Scots Wha Hae! Part 4 - Walking the Way: Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse

Did you read Part 3?

We're officially on our Way!

Despite our room/house being remarkably comfortable at the Myrtle Bank Guest House in Fort William, I was up way too early (probably just excited about starting our walk on the West Highland Way).  Letting Chris sleep, I made some tea in the full kitchen and sat in the upstairs loft, watching the sky get lighter and the boats on Loch Linnhe sail by until he woke up.  Our taxi, arranged by Mark at Mickledore Travel, would pick us up at 9:30, so we spent some time arranging and packing up our gear, and we lingered over breakfast.

Sweet bliss!  After several days of terrifying alerts on the Met Office weather map, everything was finally calm.

Having tea and a cooked Scottish breakfast at Myrtle Bank

About 9:25, we rolled our luggage to the main parking lot and found our taxi already waiting for us; we returned our house key and hopped inside, ready for our drive south, back to the Bridge of Orchy Hotel.  Once the taxi dropped us off, we stopped inside to say a quick hello to the friends we'd made there the day before, and we were delighted to see the power was finally back on!  While we finished putting on our rain gear, we chatted with other hikers about their experiences over the past few days; no one using a different tour operator/planner had experienced the incredible level service we had with Mickledore, and we spread their name as far and wide as possible.  

Finally, it was time to hit the trail!  On our first day, we'd hike from the town of Bridge of Orchy to the town of Kingshouse, a distance of about 12ish miles (I ended up with a total mileage of 12.51, which took us right at 5 hours total, with stops and whatnot).  We'd gain just under 2000 feet of elevation on this section of the Way, but since it was spread over such a long distance, none of the climbs felt that steep.

Heading over the bridge in Bridge of Orchy

Just outside of Bridge of Orchy, the trail heads upward for a few miles:

Much of today's time on the trail would wind through conifer plantations,

and we'd see evergreens in various stages of growth as we hiked

"After you, ma'am!"

My turn to lead for awhile.

It was so wet on this day - it rained softly but steadily all day long, and the trail was a running stream in many places.

Someone finally decided it was time to put on his rain pants

(they go over your regular trail bottoms to keep your base layer dry and warm)

Once the trail flattens out at the top of the climb, you can normally see for quite some ways, including down to Rannoch Moor, where today's hike would take us.

One of the neatest things on the Way is that most of the towns where folks stop are pretty small,

so everyone you meet on the trail during the day ends up eating dinner in the same restaurant each night.

You make friends with your fellow walkers this way, and we had the chance to chat with several interesting individuals.

These are two of the friends we made along the way, Fred and Wendy from Toronto

(I didn't get a chance to chat with them about the blog, hence their faces are not shown).

They'd even visited Dunedin in the past, since that's where the Blue Jays spring train each year!

They were lovely people, and we hope they're doing well.

Our guide book, the Trailblazer guide, mentioned that this cairn was a spot to see great views

of Loch Tulla, Rannoch Moor, and the Black Mount.

Well, maybe not today (that is the Loch back there).

Loch Tulla

The two of us with the Lone Tree - it's a landmark on this part of the trail

The trail then pitches downward for a few miles, to the town of Inveroran, which has a cafe and hotel for visitors (we went past it before it opened for the day, so our dreams of buying hot beverages in the dry bar...and using their bathrooms...were not fulfilled):

A West Highland Way marker post outside Inveroran

One of the only stretches of paved road we walked on this day

A Scottish red deer, chilling out in a soggy field

He was having a good bellow when we passed him

The trail climbs gently at this point, then undulates up and down, skirting more conifer plantations.

This area had tons of tall trees, and most seemed fairly well protected from Storm Amy's wrath;

however, we did see some damage along our hike

Lots of bridge/stream crossings on this leg of the hike - they were way more full than normal

We'd passed midday at this point, and it was time for lunch.  The steady rain made stopping along the Way not the most appealing prospect, so when we saw a break in the conifer plantation fence and a slightly less exposed glade, we popped inside and busted out the wraps we'd brought from Glasgow.

A cute little 'shroom in the glade

It was so green and lush and peaceful in here

We could tell from the fire rings (and the toilet paper - gross!  Pack that out, fellow humans!)

that people often wild camp in this area.

