It’s rained overnight but we walk out to a beautiful, crisp, sunny day. We have a great breakfast at Drymen Inn, then initially follow the Rob Roy Way until we rejoin the West Highland Way. Then it’s up the path to start climbing Conic Hill. We also get fabulous views of Loch Lomond en route.
The climb up Conic is steep but well graded with a final scramble to the summit at 361 metres (1184 feet). It’s not high, but it sits on the Highland Boundary fault so the views are incredible, with low lying land to the south and the full panoply of the highlands to the north. Prominent in the panorama is Ben Lomond, the most southerly Munro (Scottish mountain over 3,000 feet). It’s a Saturday and there are lots of day trippers, as well as a military charity team yomping up with gas cylinders in full fireman kit for ‘Walking With The Wounded’. It’s a carnival atmosphere and very enjoyable.
We have a snack (caramel tiffin, the equivalent of instant diabetes) then start our descent. All the way up, we had been seeing what looked like cow manure, but neither of us could believe that cattle had come this way. We now find a small herd of highland cattle on a promontory. They had clearly been walking the West Highland Way.
We elect to take a path directly down past the cattle, rather than follow the prescribed route into Balmaha. After all, why would we take the recommended route? It’s steep but doable and we soon cross the B837 to connect back to the Way.
The route follows the loch here and there are people on the beaches swimming and having barbecues. Soon, the path goes into a midge laden forest, undulating in a somewhat unnecessary manner. We have a desultory lunch then move on partly on the path and sometimes following the road. The packs feel heavy, but we arrive at Rowardennan in good time and take the track up to the Youth Hostel, our stop for tonight. We haven’t stayed in a Youth Hostel since 1985 and the atmosphere is convivial (although the amenities are shared and the WiFi is haphazard). They do food and packed lunches as well, so it’s all good.
Total distance so far: 600 miles
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