Gateway to Glencoe. This is in
the shadow of perhaps the most impressive looking mountain of the
tour- Buachaille Etive Mor - the shepherd of Etive Mor.
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Day 6 Kings
house to Kinlochleven: (8 miles 13 km). From
the Inn the way passes beside one of the most impressive mountains
in Scotland - Buahaille
Etive Mor or the Shepherd and then proceeds up the Devil's staircase
to 1850 ft: not as bad as it seems, a well graded section of the
Way. This offers
spectacular views back from whence you came. Then it is a long
descent to sea level at the head of Loch leven with views of the
Blackwater damn, Loch Leven and The Pap of Glencoe.
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Day 7 Kinlochleven to Fort William:
(13 miles / 21km) A steep climb up under the steep slopes
of the Mamore hills at the beginning of the day follows old
Victorian hunting tracks and then you are back on the old military
road and over Lairigmor Pass and through dense coniferous forest to
Glen Nevis past the foot of Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest peak
(4408ft)
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Day 8 End of tour: The tour ends after
breakfast.
Accommodation
The
first night is spent in Drymen at a very comfortable
guesthouse. Our Loch Lomond hotel is close to the waters
edge, offering expansive views towards Ben Lomond. At Ardlui
we use a comfortable hotel which is located on the edge of the
northernmost shores of Loch Lomand. Our hotel at Loch Tulla
is well off the main road and the setting reminds one of its
original use as a cattle drover’s inn. There is a small restaurant
offering good quality home cooking. Our next hotel is in the wilds
of Rannoch Moor near the entrance to Glencoe. The rooms are
fairly basic, but the bar is a very cosy place to be as it was in
1745 when it was used after the Battle of Culloden. At Kinlochleven,
our guesthouse offers a warm welcome. The West Highland Way finishes
near our final guesthouse at Nevis Bridge, just outside Fort
William. |
