Friday 29 June – inverarnen to Bridge of Orchy
After yesterday’s hot and tiring walk, the prospect of another hot day – an even longer 30km/20 miles – could have been very daunting. Fortunately, we’d had the wisdom to have booked a pack transfer for today, so it was with some relief that we headed out with just our day-pack. The day might be long, but it would be a lot more comfortable. The maps also indicated we’d now be without the up-and-down scrambles.
Our initial route took us up the River Falloch valley. Though we’d left early to avoid the heat, by 9am it was already getting rather warm and the track had little shelter. Under a cloudless blue sky and not a hint of breeze, it could have been a divine day had it been cooler. Would it be like this all day?
We were greatly relieved when, after a couple of hours, the track ascended the valley side a bit, and somehow the heat abated, aided by the stirrings of a gentle breeze. With the route now fairly level, things became more comfortable and looked a lot more promising. It got even better when we rounded one bend to see a large chiller box, laden with cold drinks and chocolate bars! It was clearly restocked by the local farmer, and run on an honesty box system. It’s probably the most surprising and most welcome sight we’d seen on the day’s route for some time, and we took advantage of it. The can of Coke went down very quickly, and now refreshed and reinvigorated, we resumed our walk.
The next bonus came a little later, when the track entered a coniferous forest for several kilometres. In the shade of the trees it was much cooler and altogether more pleasant. Just as we were about to leave the shade we had the delight of a lovely little stream, complete with rocks to sit on and enjoy a rest and a snack. Surprisingly there were no horse flies – or midges for that matter – so it was rather pleasant. Things were definitely looking up!
They got even better in the small village of Tyndrum, a traditional stopping point and watering hole for motorists (and many a Way walker). The café there was doing a roaring trade in hot and cold food. We settled for a slice of cake, absolutely gorgeous and large enough to share, and a couple of Cokes.
Normally we have diet drinks but today we had a craving for the full-on, sugar overload version, and boy was it good! We suspect our bodies were telling us something… we didn’t care about the health warnings as we figured we would well and truly burn it all off.
Tyndrum was at the 20km mark, and we had a further 11km to go. The route took us up and out of the village through a valley with the busy A road and the railway to the north our constant companions. Despite this and the heat it was actually a very pleasant walk that followed the old military road and so was wide, straight and fairly level. Around us the mountains – and they were definitely mountains, not hills – rose steeply out of the valley, some over 1000m high, creating a most dramatic landscape indeed. The 11km passed remarkably quickly, and by 4.30pm we were at the settlement of Bridge of Orchy.
Our night’s accommodation is called the West Highland Way Sleeper, and it’s actually the old railway station on the platform! Part has been kitted out in bunkroom style with a few basic facilities, a bit too basic really but the alternative was the expensive hotel down the road. While we wouldn’t include it on our ‘must stay again’ list, there was certainly a curiosity factor in staying what is still a functional station – while we were there a couple of trains came by. In contrast, dinner at the Bridge of Orchy was a very nice affair – and yes, Peter did try a couple more whiskies…
(Note: We have noted this blog is lacking the usual raft of exclamation marks, so for those of you who like them, here’s a few for good measure: !!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Distance today: 31km/20 miles
View north from the trail towards Bridge of Orchy
The station at Bridge of Orchy – our accommodation on left
Scrumpy to Scotch 