Creag Mhor Lodge Fort William

... relentless and the headwind means 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 ...

... very easy walking and the sun is out but after a few miles I'm a bit bored of the rather relentless straightness of the path! Still I meet some nice people en route - a pair of walkers reccying the route for a charity event next year, an older Australian guy who had never done any walking in his life and had come to Scotland to tackle the West Highland and Great ...

... streets and t-junctions, we eventually found the main motorways out of Edinburgh.... and finally on the way to Oban. It was special to be back beside the sea after so long.... the smell, the water and the sounds of birds. The seagulls here were huge!.... about twice the size of those at home. It had the lazy atmosphere so consistent with seaside towns, even with a busy metropolis so close by.

... up taking a little ferry back across Loch Linhe at Ardgour. Six pounds and 40 pence for a 3 minute crossing - daylight robbery but it was 8.30pm, almost dark, and with about 15miles around the side of a Loch on a single track road it seemed like a bargain.

We have continued with great weather and it was topped off tonight with the most wonderful sunset... fingers crossed for a repeat performance tomorrow.

Another castle I wasn't able to get across to. The water level was too high and they weren't running the boat. I hiked as far as I could across the boggy field, but after again going shin deep into water, I decided to turn back.

Some interesting waterfalls along the way over here, as well as behind the castle.

Leaving here we carried on up to the infamous Glencoe – along the way we past through Doune which course for you Monty Python freaks you should know of the cow tossing over the grand castle... well that in fact was the Doune castle in the movie! From here we continued and past through Callandar – was a MUST stop at The Fudge Shop which sold “Scotland's best tablet” (like ...

... old scotch. The distillery itself was quaint and small. We completed the tour in only 10 minutes or so. They have only three workers in the distillery! They produce only three barrels of whiskey per day (12-15 barrels per week.) Most distilleries produce 50 times this much! We loved that because we felt like we got an intimate look at the distilling process and because it was fun to say we'd been to the smallest distillery in Scotland.

After the tour and a quick bite ...

... the top of the castle they'd built. A carefully kept tower house is in fairly good form, although most of the castle complex around is gone. Fine carvings in the rock can still be seen around the windows which make for enchanting details. But it's the setting which is the most remarkable. You really feel isolated and remote on this rugged shorline. With few tourists it's even better. We had a lovely picnic and soaked up the sun!

... the 'tourist path' things got easier but we were still a several hour hike from 'home'. The best thing about a trip like this is the camaraderie. It was Simon and Jegs turn to cook and they did a massive pasta followed by jam roly poly and custard. By the fire we toasted our socks and bonded over shared experiences. Ordinarily we might also have sunk a few beers but after tea we succumbed to fatigue and the lure of the bunkbarn.

I think Robbie Burns forgot a line in the poem I mentioned earlier. It should read, "The best laid plans o' mice and men gang aft agley (especially in Scotland)." We're not due here in Fort William for three or four more days (have lost track of days and times) but here I sit, typing in the sole internet cafe. It's a long story. I've got some time to tell it. The last time that we wrote was in Edinburgh; from there we hopped a train to Milngavie (via Glasgow) for the ...