Paul Lydon: West Highland Way - Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse Hotel

We had checked with the Bridge of Orchy Hotel yesterday evening to see if they served Breakfast to non-residents and they confirmed that they did, so breakfast was sorted.

The three girls we were sharing the bunkroom with were up at around 07:00 and were faffing around until about 08:00 getting dressed, etc., so we waited until they had gone before getting out of bed.

We were both up, packed and ready to go in 10 minutes and just needed to fill up water containers and flasks, which we did using the facilities provided in the Common Room next door.

We sorted out leaving the “travelling bag” so that it could be collected and then set off to the Hotel for breakfast. The breakfast was very good with quite a bit of choice on the menu instead of the usual “Full Scottish Breakfast” and it was £10 each which isn't surprising as it was a hotel after all. There were a couple of glass-fronted cabinets in the hotel Reception with some useful things for sale with a selection of bug repellent which probably sells well when the midges are biting. As we were having breakfast, there were rain showers periodically.

We settled up for breakfast and headed off across the actual Bridge (of Orchy) heading for today's destination: Kingshouse Hotel at Glen Coe on the other side of Rannoch Moor.

The route started on a stony footpath which gradually rose through some woods then onto a small viewpoint at Mam Carraigh. We had a quick look at what view there was but were being blown around by the wind and rain so didn't stay very long.

From here the path gradually dropped with views across to Loch Tulla as he headed towards the Inveraran Hotel and the rain got heavier.

Opposite the hotel, by a small stone bridge with a torrential stream flowing underneath, was a small wooden shed. And we made use of the shelter on the leeward side of the shed to take off our waterproof jackets (I was wearing my Paramo Third Element jacket with a “North Cape” Power Dry T-shirt underneath which I had worn every day while walking) to put on fleece tops or jackets (a Mountain Equipment Shroud fleece jacket in my case) underneath as it was a cooler day and even cooler with all the rain. We then replaced our waterproof jackets over the top.

Onwards we went on a tarmaced lane passing the hotel where there was a car with the German-speaking older lady we had seen yesterday and some other women. We saw Kevin from the first Bed and Breakfast in the hotel porch so presumable they had stayed overnight at the Inverarnan Hotel.

We followed the road to Forest Lodge after crossing another high river at Victoria Bridge, then through a gate onto a cobbled track: an ancient Drovers Road. The Drovers Road gradually rose leading towards Rannoch Moor heading for Glen Coe and was surfaced with roughly-shaped cobbles of stone which were not only hard on the feet but slippery as well. The rain was now even heavier making the cobbles more slippery and because the track was sloping, it was a pain to walk on so we tried to walk on the narrow grassy verges on either side.

The road passed a small fenced off wood and Karen spotted a female Red Deer standing in a clearing about 10 metres away. Obviously it felt safer with a fence between us so didn't immediately bound away as you would expect.

The track brought us across Black Mount moor with the surface becoming less regular stone and more of a mixed surface which was more flat and not slippery which was a lot more pleasant to walk on. And the rain stopped!

We stopped in the shelter of a bank of rocks near Ba Bridge while the rain had stopped for a while and had lunch. Even here in the middle of nowhere we had a visitor: a female chaffinch hoping for some crumbs.

Afterwards we went on our way and I paused to take a photo with my smart phone and post it on my FaceBook page.

The track swung around to the north-west and we could see the top of Glen Coe with the very large and obvious peak of Buachaille Etive Mor which was continuously changing in appearance as showers swept across the landscape followed by clear patches.

We could also see the small white building which was our destination for the night: Kingshouse Hotel.

We passed signs for the Glencoe Ski area with its ski lifts and passed the picturesque Blackrock Cottage, which is a climbing club hut, with the Buachaille looming up behind. Then following the track for about 740 metres to the A82 main road which threads its way through Glen Coe after having crossed Rannoch Moor by a different route.

After crossing the A82, we followed what must have been the original road and was now a single track road with potholed tarmac heading for the Kingshouse Hotel. We passed a Red Deer hind at the edge of a copse about a hundred metres away which was watching us carefully as we walked past.

We arrived at the Hotel at 15:30ish after a surprisingly excellent and enjoyable walk despite the weather, with absolutely stunning scenery. Rannoch Moor didn't have the feel of isolation I expected as you would feel for example in the middle of Kinder Scout back home in Derbyshire. This almost certainly was due to the good track which we followed. Of course in winter during a blizzard, things would be very different.

The walking was much more like what we were used to, like walking on the moors back home in the Peak District.

Our room (no.9) was at the side of the hotel facing the Buachaille and Glen Coe – we couldn't have got a better view. The room was quite large as well, which was good as we had a fair amount of damp gear to hang up and get dry, which we had scattered around the room hanging from various handy objects!

It was noticeable that there were very few cars parked in the car park as the fairly large number of people staying at the hotel had obviously walked there. There wasn't much in the way of alternative accommodation unless you were back-packing and self-sufficient or were prepared for a very long day's walk and continu onwards to Kinlochleven without stopping in Glen Coe.

While we sat in the bar for a while in the early evening, some rather wet walkers arrived who hadn't any booking at the hotel, and after being told there was no room, had to arrange for a taxi to bring them to Glencoe village to seek accommodation for the night there.

We recognised several others from previous overnight stops including Kevin and partner which isn't surprising as most of us had set out from Milngavie on the same day and had been staying at roughly the same locations each night.

Back in our room, Karen spotted some red deer hinds just outside, perhaps tempted to investigate the hotel for scraps of food in the evening when it was quieter.

We had a nice evening meal of steak and ale pie then sat in the bar reading for a while and chatting to a trio of women from Glasgow who were also walking the Way.

We went up to our room at around 21:00 and read for a while then turned off the lights and listened to the wind whistling outside despite the double glazing before falling asleep.