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The West Highland Way has been walked and what an amazing experience it was.

I have written up my experiences of the walk below and included a few pictures but no words or photographs can fully do it justice so if anyone gets the opportunity to walk the West Highland Way themselves I would highly recommend it.

If is not too late to donate to the charities so please feel free to click the links below to add to the money already raised.

Cancer Research UK

CHAS (Childrens Hospice Association Scotland)
The map to the left is the route we took but you can get more information about the West Highland way by clicking here.
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/  
     
http://www.chas.org.uk/  
     

Friday 21st May 2010

My journey began leaving Crewe to drive to Scotland and the scenery on the journey was fantastic which was aided by some very nice weather. At this point I was very glad we were not required to carry all out kit and as can be seen from the photograph on the right I was taking far too much and if carrying it all I would probably still be walking now. I was nervous on the journey up as I did not fully appreciate what I was letting myself in for and not knowing the other walkers (apart from Fish) I was a little uncertain if I would be out of my depth and lagging behind for the next seven days. With only little preparation and a new pair of boots (only bought a week before the walk) I was uncertain how difficult the walk would be and if I was fit enough to be able to complete it.
I arrived in Haddington and met up with some of my fellow walkers and initally was put at ease as the other walkers seemed ok but then quickly became concerned as one of the walkers expressed his intentions of drinking vast quantities of alcohol at every possible occasion over the next seven days and his first aim was to get very drunk before reaching Glasgow and meeting the rest of the party. My alcohol tollerence is no longer very good and the idea of walking long distances with a hangover each day was not at all appealing to me. It became obvious very quickly that no amount of alcohol would slow Doug down and he even announced himself that he was likely to be the bad influence on the trip.When all the walkers arrived and the van came to pick up our gear we headed to Longniddry train station to begin the journey to the campsite to meet with the rest of the team. It seemed appropriate to head to the train station on foot and we were booked on the 16:30 train from Longniddry to Edinburgh where we changed train to head to Glasgow and after a final transfer we would be in Milngavie in time to set up our tents for the night and have a bbq while getting acquainted with the people we would be spending the next week with and walking 95 miles. Everything was running like clockwork until we missed the train by just a few minutes but instead of getting concerned about it we headed to the pub to kill time until the next one was due an hour later. Making the next train with time to spare we arrived in Edinburgh and met up with two more members of the team and then on to Glasgow on the 18:15 train. On arrival in Glasgow we found our delayed arrival meant there was no direct trains to Milngavie so we were forced to head to the campsite by taxi in order to avoid any further delays.
The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and introducing ourselves to each other and my usual problem remembering names was further complicated by the fact a number of names were shared by more than one person. As well as myself there was another John, Fish had asked us to call him Derek during the walk and we were joined by a friend of his also called Derek and then there were two Jim's. Slowly I got to remember a few of the names and amused myself by making up nicknames for many of the people. I called Jamie "Mr Kettle" as whenever anyone wanted hot water he would appear with boiling water in a very nifty kettle that required no gas, oil or other method of combustion apart from a few small twigs and a lighter. Derek (Fish's friend) became "Mr Floppy" as every evening he had erection problems (with his tent) and Jo became "Mrs Plod" as however hard the walking she kept on plodding away and got to the end.
The catering for the evening was burgers and chicken cooked expertly by Ian and washed down with a few beers and I retired to my tent at a sensible hour in order to be ready for the start of the walk the following morning. I normally like to be very prepared and read up in advance on everything I do but in this case I knew very little about the terrain we would be covering and how difficult it would be and I liked the feeling of no responsibility and was happy to be told that the first day was relatively easy and only about 11 or 12 miles.
Saturday 22nd May 2010 - We got to the centre of Milngavie to begin our walk and began assembling at the starting point but at no one time were all the walkers together so were unable to get a complete group shot before setting off on the first leg of our trip. When we were finally all assembled at the start we headed off in glorious sunshine and high spirits.
Another Group Shot before setting off - still missing a few but almost complete. At this point I was itching to get going so was happy when we final set off and started walking.
The weather could not have been better as we set off on our journey. The initial path was excellent and easy walking and we chatted as we walked learning a little about each other and what had brought each of us to become involved in the walk. It was very apparent that we were from so many different backgrounds.
 
Even at the early stages of the walk the setting was stunning and the Bluebells in the sunshine made every step enjoyable. Above are Jim, Blair and Derek who set off at a blistering pace and it was good to make progress at a good speed and to absorb the surroundings. Within a few miles we can across a stunning view and which I assume is Craigallian Loch and as I photographed it and remarked on its beauty I was informed for the first of many times in the coming days that the scenery would simply get better each day as we headed north.
 
With the sun shining and the scenery spectacular it was difficult to image a better place to be or a better way of spending a week off work. We kept walking and I had to resist the temptation to stop every hundred yards to take more photos or we would have never got to the campsite for the first night let alone ever get to Fort William.
 
At about lunchtime we came across the sign above and the gravity of our trek was summarised in just four little words "only 88 [miles] to go". We were well on our way to the campsite just sort of Drymen but it still seemed a long long way to Fort William. Derek, Blair and myself continued at high speed towards the campsite and the other two did not seem to flag at any point but in the last two miles I began to struggle as my feet began to blister and I started to regret not breaking my boots in better before setting off on the walk and towards the end ever step was becoming painful but I made it to the campsite and relaxed in the sunshine. Some of the others were keen to go to the pub to watch the football but my lack of interest in football (I prefer odd shaped balls) along with sore feet I decided to relax on the campsite while some of the others headed to the pub. A few of us stayed behind and relaxed with a well earned drink and prepared for day two of the walk.
 
Please click on this link to go to Day Two of the walk.
 
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