Busy on the West Highland Way

A fairly good night in the bothy – it would have been an excellent night had two lads not arrived at 11 o’clock at night when all of the rest off us were fast asleep…….never mind.

looking good

I have not had any wifi all day so have not been able to read the advice that Kerriann tells me has been sent regarding my leg pain. Thanks anyway – I will try and get it later but there is no 3 or 4G phone signal here so it might not work.

The good news is that the leg has been very much better today. I think a combination of being gentle with it yesterday, the anti- inflammatory tablets and creams and a good(ish) night’s sleep has done the trick.

I’m noticing that I have quite a lot of insect bites on my legs and a few on my face so have just applied loads of anti-midge spray – I will do the same in the morning.The ‘Way’ was very busy today and I kept meeting the same people over and over. One would stop for a break and the other would pass then the other way round. One woman I met had booked the walking week with some girlfriends then tripped on a paving stone resulting in multiple fractures. Rather than cancel the trip she was walking a ‘lite’ version of the walk and meeting up with her friends in the evening. She was getting pain from the metal pins holding her foot together. Her ‘lite’ walk was incidentally long and quite strenuous by most peoples’ standards. Good for her.

had to stop here

There were a lot of strugglers on the trail again today – lots of blisters and muscle pains – often the young macho men with all the kit and usually with overloaded rucksacks.

I met a lovely group of American women who were clearly enjoying every moment of their holiday. They asked how far I had walked and on checking the gps it was exactly 900.0 miles – they were somewhat surprised and got a fellow walker to take a picture of me with them. Maybe they will send this blog a copy….  

I think having a cheery disposition like these ladies helps on a walk – even when limbs and feet are aching singing a song or trying to walk with a relaxed spring in your step makes the pain a little easier to bear. 

The views today have been superb – I will let the photos speak for themselves.

I am in a beautiful but not ideal spot tonight – lovely views but on a bit of a slope and quite close to a railway line. At about 6 pm I had done enough walking for the day and this spot looked better that it actually is. I think I will sleep well though.

Kerriann has set out from home in the motorhome assisted by Hugo out little dog. She has taken it to Taunton and had the MOT renewed and has had to stay an extra day to get new break disks/pads fitted. Then she will slowly make her way up to Scotland and support me on my last leg up to John O’Groats. This is a big adventure for her – agreeing to drive a big motorhome all the way up here is no mean feat. Well done K!