Paul Lydon: West Highland Way - Milngavie to Tyndrum

Up in the morning at 07:30, which was to become the usual getting-up time for the trip, we had breakfast at 08:00 in the kitchen of the bungalow.

Due to a misunderstanding, we thought breakfast was at 08:00, whereas this was the time the lady who ran the bunkhouse had to go to work and we should be finished by.

In the end there was no problem as her daughter, who was still in bed, would sort out everything after we had gone.

The breakfast was cereal and tea or coffee, as arranged. Afterwards, we packed our rucksacks and left the “travelling bag” in the small wooden building at the side of the house to be picked up later by a van and transported to our accommodation for this evening.

We had used this facility provided by a firm called Sherpa Van when we walked the Dales Way last year. The plan is that you carry whatever you need for the day's walk plus any extra kit such as spare clothing, water, food, first aid kit, etc. while other items such as clean clothes to wear in the evening, washing kit, reading material etc. is packed in a separate bag which magically turns up when you arrive at your accommodation in the evening.

This means you can have a lightly-loaded rucksack while you are walking during the day but can still afford the luxury of having other items available when you stop overnight.

Off we went at 08:30 and walked back to the centre of Milngavie (which is actually pronounced “mullguy”) where the official start to the West Highland Way is marked by a stone obelisk. We bought some sandwiches for lunch later in the day and also some lovely sausage rolls in a Greggs bakery which was right by the start. The sausage rolls were to be the rest of our breakfast.

There was a man there from the Tourist Office, which was also very near, who asked us to pop in as they liked to know how many walkers were using the West Highland Way. They also had a card with spaces for various locations along the Way to affix an ink stamp. At the end of the walk, you could have a certificate commemorating the walk providing you had at least one stamp each day of the walk. Of course they charged £5 for these, but we decided to have one each and also a “West Highland Way” T-shirt each.

The West Highland Way runs from the outskirts of Glasgow (Scotland's largest City), runs past Loch Lomond (the UK's largest body of fresh water) and ends in Fort William, 95 miles away, at the foot of the UK's highest Mountain, Ben Nevis.

Unlike yesterday, which was sunny and dry, today started overcast and cool and remained that way all day except for some light rain. Actually this is better weather for walking anyway, although not having rain would be better.

After a few photos at the starting point, we got going at 09:30ish and after walking through a small car park, we followed a path through what felt like park land passing a number of people out walking their dogs.

Soon we were following what seemed to be an old railway line with an earth bank on one side which covered a pipeline carrying water from Loch Lomond transporting the water to various towns and cities.

At one point we found a table set with some containers with slices of cake and some flasks with tea or coffee and an “honesty box” so that passing walkers could have a hot drink and a snack.

Later on we also found a small freezer outside a cottage in Gartness with ice creams and chocolate bars for sale, again with an honesty box to leave your payment.

As we neared this evening's stop-over location, the village of Drymen, we walked a section of quiet minor road and sat in the shelter of some rhododendron bushes on a grassy bank to finish our sandwiches. We had stopped for lunch at roughly the half-way point earlier in the day.

We continued onwards to Drymen and found our Bed and Breakfast for the night, called “Glenalva” on the main road leaving Drymen which was actually on the route of the West Highland Way. There was a sign on the front door saying “Check in time 16:00 to 18:00” but it was only 14:40!

So we walked a half mile into the centre of Drymen to have tea and some cake in a café until it was 16:00.

We then returned to the Bed and Breakfast and were let in and after being shown to our room, we each had a shower and changed into our clean clothes for the evening.

The landlady had recommended the Clachan Inn for an evening meal but she said to be there by 18:00 as it gets very busy, which is always a good sign.

So, by 17:45 we walked the half mile back to the village centre again. The location for getting our WHW log cards stamped was the nearby Ptarmigan Bar in the Winnock pub, so we nipped in there first to get that done.

Then we went into the Clachan where we had a very nice meal of sausages and mash. We returned to The Ptarmigan for a drink as people were arriving at The Clachan to put their names down for a place to sit and have a meal. It was indeed very busy.

Afterwards, we returned to the Bed and Breakfast. So, altogether, we walked an extra two miles!

We read for a while and by 21:00, I was falling asleep.