West Highland Way in six days

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Adam and I set off at 3pm on the Friday afternoon after I'd finished an early morning shift. I'd done this leg a few times as training so knew what to expect. I was pretty tired having been up since 5 but we made it to Drymen with plenty of time for dinner. There was live music in the Inn but I crashed early!

The next day we had good weather for the walk to Rowardennan. We met friends Lauren and Catriona in the beer garden when we got there- they had been up Ben Lomond that day. It was lovely to see them although slightly surreal to see people we knew! Dinner and a few pints and then retired- Adam got a bit sunburnt! This wouldn't be much of a concern for the rest of the walk as the forecast was for it to get very showery.

The next day walking by Loch Lomond to the Drovers Inn was less fun- very wet, and quite a long slow slog to the finish. It was made worse by the midges- if we stopped for a few moments they would swarm us so there was no choice but to keep moving! We got to Inverarnan by about 6pm and felt for the guys pitching tents at Beinghlas in torrential rain. The Drovers didn't endear themselves much when we were told we couldn't put our wet boots by the radiator in the bar... Pints were good though! Adam was meant to get the bus home that night so that he could go to work the next day but an accident on the A82 meant that the buses weren't running properly so he stayed and got the bus in the morning. Not many photos taken as it was so grim most of the day!

My pal Drew got the bus from Glasgow and arrived at the Drovers just after 9am. We left Adam waiting for his bus south and set off for my longest day yet, to Bridge of Orchy. The weather was okay- a bit showery and warm but much better than the previous day! We had a good lunch at the Green Welly and then it was just a few more miles to reach Bridge of Orchy. The hospitality was much better than the previous night and this was by far my favourite of the places I stayed (also the most expensive by a good margin though!). Slap up meal and a few more pints then hobbled to bed. Woke up in the middle of the night and my arms were very sore. I possibly propelled myself with the poles too much for the last few miles and my arms hurt way more than my legs!

The next morning and we made quick progress to the Kings House. I enjoyed walking along the old military road over the moor and I was imagining the history of the road and all the people who might have travelled along it! We got lunch in the climbers bar at the hotel where there were some other WHW walkers who were having to bail out and get the bus for the next stage due to blisters. We still had a good distance to go to Kinlochleven so cracked on. We saw most of the kinds of weathers going up the devil's staircase. There was a man waiting at the top of the hill, not really kitted out for walking but he said he was waiting for some cyclists to arrive from the other side. We didn't really get to the bottom of why he was waiting, but on our way down we eventually met the cyclists coming the other way, pushing/carrying the bikes- looked like a slog. The walk into Kinlochleven seemed to go on forever, but we were very happy when we eventually made it to our stop for the night, the Tailrace Inn. Drew's various injuries were starting to bother him but he was happy to continue.

The final day was showery again and much colder. Saw some very ill prepared people up the path from Kinlochleven with no jackets and a small child! I loved the walk through the glen surrounded by the Mamores, and then Ben Nevis coming into view, and being able to make out the walkers on the pony track like little ants. Drew's knee really started to bother him on the descent and he crutched himself down to Fort William using his poles dragging his bad leg behind him!

It was a brilliant week. I had no idea how I would fare, it being my first attempt at long distance walking, but in the end I had trained enough and my trusty old Lowas did me proud and I didn't get any blisters. I used Travel-lite to carry my bag and would say it was 40 quid well spent. Midges were a bit of an issue on days 3 and 4, we couldn't stop for more than a few seconds without them swarming. On the other days I think the breeze was enough to keep them away.

I am doing the WHW again this summer with some different stops and incorporating a couple of hills. My 8 year old Lowa shoes died just after this walk so I'll be in my new boots next time, fingers crossed!