Coolin View Portree

... so (maybe I was tired then! plus it was warmer...). Absolutely fantastic to climb them both back to back though. I wanted to climb another smaller hill but couldn't locate it as I drove further round the Loch... before I got to Balloch I decided to head back for a much needed shower and some food! I love this climbing malarky... bring on the next lot :D

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 ...

Today's route from Inverarnan to Rowardennan has a reputation second only to the Devil's Staircase for being "difficult". Rocks and tree roots line the path at the northern end of Loch Lomond and the going is reported to be difficult.

It's with some trepidation that I set off then but the path isn't quite as bad as I feared. At least the rain has stopped! There is a lot of clambering up and down and in ...

... hostel.

On the way I meet Hugh, a retired librarian, who has been doing the LEJOG route in stages over several years. He's abandoned ideas of wild camping tonight and decided to join me at Crianlarich. We stock up at Crianlarich's village shop and I get overexcited at the sight of vegetables! I was getting the impression that vegetables were illegal in Scotland - apart from "tatties" of course!

Hugh is a very experienced walk leader who leads ...

... that I'm taking it face on. I'm frustrated that everyone I meet coming the other way looks almost dry! Still, my waterproofs and boots are doing an excellent job and underneath I'm not really wet. The moor seems bleak in this weather but on a clear day there are obviously stunning views to be had.

Heading down to Inverornan, the clouds suddenly roll away and the sun comes out. I take my chances and stop for a quick snack, revelling in the chance ...

... me on the road just seconds before I get there. Aargh! It's an hour to the next one so I plod back to the bar. It turns out one lovely couple are staying down in Glencoe and offer me a lift. This is a very kind offer as the youth hostel in Glencoe is actually two miles from the bus stop and I take it up immediately!

Entering my room at the hostel, I hear "hello again". It's Helen, an Australian teacher, who I met at the youth hostel in Inverness ...

John

The Isle of Skye was the highlight of the trip for me. We all remember the words to the Skye Boat song in which Bonnie Prince Charles fled Scotland but this island brought me close to tears a number of times as my senses were overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of nature.

The island was reached by ferry and we drove up to the capital Portree then did a trip through some of the most ...

... repellant with us. It was a very warm day, about 73 degrees. We even put on the air conditioning in the car. Friday was a clear and breezy morning. It actually got up to 26 degrees celcius, which is about 76 degrees f. This was our warmest day of the entire trip. We drove around the southwest area of Skye. It is quite beautiful there. The Cuillin Mountains are in this area and they are the tallest and most beautiful mountains in Skye.

... halyard as the backup and I soon found myself struggling to get the recalcitrant sail out of the mast, just below the first spreaders. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, with the joint efforts of everyone pulling the control lines when I asked and my pulling furiously on the sail at the jamming point, we got a bit more sail out. We were then joined by a very kind couple off a nearby Beneteau 42, Dave & Catherine and their Newfoundland, Tinga, who came to offer ...

... I packed up my sturdy frame pack I had just brutally punished through almost four weeks of traveling previous to this excursion with yet another weeks worth of clothes as well as my iPod, camera, and journal. At the hotel we hopped into the nice black Mercedes my parents rented and exited the narrow, one-way streets of Edinburgh to the north. We crossed of the Firth of Fourth bridge looking back at the ancient city we had just left and came down on the other side ...