Total miles: 12.7
Elevation gain: 1,375 ft
Time walking: 10am – 4:45pm
Miles to date: 1,097.6
Compared to yesterday, today was a dream! Beautiful scenery (that we could actually see), easy path, dry (once the morning drizzle had cleared) and even ending in beautiful sunshine and blue sky! The only issue was that my feet weren’t terribly happy today. They were not pleased to go into my boots this morning, the first time it has felt genuinely unpleasant to be putting my boots back on, and although they warmed up and came back to life after a mile or so they quickly tired and were aching like crazy with several miles still to go. I’m hoping it’s just a temporary blip and it isn’t downhill from here! Perhaps (hopefully) it is just my feet getting used to the ‘new’ boots…
We both found it a bit hard to get up this morning after yesterday but at least we had a good breakfast to get us going. There were lots of hikers around, some left fairly early and some left after us, but there were a fair few on the trail today and we crossed paths with a few of them several times. It was drizzling lightly as we set off but not enough for the waterproofs thankfully. Benglas Falls, a stunning cascade of white water spreading out across the rocky hillside across the glen was looking and sounding spectacular – one good thing about all the rain! The path followed a decent, probably almost driveable, track up through the beginnings of Glen Falloch, where the scenery opened out to craggy hills partially shrouded in mist, with the River Falloch coursing through at the bottom. Numerous streams headed down to the river from the hillside – definitely no shortage of water today – and the sound of cascading waterfalls, from small and dainty to big and thunderous, filled the still morning air. We had glimpses of the Falls of Falloch from above but I think the best viewpoint would be from the other side of the river where the path is closer. It would have been a bit of a detour though and I wasn’t sure it would live up to the Falls of Clyde!
Just over three miles and a few small climbs in we stopped for a quick break having made good time on the easy terrain. At this rate today was going to be a short day! Our legs were reminding us that they were a little tired though, and my shoulder is complaining a little louder each day, so we took care to rest from time to time. The handy thing about lots of streams to cross is that there are a fair few bag-height bridges to rest on! We are also hungry. I think I am more or less on top of the calorie intake now, although some days I’m far hungrier than others. I just make sure I have lots of snacks to hand, with spare snacks for the hungrier days!
Shortly after our break we crossed under the railway line through a tunnel that we had to crouch down to get through. One of the (many) times I’m glad I’m not a 6ft plus guy! The path climbed up again the other side and tracked along the opposite hillside of the glen. The views were stunning! The sun wasn’t out yet but it was brighter and the light made interesting patterns on the hillside. It was a shame that the road that threads through the glen was quite busy and loud but the rest of the glen was peaceful. We could see several groups or couples dotted along the path as it followed the hillside, all in bright colours with their waterproof rucksack covers or high vis gear or just bright clothes. We also came across several cows, thankfully of the very friendly, docile variety, with fluffy calves, looking rather bedraggled after yesterday’s rain. There were also lots of very muddy patches needing to be skirted around, and big puddles, which I just sploshed through. Love my boots and waterproof socks! We stopped for lunch just before the halfway point before we headed into the forest so we could make the most of the view. It was a good lunch, we’d picked it up from the Drovers Inn, although I think the most expensive packed lunch I will ever eat – £7.95 for a tuna sandwich, a juice carton, an apple, a packet of crisps and a cereal bar!! Still, it was sustenance and meant we didn’t need to detour into Crianlarich for lunch. It amused me however that the cereal bar was an “Alpen Light” which proudly stated that it contained only 70 calories. Perfect hiker food…??!! Hmmm, I think not…! We’d sat on the side of the path on a sloping gravel bank, not the best choice of seating as we kept sliding off the tarpaulin and had to wedge ourselves in slightly, but the view was nice! Typically, about 100m further on we spotted a couple of perfectly situated benches just before the trees. Ah well!
The detour to Crianlarich leaves the main path just before the forest, at Crianlarich Crossroads where another path leads down a different glen. More paths to explore another day! There was a large group of Americans gathered around, presumably out for a day hike and they were very jovial, although apparently not too keen on the hills! We crossed paths a few times as we headed up into the forest but beyond that the only person we saw for several miles was a lone trail runner. Stunning place to run, even if I do think they are a bit bonkers! (Yes, I know, I’m sure they’d say the same about me…). The forest was pretty; coniferous but not overly dense, with bright green spongey moss covering the forest floor and bluey green lichen frosting the gnarled bark. A place where fairies live, no doubt! The sun had come out and dappled on the forest floor, making the bubbling streams sparkle on their way down the hillside. At the bottom we passed under a beautiful railway bridge and paused on the wall by the river in the sun to rest my bag and our feet for a bit. We didn’t dare stop too long though – every time we stopped our feet hurt even more!
A mile or so further on we passed the ruins of St. Fillan’s Priory, all covered in moss, and a burial ground with ancient looking gravestones. Just past that the path goes through a campsite with a little shop. As we were still making good time we decided to stop for an ice cream to make the most of the sun (it is supposed to rain for the next few days) and the civilisation! The little shop was great, selling lots of useful snacks and bits of food. I think they even did tea and coffee and bacon rolls!
Highly tempted to stop right there (they had wigwams!) we shouldered our packs for the last couple of miles, thankfully with stunning views of the Crianlarich Hills (all pointy mountains) behind us and the wide glen we were walking along. The path followed a pretty river through light woodland, past the lochan into which – legend has it – Robert the Bruce threw his sword, and then a winding path through Tyndrum Community Forest, a forest regeneration project where the trees are all still quite small. Our feet were complaining quite loudly by this point but it was a pretty walk. We were thrilled when a sign indicated we only had 500m to go to our campsite, a little closer than expected, and we picked up the pace excitedly.
We reached “By the Way” footsore but happy, thrilled to have arrived at a sensible hour with time to rest, eat and enjoy the evening. We checked in and got chatting to the owner who it turned out had himself walked LEJOG 12 years ago! Except he did it January-March, climbing mountains along the way. Nutter! Great guy though, really interesting to hear about his version! Tonight (and tomorrow (an early rest day)) we are staying in a hobbit hut! It’s really cute, a little wooden hut with mattresses and electricity – glamping I guess! We cooked dinner (pasta and sauce) on my stove and somehow the evening has disappeared. Still, for once I’m finished writing this blog before 10pm which makes a change! Definitely need to do some stretching and massaging tonight though, I have not been good at that lately and it’s showing. Need to last another 300 miles! And tomorrow I need to plan those 300 miles…!!
