Munros and Other Walks

I would like to take this opportunity to give a big thank you to everyone who has supported myself and Pat on our challenge this summer. The aim was to walk the West Highland Way and the Great Glen Way. As we were doing this challenge, we thought it would be a good idea to raise money for a good cause and so we decided to support Cancer Research. Many thanks to this charity for supporting us along our way. We managed to raise £940, which far exceeded our set goal of £500.   The link to our Just Giving page is below, further donations are appreciated to keep up the fight against cancer.  West Highland Way and Great Glen Way Charity Walk

The Canal at Fort Augustus After a long walk on Day 2, I had planned a shorter hike the following day. The walk from Kytra Lock to Inver-Collie Campsite is only 10 miles and takes you through Fort Augustus. There are gift shops, cafes and bars. The only grocery shop I found was the one attached to the petrol station. It was basic but did have a small pharmacy attached. I managed to pick up enough food and medical supplies for the rest of my trip. Fort Augustus is the start of the Loch Ness section of the walk, and you have to wait a while after hiking out of the small town before you get a glimpse of the famous Loch. Obligatory Forest Track Image Loch Ness There are two routes available to take during this section of the walk. The high or low route. I chose the low route as it was the most easily accessible to the campsite. The high route is longer, but has better views of Loch Ness. I Know How This Person Feels Can Be Reached By The Low Route  T...

The original plan for the Great Glen Way was to tack it on to the end of the West Highland Way, however I decided to go home to let my swollen foot heal up before attempting anymore walking. Two weeks later I caught the first train from Glasgow up to Fort William, arriving just after 12pm. A quick trip to the supermarket opposite the train station and I was ready to walk the Great Glen Way. The way starts next to the local McDonalds and the first few miles are a walk around the outskirts of  Fort William and villages of Caol and Banavie. The majority of the ten and a half mile hike after Caol, is along the canal path. The path is flat and straight to Gairlochy.  The Start Next to the McDonalds Soliders Bridge Typical Waymarker Canal path It took me three and a half hours to cover the distance between Fort William and Gairlochy. My plan was to stay at a campsite a mile down a single track road. I decided instead to camp at the informal campsite loca...

After a decent rest and a shower, we set about the task of walking to Bridge of Orchy. We should have made it to Tyndrum on day 2, according to our plans. Luckily we had the foresight to have planned alternative rest stops. Our first task was to hike the 11 miles to Tyndrum. This time the track would be wider and flatter so we were hopeful for a better day than the day before. Things went well for the first part of the day. This part of the West Highland Way is easier to walk along and we made good progress for the first few miles. About five miles into our walk I started getting a pain under the arch of my right foot. It wasn't a sharp pain but it niggled me, as I walked through the wooded section before Tyndrum. Clearing in the woods After a lengthy stop at Tyndrum to shore up on medical supplies, mainly plasters and bandages, we headed for Bridge of Orchy if ever someone was to sell blister plasters there they would clean up. The 7 mile hike is flat and can be ...

Our second day started brightly enough. We had a quick hike to Rowardennan and then a short walk from there to the start of the loch Lomond stretch. We took the lower path when it split, taking us along the shore of the Loch. The path was narrow but dry and I made good progress along its 3 and a bit mile stretch to Inversnaid. There was a tree that had fallen across the track at one point, the only way was to crawl under it. At another point later we had to take our rucksacks off again to squeeze paat a large boulder.  Our journey slowed down conaiconside after Inversnaid, the track continued to be narrow however the undulating nature of the track and the amount of boulders you had to negotiate meant that we lost a lot of time during the six miles it took to get to Bein Glas. The effort involved drained both of us and we were glad to stop at a campsite with daylight to spare and a pub for a bar meal.  Fallen tree over track before Inversnaid Rowchoish ...

Knowing what type of gear and equipment was easy. Planning out a route with how many miles were planning each day was also straight forward. I've went for my trusted Trangia stove again this year, but instead of the spirit burner I'm using a gel burner. This is lighter than the spirit burner and the burner itself holds about 47ml of gel, this is 2/3rds full. It took about 6 mins to heat up a bowl of water and the gel lasted for about 13 mins in total until it burned out.  However, the most time thinking about what I was planning to eat on our hike. Obviously, I broke my food into seperate meals so; Breakfast Mid morning snack Lunch Afternoon Snack Dinner Breakfast This will consist of porridge. I have bagged each day's breakfast into 40gram packs. In This I have added a little sugar and chia seeds. I have also included with some flaked almonds, dried fruit or trail mix. I covered the mixture with about 300ml of water. The porridge tends to cook ...

I thought I'd post the equipment that I will be taking on the forthcoming trip. Most of the equipment I have had for a number of years and have served me well. Also, in order to keep the cost down  I have borrowed some items from my wife. Some of the items may not be the lightest, but I'm not paying over the odds to save a few grams, although I am conscience of the weight I'll be carrying. Detailing my equipment will help me to refine this process in the future.  The items are shown below, I've left food out just now as I'll probably make a separate post about this. Gelert Rucksack Rucksack I'm taking my wife's Gelert X-plorer 65l bag which will be more than enough to see me through the hike. The bag weighs in at 1.6kg, a bit on the heavy side but it is comfortable.There is no frame back support, not that I'm used to that, but it'll be interesting to see how I feel about it after a week of use. Hilleberg Akto Tent Tent ...

You would think that after taking 4 days to complete the West Highland Way, we would start the Great Glen Way with an easy walk. You would be wrong. We are planning to complete the Great Glen Way in 3 days, covering the 79 miles to Inverness. Below , is what we are planning to do. Day 5: Fort William to Fort Augustus, 34 miles Yes I know, that's crazy and yes, you are right. We still have an additional day planned as a backup in case  The day will be broken into 3 sections. Fort William to Gairlochy 13 miles Gairlochy to South Laggen 10 miles Laggen to Fort Augustus  11 miles We'll see if we make it to the campsite at Fort Augustus in the evening or if we'll need to stop before it. Day 6: Fort Augustus to Drumnadrochit 25 miles Day 6 is dependent on the fact we can still walk after our previous day's hike. At this point the extra days rest would be good to help us recover. We have already booked a bunkhouse for our night in Drumnadrochit so a chance ...

I first walked the West Highland Way in 2004 and then again the year after. I took 5 days to complete the route the first time and took a more leisurely pace the next year, completing it in 7 days. This year we are attempting to finish the West Highland way in 4 days and taking a further 3 days to walk the 79 miles of the Great Glen Way. I say we as I am walking these two routes with my wife's stepfather. He has always wanted to walk both the West Highland and Great Glen Ways and he has set this summer as his target to complete them. He has also planned out our route, which I have noted below. Day 1: Milngavie to Rowardennan 27 miles Our first day should see a flat section of the route from Milngavie to Drymen before the climb over Conic Hill to Balmaha. The hill is only about 360m but it will test our fitness especially since we will be carrying full packs including camping and cooking equipment. Even at Balmaha we still have another 7 miles or so to Rowardennan. In...