LEJOG
Distance walked – 23.7km (14.8miles)
Total Distance – 1575.2km (984.5miles)
Space is neither truth nor lie
Into the void we have to travel
To find the clue which will unravel
Hawkwind – Space is Deep
I woke early this morning and lay in bed thinking about our journey. We are both fairly certain now, that barring any major mishap we are going to be able to complete this walk. We are still both mentally and psychologically engaged in the trip, finding enjoyment and wonder in every day. Physically we seem to have reached an equilibrium at which our bodies are coping with the stress of the distances we are walking every day. Our only real complaint is that our feet are chronically sore. We have no blisters or any outward signs of damage. They just ache from the constant pressure being put on them. I have developed numb patches over both heels while Louisa has some numb patches and sore ankles. Despite this, once we get going in the morning we tend to forget about it for the rest of the day until we stop in the evening and find ourselves hobbling around again.
It has not stopped us from falling in love with long distance walking. We seem to spend quite a lot of our time every day talking about which walks we want to do and which one we should do next. Lying in bed this morning I was reminded of the word onism, which is a brilliant word that refers to the frustration that occurs from being stuck in just one body that inhabits only one place at a time, and by extension, the subsequent awareness of how little of the world that you will ever experience. We would need many lifetimes to complete all the walks we want to do! (It is actually a made-up word coined by John Koenig from his highly recommended book, Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows).
Morning cloud over the loch
Early morning philosophising over, we rose to see low cloud and mist hanging over the loch visible from our bedroom window. The youth hostel was excellent, so good that we decided to stay for breakfast as we had slightly shorter day today. No breakfast, however, could prepare us for what awaited us outside. We stepped into a thick cloud of midges from the moment we ventured out of the hostel. We have both never experienced anything like it despite visiting the Scottish Highlands previously. We couldn’t stand still for more than 5 seconds without being savaged by a seemingly infinite number of the tiny beasts. The air was so thick with them that we could feel ourselves inhaling them. It was straight on with the midge-nets, and no unnecessary stopping.
Midge Net
The path wandered along the loch initially, before rising higher via a stony road. It began gently raining not long after our departure, so it was full wet weather gear for the first time in weeks. The midge nets worked well but inevitably made you feel a bit claustrophobic. Still, this was preferable to the complete insanity that would have ensued from being unprotected from the midge.
Lochside path
The road gave us intermittent views of the Loch below us before descending through beautiful woodland to follow the Loch shore again. It was really lovely walking and the 12 kilometres to Inversnaid passed in no time. We stopped at the excellent Inversnaid Hotel for some early lunch. The Hotel has done a great job in providing for WHW walkers. They have built a fantastic annex for walkers with a large anteroom for backpacks, poles, wet boots and gear. The annex is warm and has great views of the loch. We were able to order tea and scones as well as eat our own lunch at the comfortable communal benches. We would highly recommend stopping here on the WHW.
More Loch
After leaving the hotel, we set off on a section that our guidebook refers to as the most difficult section of the WHW. It was certainly undulating with lots of rocky scrambling and climbing over and around boulders. We made quite slow progress until suddenly, almost without warning the path opened up and the walking became easy as we approached the upper part of the loch.
Yet more Loch
We passed the pier at Ardleish where a ferry can be summoned by raising a cone, to climb slowly up for our final view of the loch.
Farewell Loch
Low cloud hung to the mountains around the loch and in true Scottish style there was simultaneous sunshine and rain as we farewelled Loch Lomond.
Camping Pod
We climbed up into an amazing valley between mountains before a descent through woodland brought us to the farm and campsite at Beinglas. We were soon checked into our camping pod before having an excellent meal at the campsite pub. Another great day on the West Highland Way. Maybe onism isn’t such a bad thing?
