West Highland Way Day 1.
Distance today: 15.9 miles.
Total distance: 273.6 miles.
Accommodation: campsite.
The first day of the West Highland Way was marked by some miserable weather. Not raining heavily but definitely wet. I rejoined the official route a couple of hundred yards down from the campsite and from there on it was a continual climb for quite a way. It was my last chance to see Ben Nevis – or at least would have been were it not shrouded in mist. I still had pangs of guilt but consoled myself that the conditions would have been rubbish. As I plodded uphill with full pack and head-to-toe in wet weather gear, my morale was not improved by a succession of runners almost nonchalantly overtaking me and then disappearing into the distance.
After the long ascent, strangely enough you then find yourself in a valley. Of sorts. The undulating track threads its way through a series of mountains rising on either side. While the weather was not exactly summer-like, the rain had relented sufficiently for me to be able to appreciate my surroundings. There is an eerie beauty to this bleak and desolate place. Not necessarily a place you would want to be sampling extreme conditions but certainly a dramatic backdrop if large ’empty’ spaces are your thing – as they are mine. I’m sure it’s one of the reasons why the trail attracts so many visitors.
For whatever reason, few people choose to hike the route north to south. Prevailing winds maybe. On the other hand, as I approached the halfway point, there started to be a steady flow of people coming in the opposite direction. Conversation usually extended to “hi” or a possible ‘thanks” if I had patiently waited while an obstacle was negotiated. I did bump into a couple of guys who were wild camping under a small strip of trees – possibly the only ones in the valley. We got chatting, with me inevitably telling them about my trip. As I left, one of them offered some lovely words of encouragement: “rather you than me”. Thanks for that.
After making a descent as steep as this morning’s ascent, I reached the town of Kinlochleven, my planned stopping place for the day. My attempts to find accommodation didn’t get off to a good start. I thought I’d try the newer Blackwater hostel/campsite up by the ice climbing centre but they were full. The guy on reception suggested a place (near the area I had walked before I reached town) where I could wild-camp if all else failed. He also gave me the number of MacDonald’s Hotel & Cabins but when I rang them, there was no joy there either. As it was roughly on the way to where I had to go for the wild camping spot, I thought I may as well go there in person just to see if there was anything they could do. Lo and behold, miracles do happen. An American group had previously paid for a tent pitch but no longer required it because they had decided to upgrade to a cabin. They told the hotel to give the pitch, pre-paid to the next person who needed it. And that was me. Happy days.
While the campsite didn’t appear to be much more than a bit of grass in front of the cabins, the compensation was undoubtedly its location, right next to Loch Leven, and with various mountains in the background. Also worthy of Trip Advisor brownie points were their showers. Proper heat and proper power which were particularly appreciated after a day largely spent in the wet. All in all, it was definitely worth a celebratory pint in the bar.
