Day 57 - Inverarnan to Bridge of Orchy
This is definitely the weirdest place I've stayed in - the rooms look as if they've been put together with pieces of mis-matched timber and although I haven't got anything sinister lurking in my room (apparantely there are stuffed animals in some of the rooms including one with a polar bear!) it does feel like I'm staying in somewhere that needs an awful lot of restoration but that's supposed to be the idea! But as a positive, I raised a total of £70 yesterday either whilst on the trail or in the bar in the evening. There was a full-on midge battalion waiting for innocent passer-bys this morning : unfortunately breakfast was over the road from the hotel and the door was locked so I did get a few 'hits' before retreating back to the inn. Must get some midge repellent stuff at Tyndrum today as these little nasties are causing me my first bit of stress! Once again the weather was dry but it would remain overcast today and also get quite muggy.

The West Highland Way race had already been in progress for 10 hours by the time I hit the trail but immediately I was greeted with spontaneous rounds of applause as there was a check-point just around the corner - whilst I did politely tell them that I wasn't actually part of the race, by the end of the day I was lapping up the applause anyway! The race itself is just short of 100 miles and the cut-off for completion is 35 hours which is midday tomorrow. It was really surprising how my attitude to the task ahead suddenly changed (BJs will totally understand!) as there were now other runners on 'my street' and that just meant one thing - I had to catch them up and pass them as this was a race that I'd joined! Many of them were already suffering (they'd already covered around 40 miles and had another 60 to go) and were quite surprised when this fresh 'whippet' suddenly loomed up and wanted to chat to them to see how they were feeling and stuff like that. For once, I was the one in awe of the other runners and congratulating and urging them on.

The route today wasn't that inspiring (which was probably a good thing) as it followed an old military trail alongside a railway line, the river and the main road through the Highlands for the whole day. There were a couple of times where I had to cross under the railway line and this involved being almost bent double through a tiny tunnel - it would definitely have been a struggle for someone with a huge backpack. Everyone that I've met since the start of the WHW was either heading for Crainlarigh or Tyndrum so whilst I passed them all again today, it was to be the last time that we'd meet. Whilst most of the route was out in the open on the hillsides, there was one large section of pine forest which had quite a few steep ascents and descents. The only notable wildlife I saw today was a tiny mouse-like creature whose eyes and legs seemed far too big for his little body. There was more evidence of the elusive red deer : this time huge clumps of hair left on scratching posts but though I was looking very carefully on the hills, didn't see any.

As I'd been 'racing' for the first 10 miles or so, I decided I needed to stop this silly game so when I got to Tyndrum I made sure I stayed there for a couple of hours. Tyndrum is basically on the T junction of the two main roads and has a famous cafe as it's hub : The Green Welly Stop. It did actually serve really nice food and I also picked up some de-bug stuff and got another stamp in my passport (can't actually decipher what the stamp depicts but it does also have the 'Green Welly Stop' on it). Out on the hills I literally bumped into a herd of real Highland Cows and they really did look at home, unlike the ones that I had seen down south in Devon! There's a railway station at Bridge of Orchy and quite ingeniously, they've turned the station into a bunkhouse complete with drying room - I'm not staying there by the way, but thought it was a great idea.

One of the check-points for the race is right outside my bunkhouse so, as I do at home when I'm either not racing or have already finished, I was out there cheering everyone in (some were really really looking very worse for wear!). Word had got out through the competitors what I was doing and they in turn were congratulating me! Now feeling stuffed as I've just eaten a fab posh meal and found out the internet is free so another evening's holiday for John! The weather for tomorrow is not looking good at all and by 8.30 the rain is lashing down and the wind howling. I've got open moorland to cross tomorrow so by the look of it, will be getting a little bit windswept and damp!
Mileage 20.19 and time 4.27