free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Another walk where I'm not quite sure the stated ascent is correct. I mapped out my route on the OS map last night when I got home so I know it's accurate, but it said I'd done 700m of ascent rather than 183m! I thought about it and realised that actually, that's only 54m a mile, and given how much the path undulates for the entire thing I think it's completely accurate. So I'm feeling like I well and truly earned the sore feet and legs I have today!
Personally, I opted to park at Loch Katrine visitor centre on the east side of the Loch, then catch the boat to Stronachlachar. Rather than spending the whole walk with the time of the last boat back on my mind, all I had to think about was putting one foot in front of the other.
The path is incredibly easy to follow, impossible to get lost when the entire thing is road, but it's long. 13 miles, I have discovered, is definitely beyond what I'd call a fun and comfortable hike for myself at the moment - the charm was lost around the 6 mile point but the last 2 were alright as it was the final push. Mentally capping myself to 10 miles for any future walks for the time being! That said, I think if the 13 miles were more varied it could have been much more enjoyable. Yes, the scenery is gorgeous, but the terrain is what killed it for me. I did a little detour on the cycle path between Ardmachmuin and Strone to switch it up for a short while and that was a wonderful part of the walk. Glorious sunshine alongside the Loch - particularly needed to dry out after a short shower - certainly helped to reinvigorate me. At Brenachoile Pier I had a little lie on the ground and questioned whether I really needed to go home, or if I could just make a new life out here, and ended up putting on my headphones and some music to get me to the end. I despise wearing headphones while walking, I want to be fully immersed in my surroundings, but there was no way my aching body was carrying me back to my car without it!
Maybe I'll revisit this walk one day in the future, when I've built myself up more (I've only just started taking care of myself properly, been going to the gym every day for just over a month and getting a decent amount of steps in, but I've spent the last 8 weeks doing a step count challenge at work and aside from today, my highest day was about 20k steps. This was 34k!) - it's by no means a bad walk, the views are lovely, the history is wonderful, I do just think it's a little overrated, and you could get the same (if not better) views from a shorter walk with varied terrain to give your legs a bit more of a fun day!
