Day 65: Bridge of Orchy

Distance: 10.8 miles
Snow squalls: 3

Our day began at the beautiful Ewich House (pronounced U wick).


Our hosts Ian and Deb put on a great breakfast with the best coffee we've had in a long time. We judge the quality of the breakfast by the mushrooms and these were porcini, so this breakfast was a winner.


Our fellow diners were 2 Canadian couples from Ottawa and their Scottish friends. They were also walking some of the West Highland Way and gave us a ride back from the pub last night. We had a great time chatting. The Scottish gentleman, when asked if Scots eat a full breakfast everyday, told us that he usually has coffee and a cigar. Sometimes two.

We checked the weather forecast and it was -1 degree Celsius with a high of 6. So we broke out the warm clothes and headed out. It was gloriously sunny.


We thought we'd gotten it wrong, but the weather here likes to show off. We knew the sun wouldn't last and we were right. The day alternated between sunny blue skies and snow squalls and rain. Luckily, the precipitation never lasted too long.


The path took us through the town of Tyndrum. We stopped at the Green Wellie store, which was also a petrol station. There were scores of motorcycles tanking up or parked. Not sure if it was some kind of rally or just people out enjoying the long weekend. Since we didn't need petrol, we fueled up with ice cream bars!

The scenery continues to be fantastic.





We arrived at Bridge of Orchy before the hotel's three o'clock check in time, so we stowed our backpacks in their cloakroom and had a drink in the lounge.


The cloakroom was full of packs, all decorated with big paper tags. A lot of people who do the WHW take advantage of the many baggage transfer services that operate here. They pick up your bag at your hotel or B&B and deliver it to your next stop while you walk with only what you need for the day. Michael and Jan started having one of their packs transferred in Strathblane in hopes that a lighter load would be easier on Michael's blisters. I can't say it's been a success, but it hasn't hurt. (In other news, this might be a good time to buy stock in Compeeds Blister Plasters.)


Tomorrow is a day we've long been anticipating. It should be a beautiful walk, over Rannock moor and up the Devil's Staircase then down to Kinlochleven. But at twenty one miles it's also our longest day so far, and this section of the West Highland Way has the reputation of being challenging. The prospect of climbing the fifteen hundred foot Devil's Staircase in the last 5 miles has led us to join Michael and Jan and sent one pack (mine!) ahead. We'll take the extra stuff out of Al's pack, put it in mine, and he'll carry what we'll need for the day. Hopefully, this way we'll make it to Kinlochleven before dark and still able to walk.