Day 3) Ardess to Inverarnan, West Highland Way
Friday 2nd September – 13.5 miles/21 kilometres
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We recommend that you pick up litter on route (yes, other people's litter!), like we did! Even orange peel is not OK as litter - it can take up to 2 years to decompose!
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We took the lower path along Loch Lomond, some recent storm damage made the going difficult in places, but this a fun alternative to the main forest track.
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Numerous steep sections of path can be found on the lower path. Lots of up and down in places.
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On occasion, our way was blocked by fallen trees; some easy scrambling over rocks is needed in places.
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By the shores of Loch Lomond
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Big slabs of rock sloping down into the loch make a great place to stop for lunch.
We managed to leave our campsite by 10:40 today, a decent improvement on the day before, but pretty lax by many campers standards! Again, our camp breaking was organised and efficient. Jo on washing and breakfast, Alan on journal, both on tent and inner. We depart and walk along the forest track for short while, but here the WHW splits and there is an opportunity for a tougher shore scramble, which we enthusiastically take! This path is much more fun, with lots of up and down, tree roots, trees, and boulders over 3 miles. Of course, this took much longer than broad, flat forest track, and had us pretty tired by the end. We stop and sit on large rock slabs sloping down into Loch Lomond. We both agree that this kind of path is actually preferable (from a fun perspective) to easily-navigable tracks, but if it was all like this we’d have to have replanned the trip! We rejoin the regular track and pass Rowchoish bothy nestled in the forest. We pass several beautiful Loch-side campsites, sadly two with prodigious quantities of litter polluting them – far too much for us to consider cleaning them up en-route. Nevertheless, we continue to pick up litter from the path until our litter bag is full.
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Picturesque waterfall at Inversnaid makes a great place to stop.
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A foot massage after lunch at Inversnaid for really sore feet. To our surprise we avoided blisters though, due to good boots and pre-emptive blister plastering.
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Rob Roys cave is of some interest and is close to the way though it is a fair scramble up to it.
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We stop at a picturesque waterfall in Inversnaid for lunch and Jo gets a foot massage for very sore feet – which worked! We stuff ourselves, something which later caused an energy lull. However, later on we re-discover the energy liberating properties of water and begin drinking loads, which gives us good energy bursts, particularly to Jo at the day end, and we made superb pace. At one point, we leave the Way and clamber up the massive rocks by the shore to “Rob Roy’s cave”, the refuge of an eighteenth century outlaw, and peer down into its depths. We wouldn’t say this is a site of particular interest or visual appeal though, and the word “CAVE” has been scrawled in large ugly white letters on the rock beside it – who on earth felt it necessary to do that?!
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The path climbs up above Loch Lomond with views back along through the spurs protruding into the water on either side.
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Last views of Loch Lomond before crossing down into Falloch valley.
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The pass over to Beinglas campsite is longer than one would hope for this late in the day, and we were counting the kilometres until we eventually glimpsed the style where the Way enters (and passes through) the campsite.
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Beinglass campsite is spacious with plenty of room to camp, a store, bar, showers, large washing up facilities with table area and triangular log cabins for the non-campers.
Today was the day of Loch Lomond shoreline, with most of the trek right beside the shore, making for an interesting and terrain-diverse walk. It’s a busy commercial campsite this evening at Beinglas, with mild to moderate midges and full facilities including hot showers. Jo can’t figure out the shower though, and has to make do with luke warm! We glimpse the group seen on the first day who sprayed us with skin softener. We are looking forward to increasing wilderness and mountainous terrain in coming days. Dinner was very good again. Spaghetti (the last of), with tomato soup, sausage, margarine, cashew nuts, and apricots – absolutely scoffed down. We have a good night’s sleep and our travel pains are good by morning. Alan’s mostly subside on the morning walk to the toilet block and Jo claims to be pain free!
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