A stream flowing through our glade

Even though the glade offered some shelter, it was still pretty wet, so after eating and each having a private bathroom moment, we hit the trail once more.  The second half of our hike would take us through Rannoch Moor, an exposed area of moorland, and into Glencoe and Kingshouse.

I took this shot of the water droplets, but I didn't realize you can see the rain actively coming down in it.

This was the wettest we'd been on a trail in a long time.

Our guide book map on this section reads, "This is true highland scenery - wild, desolate, and waterlogged."

Indeed, guide book, indeed.

Crossing the Ba Bridge and the River Ba

Although the weather was not exactly what we would have chosen, we still had an amazing time.

How can you not enjoy views like these?

The ruins of Ba Cottage

More gentle undulations led us over the highest point of today's trail and down past the Glencoe Ski Resort:

We think the guy in the truck was deer hunting - we could hear them bellowing through this area

It's pretty darn hard to get lost on these sections of the Way,

but we often consulted the Trailblazer map for points of interest.

Eventually, we started to see glimpses of our destination for the evening, the Kingshouse Hotel, although it was still a few miles away.

I see it!

From here, we could also start to see Buachaille Etive Mor, the mountain just north of Kingshouse

In front of Blackrock Cottage, property of the incredibly bada$$ Ladies Scottish Climbing Club.

The Club was founded in 1908 by three amazing women, and it's been kicking butt and taking names ever since.

After Blackrock Cottage, we came back down into civilization proper; we made a quick dash across the A82 (it's always weird to put boots on pavement after being on trails all day) and finished the short hike to our lodging for the night.  Our check in at the Kingshouse Hotel was quick and easy (with the exception of the Bridge of Orchy Hotel, our check ins were always smooth, but that wasn't their fault), and we reclaimed our luggage and found our room without issue.  We unpacked, cleaned up, and started the process of drying out pretty much everything that had been on our bodies or on our feet (some of the items in our packs were damp, but the waterproof pack covers worked pretty well).  Compression socks were donned, we each did a "legs up the wall" pose to help speed recovery, and I even busted out our travel foam roller.

The lovely view from our hotel room window

More window views - a few hikers out there braving the elements

We had items drying everywhere - on the floor to my left in the path of the room's Dyson fan,

on the heated towel rack in the bathroom, downstairs in the hotel's drying room, and so on.

The hair dryer worked pretty well for the inside and outside of boots and our insoles.

Seriously, we were SO wet.

While we rested and took turns manning the hair dryer, I received a follow up email from Mark at Mickledore.  Not only did he want to ensure we had a good walking day and made it to Kinghouse without issue, but he also shared that Mickledore was refunding the credit card on our account for the cost of our Ember bus tickets from Bridge of Orchy to Fort William the night before AND giving us an extra 20 pounds, so we could each have a glass of wine at dinner.  If you're keeping track, that meant Mickledore paid for:

• the difference between our planned standard room at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel and a full house Airbnb setup at Myrtle Bank Guest House on Sunday night
• the taxi from Fort William to Bridge of Orchy, about an hour's drive
• the bus tickets from Bridge of Orchy to Fort William
• AND two glasses of wine at dinner

I feel I really must stress that while Mickledore cost more than planning all of this out on our own, they are by far not the most expensive option out there, and we considered our travel package to be a totally reasonable price (we did not pay for some fancy a$$ concierge, is what I'm saying).  Their service far exceeded my expectations, and I truly cannot recommend them highly enough.  Should we do a trip like this in the future, it will 100% be with them, no exceptions.

Before too long, we wandered downstairs to find food; although we'd booked dinner at the restaurant, it was closed for a wedding.  Thus, our reservations were moved to the Hotel's Climbers Bar, normally the more casual option on site, but changed for the evening to feature the normal, slightly nicer, restaurant menu.  Our servers were doing their best, but with the majority of the staff (front of house and kitchen) working the wedding, it took a long time to get our meals.  However, when they finally arrived, they were pretty good, which somewhat made up for the wait (I had steak and Chris had venison).

Our hallway in the Kingshouse Hotel - they also have a bunkhouse on site

Posing with the deer murals in the hallways

We saw this guy today!

A rainy vista outside the lobby window

Post dinner, we made a quick stop in the bar for Chris to have a nightcap, and then it was back up to our room; we continued drying clothes and each had a soak in the room's bathtub, using the bath salts we'd brought from home.  We were ready for another day on the trail on the morrow!

Later!

Amy