Tag Archives: Loch Lomond

The West Highland Way – Rowardennan to Inverarnan

August 4, 2022Hiking, Scotland, TravelInverarnan, Loch Lomond, Rowardennan, West Highland Waykarenfranza

August 4 – What do we do on our rest day? We walk around, of course!

Today was our first opportunity to order a full Scottish breakfast, which is very much like a full English – fried egg, tomato, farm sausage, beans, black pudding (blood sausage), mushrooms and bacon (looks like ham). We pronounced it excellent.

It’s a beautiful sunny morning, but a chilly 50 degrees, so we put on our fleece jackets and set off to see the first part of the hike to Inverarnan.

Not sure what this is, but isn’t it interesting?

We met a Ukrainian who was spraying foliage along the trail. We asked what he was spraying for, and he told us that he was killing rhododendrons, which are very bad. We pressed: the shrubs with pink flowers in the spring? Yes – very bad. Huh!

We encountered a family – mother, son and girlfriend of son – having a jolly walk. What a good son!

August 5 – So here is our conundrum. The guidebooks all agree that the next leg of our journey is the hardest day of the Way. It is over 14 miles of rugged walk with lots of big hills. Jim is under strict orders not to let me die on this vacation. There is no bus, no Uber, no way to get north of here as the road ceases to exist on this (east) side of the Loch. There are no bridges or ferries that can get us across the Loch to civilization. What to do?

Jim, who always says there is no corner so sharp that it cannot be rounded, found a solution, of course. For a princely sum, we hired a taxi to take us 30 miles all the way back to a town at the southern tip of Loch Lomond. From there, we caught a bus heading north on the west side of the Loch, and in 45 minutes, presto: Inverarnan (In-ver-ARR-nun).

Once again, not a town, just a hotel and a campsite. Once again, we were given a cabin, very cozy and nice.

We spent the rest of the day walking south back down the West Highland Way to see a few miles of what we missed on the trail today.

Walking the trail, which is a stream. Lots of jumping on rocks to keep our boots semi-dry.

Our last views of Loch Lomond. We’ll miss you!

A wonderful day.

The West Highland Way – Drymen to Balmaha

August 4, 2022Hiking, Scotland, TravelBalmaha, Conic Hill, Drymen, Loch Lomondkarenfranza

August 2 – We shared breakfast with our B and B companions – a couple from Holland and a young couple from Paris. We all practiced saying Balmaha (Bal-muh-HAAA). They are all walking 14 miles today, but we are only walking seven. Some people walk 21!

After yesterday’s long but fairly flat walk, today’s route will be more challenging, requiring a steep climb to get over Conic Hill. The weather is overcast and gray, but the promised rain isn’t falling yet. Off we go.

Conic Hill – see the trail heading up on the right?

We met a couple from Calgary, and walked together until the trail started to get steep. Everybody is faster than me when going uphill.

We saw our first glimpse of Loch Lomond. Remember the old song?

You take the high road and I’ll take the low road
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye
For me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonny bonny banks of Loch Lomond.

Loch Lomond is a great long lake and we will be walking beside it for days. Gaelic for Dummies advised to always pronounce Loch as though clearing one’s throat. Lochhhh LOW-mun .

First glimpse of Loch Lomond in the distance

As we climbed, the rain started, and the trail was busy with hikers ascending the narrow path. The trail became a stream, with water cascading down as we went up. I was going really slowly, and looking for a place to rest, but there was none. No pix of the uphill slog – you’ll have to use your imagination! Finally, we got to the top.

What goes up, must come down, and so we did. The rain stopped, and the views were gorgeous.

We walked triumphantly into Balmaha, and found our B and B. Our hostess invited us to use her hot tub – what luxury!

Balmaha is a lakeside tourist town, with lots of boats in the harbor and families on holiday.

Their hometown hero, Tom Weir, has a statue at the waterside. I wonder what he did to deserve it?

A tiring but successful day!

The West Highland Way – Balmaha to Rowardennan

August 2, 2022Hiking, Scotland, TravelBalmaha, Loch Lomond, Rowardennan, West Highland Waykarenfranza

August 3 – After a hearty breakfast, we put Balmaha in our rearview, and walked on. Once again, it’s gray but not raining, temperature in the 50s.

Because most hikers do not stop overnight in Balmaha, the trail was quiet this morning, as we walked along the shore of Loch Lomond.

In a little while, the sun came out.

Even when the path moved close to the road, we could still hear the sounds of the nearby Loch.

A house flying the Scottish flag – St. Andrews Cross

We met a man from Bangalore, taking a holiday hike before starting his new job in Ireland. Lots of young people are hiking with big packs on their backs, and some are just out for the day.

Jim climbing some stone steps – I’m not far behind

We saw some Oreo cows – they are actually called belted Galloway cows. They looked content.

So we followed the up and down path throughout the day, ending up in Rowardennan (Row-ar-DEN-an) at the edge of the Loch.

There isn’t a town, just a hotel and a youth hostel. People come here to enjoy the Loch, or to climb Ben Lomond, a huge mountain that is, thankfully, not part of our plans. Rowardennan is literally the end of the road – there is no way to proceed north from here except on foot.

We hear Polish, German, French and languages we can’t decipher at dinner. I order steak and ale pie, which is neither steak nor pie, but chunks of pot roast in brown gravy served with mash (potatoes) and veg.