Paul Lydon: West Highland Way - Drymen to Coille Mhor, near Rowardennan

We were up at 07:30 with breakfast at 08:00 which was a bit more substantial than yesterday's with cereal, bacon and scrambled egg plus toast.

There was another couple staying at the Bed and Breakfast who were also walking the WHW and they had arrived yesterday evening after us. The landlady was telling us about a couple of American girls who had stayed there recently while walking the WHW. They had breakfast, again while it was raining outside. When they left, they turned right and headed back towards Drymen. She went out after them and told them that they were going the wrong way. They replied “We don't do RAIN!” and were intending to get a taxi or bus to head for home. An odd attitude while walking in Scotland!

It had rained heavily several times overnight with light rain during breakfast. We were away by 09:00 and were back on the WHW route after simply stepping through the front garden gate! Luckily the rain had stopped by now and the sun was making an appearance.

We walked a short way along the road then followed a fenced path leading to a forestry track and we had views of Loch Lomond in the distance, where we would eventually end up. But first we had to traverse Conich Hill.

There was a broad track curving around towards Conich Hill which started with a steep, short stepped section, then a gradually-rising rough path with sections worn through to the bare rock which was a conglomerate of some sort with large rounded pebbles looking much like rough concrete.

The path missed out the summit by a short distance and continued just below to one side and then made its way down much more steeply on the other side a sit dropped towards Balmaha.

There had been several short showers of rain and I had begun the day by wearing the gilet part of my Paramo Third Element jacket as it was still quite mild. When the rain increased I slipped the hood and sleeves section on without having to take my rucksack off which is a useful feature. Its a pity that Paramo have recently stopped producing this unusual but very flexible jacket.

We dropped down the opposite side of Conich Hill with paved sections, grassy sections and stepped sections until we arrived at the foot of the hill and found ourselves in a park leading after a short distance to a Visitors Centre and car park in Balmaha on the shore of Loch Lomond.

We bought some sandwiches in the village shop next to the Oak Tree Inn and sat at a pick-nick table eating lunch with several other back-packers.

After lunch, the path continued following either by the Loch or up and down tracks through woods. Luckily there were only short sections of road to walk on.

We stopped for a tea break at a car park at Milarrochy further along the Loch-side and again at Sallochy.

By now it was 16:00 and we weren't sure of the exact location of tonight's Bed and Breakfast, Coille Mhor, so we tried phoning using Karen's mobile phone but there was no answer.

Continuing onwards, we reached a footbridge in woods with a notice about another Bed and Breakfast (we had seen others at different locations), and below this was a notice with directions to Coille Mhor. Bingo!

We followed the directions (over the footbridge, then over a second, up a twisty path and down the other side to a clearing. From there through a purple barrier then down the road for a few hundred metres).

There was a short, very steep and stepped section with two pairs of walkers who it sounded like were also heading for Coille Mhor and one of the men came rapidly past us only to have to wait for his partner at the top as we walked onwards. The hare and the tortoise!

We arrived at 17:00 and were shown where the drying room was (in a large shed) and after dropping some stuff off in the drying room, we found our room and had showers which were very welcome after a long walk of 15 miles.

The house was lovely but fairly isolated. The only place to get an evening meal was at the Rowardennan Hotel on the Loch Lomond shore. Other than the hotel, there were one or two other buildings, and that was about it. Although it was only a mile and a half from the Bed and Breakfast to the Hotel, luckily the landlady gave us and her other guests a lift to the hotel and picked us up afterwards at 20:00 as we suggested.

We saw the couple from yesterday also at the hotel bar having a meal plus the walkers who we had seen earlier. There was also a young man who was sitting at a nearby table looking intensely around at everyone else, taking greater interest in some who had a West Highland Way guide book. After his meal, he pulled a huge rucksack out from somewhere and after getting it on his back, set off for wherever he was planning to spend the night.