We have breakfast then buy our favourite sandwiches at the Kinlochleven Co-op before saying goodbye to The Aluminium Story and The National Ice Climbing Centre and walking out on the B863. This road hugs the coastline sandwiched between the steep hillside and Loch Leven. It’s a very long way round to Fort William. The West Highland Way climbs up into the lairig instead and so finds a much more direct route.
The lairig (pass or high valley in Scots Gaelic) passes next to the Mamores. There is another, even more direct route, but this passes over the mountains themselves. We do see one walker taking this option though. The Way here affords fabulous views of the Pap of Glencoe and the Aonach Eagach that cannot be seen from the road.
As we progress, we meet people from all over the world: the US, Norway, Germany, Belgium, as well as Scots and English. We also have a couple of discussions about our Atompack rucksacks, as one other hiker also has one and another has one on order. It’s really good that this innovative Cumbrian company is doing so well. During these conversations, I forget that both Rich and I have our underwear festooned on the back of our rucksacks!
We stop for a quick break but soon move on as the midges are rife. The path is an old military road again and, while it is preferable to bog, it is tough on the feet. Rich describes it as like walking on ball bearings. The views are more than adequate compensation though.
At lunchtime, we find a grassy knoll with a breeze and have a lovely, sunny break. We then make a decision to follow the road into the town, to salvage our feet and also to get different perspectives as we have walked Glen Nevis before. We soon catch sight of Garbh Bheinn. This mountain is rough and is usually reached by the ferry. I remember not really knowing if we were on the prescribed route and worrying that we would miss the last ferry back (still don’t know and we didn’t). I saw it again a few years ago when, following her terminal diagnosis, my sister Helen and I did our ‘Thelma and Louise’ highland tour as a final trip together. Finally, Ben Nevis itself, the first Munro Rich and I ever climbed (on our honeymoon), comes into view, amazingly cloud-free.
I don’t how the West Highland Way would feel if you had never spent time in the highlands. Would you be filled with a desire to come back to these hills or would you be frustrated at not climbing the magnificent peaks? For me, the West Highland Way has always felt like the missing piece. It is like a lace that ties our previous experiences together. I know that realistically, we may never climb here again and, in any case, there are other highland mountains that would now take precedence. Ben More and Ben Lui for starters.
Soon, Fort William appears and we saunter down for a coffee and a cake at the Highland Cinema. Then it’s up the hill to Burnbank B&B and two rest days before the final three weeks or so.
Total distance so far: 672 miles