One of 12 posts about my 2018 UK Trip (Glasgow + West Highland Way + Oxford)
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Over breakfast, I heard all the woes of a young Swiss trail runner who was sitting at another table. She apparently hurt her foot during the trail race yesterday and had harsh words for the organizers' support and medical arrangements. Some fellow runners helped her down, but she didn't get to see a doctor until after midnight. Accomodations were tight in Kinlochleven, and her injury prevented her from driving her stick-shift car. She'd initially been planning to fly in and take a train but decided to economize by driving herself around, and she'd further tried to maximize her time in the UK by staying in a different place every night.
And no, none of her remarks were directed to me. But I and all those present became intimately familiar with her many dissatisfactions. I wished her well as I left, but soon forgot her as I crossed town and made my way across the river and to the trailhead.
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| more holly! |
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| an important message |
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| Whoso pulleth this iron bar of this stone is rightwise in need of a tetanus shot |
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| I'd seen this striking blood-red mossy vegetaion occasionally before in the past day or so |
This was one of the less scenic walks, overall, given the ghastly gray detritus from clear-cutting. Belatedly, a sign explains that the "mess" is supposed to be good for the ecosystem, as it rots and nourishes insects and the soil etc.
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| Heathers (not to be confused with the movie, tv show, or musical) |
My guidebook was not sanguine about the last few miles of the Way, which go along "the busy A82." It sounded sufficiently grim and dispiriting that I thought about trying one of their alternate scenic routes. Ultimately, I wasn't quite sure how well-blazed (or dry) these paths would be, and my B&B was right on Belford Road (A82) anyway. So I followed the official path, and it was perfectly fine -- not at all the super-highway I'd feared from the description!
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| a bit of ghoulish humor on my part |
I checked in to the B&B, and would have had a bit of a wash-up, but of course this was the one day my bag wasn't delivered on time. Alas! I went on into Fort William to see if I could find the end of the trail.
En route, I found the first dual-language WHW sign (English & Gaelic). So there was that. But the signs became increasingly sparse, and eventually petered out. There was very little encouragement as I proceeded down a pedestrian shopping lane, past a bookshop, and on and on until very nearly the end of High Street, past all the restaurants and shops.
But my dogged persistence paid off eventually, as I finally encountered “Man with Sore Feet” (statue by David Annand).
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| bonding with a new friend |
Surprisingly or not, there were two bookshops within half a block of each other. The Highland Bookshop was open, so I went in.
They had an exhibit of Scottish maps, which was interesting.
I especially liked leafing through the old atlases (presumably reproductions for sale), where I found "
A comparative view of the lengths of the principal rivers of Scotland." It made me a little nostalgic for my first UK walk along the Speyside Way.
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| "Coffee, Eat, Climb, Repeat" & Bookshop #2 |
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"A comparative view of the lengths of the principal rivers of Scotland" - John Thomson's Atlas of Scotland, 1832
They have the Spey at #5 with 85 miles. |
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| I probably should have asked to buy these playing cards |
After a quick shower and a reunion with my luggage, I had a pleasant Thai dinner at the Cafe Mango.
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