The West Highland Way – Day 2

It was just after 9am when the Brothers mustered outside the hotel for the daily photoshoot.

It was then straight into the walk. Along the main road and through some fields before branching left to a forest path.

At around the hour mark we arrived at a junction. Straight ahead was Conic Hill, while left was the road to Balmaha. Sensibly, Checkshirt decided to take the low route and opted for the latter. Del, possibly unsure how his new knees would cope with a hill climb, volunteered to accompany him so he didn’t get lost again. We ensured their trackers were working and the rest of us headed on.

We climbed steadily out of the trees then veered right downhill to cross a river. The path then headed directly towards Conic Hill.

As we ascended we began to see more of the Highlands in the distance. This was the terrain we would face in the coming days.

If this was a foretaste of the scenery to come, who cared how much our feet were hurting?

The paths on Conic Hill were busy with a mix of WHW walkers and day trippers going up down.

The final ascent was a scramble, and we were buffeted by strong winds on the bare summit. It was difficult to stand upright. Although the views were magnificent, we didn’t hang around for long. We still had miles to go.

The trackers were working well, and we could see that Del Boy and Checkshirt had arrived at Balmaha.

It was a steep descent down to Balmaha, where we all met up and ate our packed lunches at picnic tables in the sunshine.

The wind suddenly picked up and rain started falling so we hurriedly packed up and set off again.

The rain turned out to be a brief shower, so we stopped for a photograph at the Tom Weir statue before getting back underway.

As was the case on all the walking sessions, the group split into tortoises and hares. The makeup of these groups varied thoughout the Hike depending on the terrain and time of day. Some were better at the long, flat stretches, while others preferred the ascents and descents. A few even performed better after lunchtime refreshment.

The afternoon was a tough walk along the banks of Loch Lomond. It seemed endless as the path wound its way up the side of the loch, over humps and around headlands.

Occasionally an ascent through the trees added variety to the journey.

It was a further hour before the path eventually led us to the hotel.