Day 56 Rowardennan to Inverarnan

What better view from your bedroom window than Loch Lomond and pine studded hillsides?

Yet another sunny day greeted me this morning. The school party stayed at the YH but they weren't too rowdy they even had good manners! The trail went right past the YH through pine forests on undulating tracks. A couple of times i could see the rain coming over the hills and then the heavens just opened but they were only showers and quickly passed. Other than these minor blips the weather was fantastic and really warm. Unfortunately the notorious Scottish midges were out in force down by the loch but if you kept moving they weren't too much of a nuisance. Had a £10 donation from a guy walking the WHW with his dog who also had a backpack (the dog had the backpack). He later mentioned that he couldn't see much running in evidence (I was sat on a rock soaking in the sun at the time) but to be honest the terrain later in the day required step by step navigation through a tangle of tree roots and a university degree in rock scrambling with the added problem of raised stone drainage ditched requiring leaping over every 20m or so. But the scenery was absolutely stunning - I know I keep saying this but I don't know how else to describe it.

Several times the way dropped down to a cove or a beach and you could look back down the loch. I stopped for lunch at a hotel very conveniently placed on the WHW, in fact it was the only house I passed all day. A la-di-da couple were very disappointed at the menu choices (clearly the hotel was catering for the needs of walkers and the occasional runner) and promptly asked if the chef would cook two steaks.....chef said no to which their response was "we've driven all this way and that's all you can offer?" she made do with a G&T.

Eventually the trail left the ups and downs and cragginess of the woodlands and instead dropped down gently through more open hillside covered with lush green ferns and purple foxgloves. It left the loch behind as it shrunk to just a river. A small woodland them emerged into Beinglas at the campsite where I chatted to my roomy from last night ; Penny and her son who were walking the WHW too. Another interested party for my blog!

I'm staying at the Drover's Inn tonight, a strange quirky place were you are met with all sorts of stuffed creatures; everything from birds and mammals, including a bear with it's foot in a trap with a ball and chain on it's other leg to what looks like a small basking shark! The barman is in a kilt - it's really weird seeing blokes in skirts!

Another fantastic day and to be honest, whilst I'm finding my legs simply don't belong to me in the morning and wont work, by the afternoon I am fine and actually could have gone further today.

Mileage 15.08 Time 4.10

Total mileage 930.60