From: Strathblaine to Drymen
Distance: 12.5m / 20km
Cumulated distance: 902m / 1452km
Percentage completed: 76.3
After days of walking sideways it felt good today to have the compass pointing northwards. From Strathblaine we followed the John Muir Way for a couple of miles, through woods and farmland, having brief chats with dog-walkers .. and their dogs.
Portia out for her morning walk
It was an overcast day, with a very flat sky .. something that makes good photos difficult to take. With the low contrast many of the views looked a little dull and uninspiring. Nevertheless, it was warm and I had my husband at my side .. all good. My lacklustre mood of two days ago had largely evaporated, as so many seasoned walkers suggested it would in their messages. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness. The heel was still bothersome but I’m hoping the physio I’ve booked to see tomorrow morning will help sort that out.
Hubby for company
Looking across at Strathblaine
As we hit Carbeth Loch, we found ourselves suddenly part of a conveyor-belt of walkers. I knew the West HIghland Way was often busy but after the weeks and months of having trails virtually to myself, I was blown away by the numbers of other backpackers, all heading in the same direction as me. This was to be my new national trail for the next few days. It link Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow with Scotland’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis in the town of Fort William.
Heavy traffic on the WHW ..
.. with kind offers to take photos
There were distractions. The Glengoyne Distillery was a temptation just off the trail. It’s supposed to be the prettiest of all Scottish distilleries. I’ve always loved the idea of whisky .. all the names and histories and language .. but although I quite like the smell of it, I really can’t abide the taste. I’ve tried very hard to like it, truly I have. Today however all that changed with Glengoyne’s 12 year old finest. Lemon zest, toffee apples and a hint of Cointreau .. they were all there for me and I loved it. I have to confess we had more than one nip from the miniature, as we walked the rest of the day’s route. The signature whisky fudge also went down pretty well.
Delicious temptations
The Teapot Dram V, which is only available from the distillery, is apparently packed with flavour: ‘porridge, strawberries and pepper on the nose, spicy oak, cinnamon swirl and walnuts on the tongue’. But I only had tastebuds for Glengoyne’s 12 year old whisky.
There have been wacky sights along the whole of my journey and today’s offerings were just as good as any other day ..
Abandoned boots ..
.. welcome Honesty Shops ..
.. and curious signs.
The day had a feeling of impending splendour. While the path and its surroundings were gentle it was pleasant rather than anything more dramatic. Ahead of us however, we could see promising mountains and towards the end of the afternoon, there were glimpses of Loch Lomand too.
Highland glimpses
And here’s Patrick to wrap up for the day ..
We arrived in Drymen, a little village on the banks of Loch Lomond, famed for having the oldest licenced pub in Scotland, and for having been home for Billy Connolly at one phase in his life. We met up with Helks, squeals all round, and retired to the said pub, The Clachan (meaning ‘of stone’, nothing to do with The Kraken, though Jules was wary at the thought of a giant sea monster rising out of Loch Lomond… I told her she was just getting prepared for Loch Ness…)
Rendez-vous with Helks at The Clachan Inn in Drymen
Black Dog Tails
Colton Rusk was a dog handler who enlisted in the Marines straight from high school and Eli, the four-year-old bomb-sniffing dog, was his partner. The pair was serving in Afghanistan when Rusk was hit by Taliban sniper fire in 2010. Eli was the first to reach him. He crawled on top of Rusk’s body, ferociously protecting him from further fire. Tragically Rusk died of his injuries.
Aahh the bonny bonny banks of Loch Lomond ahead (is that right?), where Peter and I got to know each other. Happy memories. Hope the heel sorts itself out, and looking forward to seeing Patrick next week, if he can tear himself away from you.
Aye, it’s a beautiful loch .. if very rocky along the path! How romantic that you and Peter met here. x
Love following your daily blog. Sorry we won’t be seeing you at the WWOM, you will be sorely missed. Patrick will have to do. But he’s 2nd best!
Leaving in a few hours for London. Will be in Edinburgh and St Andrews after the WWOM, but by that point you’ll be way far north. Next walk I hope to join you.
Hoping this trip will be more pleasant than my last two overseas trips. My mom now safely buried alongside my dad, although they had to bury her twice, as they dug her grave in the wrong spot, but that’s a whole other story!
You are almost there. Very well done to you!
Thank you so much Linda. I’m really sorry to be missing you and all the other lovely women at the WWOM.
I too hope your trip to London is wonderful and as different as it can be from the last two overseas trips. Sending my love, Jx
Hello Jules
You may not remember us from Cold Aston but we remember you and have loved following your blog ever since ! We will be in Scotland soon but the easy way by overnight sleeper to Inverness arriving Monday morning on the 28th. We will be meeting daughter Sarah’s future in laws first on the west coast at Poolewe then back to their farm at Inchindown near Invergordon on the 31st. We wonder if your itinerary matches at all and if so we would love to take you out for supper and congratulate you in person for your magnificent achievement!So glad to hear the mood has lightened now as well. We are honestly in awe..!
Best wishes
Yvonne and Martin Nicholas( rainy tea in the kitchen in March between Chedworth and Stow the long way!)
How could I have forgotten you and your wonderful kindness and generosity with tea and cake. I should love to meet up. I reach Inverness on 1 June .. let’s email to make a plan. Thank you for making contact .. again!
Looking very sleek and stylish Jules for someone who has worked so hard! Lots of love xx
Always such lovely compliments, Frannie! xx
Glad to read you are back on the up.
Drymen – of course I have an anecdote – I chose to plot my own route through Scotland from there avoiding the WHW, so Drymen was a sort of significant staging point in my mind on my LEJOG:
“On arriving at this site I met an elderly backpacker with an Alsatian dog who told me he had just finished a six hundred mile trip including a visit to Cape Wrath and other places. I pitched my tent not far from his and not far from another tent housing a girl backpacker. I soon found that both my neighbours were heavy smokers, and for the whole of my stay my tent was polluted with tobacco smoke, and my peace disturbed by incessant coughing. The man even lit up early in the morning inside his tent. I FELT SORRY FOR THE DOG.
There seemed to be new way of being tortured at each place I visited.”
Oh dear .. how miserable. And not easy just to move your tent, in the middle of the night. As you say .. poor dog.