Kinloch Lodge Guest House Inverness

... peak ahead of me. Two words. Close. Steep. It looked almost far to close and far too steep to see how the path was going to get me up there. But hills... mountains... have a funny way of surprising you like that. The next bit was super steep though - hundreds of stone steps this time, and clambouring once more across the river. By the time ...

Today, I was planning to go to the youth hostel at the castle, but the Land Rover had other plans!!!

Oh dear, game over! I popped out to start the Land Rover this morning at around 9am and the engine was smoking like a trooper and sounding a lot worse than it normally does. I called the AA at around 10:00 and they turned up at at around 10:45 from a local garage. He told me that the engine is fairly terminal (piston problem ...

... will go out of their way to help a stranger.

Things that made me smile today:

The multitude of frogs and toads enjoying the wet ground
The two couples who gave me sponsorship at Inversnaid
Feral goats at Inversnaid - the book is not wrong about their smell!
All the lovely people I met at the youth hostel
The drying room - it was extremely hot and all my kit is now properly dry!

... is on the path today too.

This area also has links to some of the earliest Christian arrivals from Ireland, with the ruined St Fillian's Priory reported to be the site of the original monastic cells of St Fillian who arrived from Ireland in the 8th century and spread Christianity amongst the Picts. Certainly it was an important site - Robert the Bruce raised it to priory status and, even after its dissolution, local people kept up the cemetery.

Inverarnan, Scotland, United Kingdom charlief

... night tonight!

Tyndrum is disappointingly a glorified layby but the hostel is lovely with plenty of space, a great drying room and I'm looking forward to my day off!

Things that made me smile today:

The sun coming out at Loch Tulla
The gate with the "Please Close the Gate" sign. It was stood all alone with no supporting fence, hedge or wall for miles!
Getting to Tyndrum - I was pretty tired after 64 miles in three days!

... because once I get to Kinlochleven, the mid-point of this stage, I've got a long slog uphill over several miles to get to the Devil's Staircase, which I'll then descend.

With this in mind, I set off early. The WHW starts at a roundabout on the outskirts of Fort William! Where else?! Still, the town is quickly left behind and walkers head onto a drovers' road that leads past Ben Nevis and later views of the Mamores. It's a grey day but the cloud ...

... br>
Naughty List:
1. Stopped at a roadside cafe, much like our Cracker Barrel. Paid 5.50p (around $7 USD) for 2 pieces of bread, prepackaged shredded cheddar, and a couple large chunks of ham. Oh, and crisps and what they call a salad, but was really some mutated version of cole slaw. Really??...I mean, really? They could have at least melted the cheese.
2. The 2 guys next to me talked about comic books ALL day. No exaggeration ...

... brought it all to life and now I have finally figured out who did what to whom. The shocker was that the battle was over in one hour! The walk was in a downpour, and very chilly, so only 8 of us braved it. Close by were the Clava Cairns, another must see sight. There were three cairns (piles of rocks over a burial site), with standing stone circles around. This was free to walk in and around in a nice park. It is actually ...

... Eileen Doonan castle is amazing in terms of its current state, and is still used to this day by the clan who have rule and power over it. It is luckily open to the public and was exquisite inside and out. Another important and true event in Scotland's history is the massacre of the McDonald clan by the Campbell clan at a place called Glen Coe. The McDonalds upon seeing the cold and suffering traveling Campbell clan extended their Scottish hospitality in the ...

... her walk, we had started our climb through the heather clad hills, still being pursued by midgies. Unfortunately Mike had to stop to sort his boots and whilst we initially hung around for moral support we quickly thought 'bugger that' and headed off to a more exposed spot. Mike suffered a bit for his stop but it made him more greatful of the climb! It didn't start off too hard and the path was pretty good but soon our enthusiasm took over and we ...