And so we trudge on. And on, and on, and on. We have now completed the West Highland Way, and (if we might say so ourselves!) in an excellent time of only 4 days. The most advantageous aspect of walking well-trudged paths is that, aside from it being signposted and fenced off from murderous cattle, we’ve been able to walk with other people. Seven and a half weeks is a long time to spend with one person, so it’s quite a change of pace for us to be able to interact with other human beings, and a relief to know that we’re still capable of doing so.
The first people we encountered were - from a distance - terrifying. Aged roughly between 10 and 15, armed with footballs and tracksuits - with no training ground in sight - we were expecting to be relieved of our phones, wallets, and dignities. However, the conversation went as follows:
“Hey mister!! You bin campin'?!”
“Yeah, on and off, all the way from Cornwall”
“Is that nae in England?!”
“Yes, it is! On the South coast”
“I’m not being nasty or anything, but I’m surprised you’re not Dead”.
“……….ok!”
We also walked large chunks of the WHW with an Art teacher named John who was a joy and whom we hope to see at our finishing party, and a mad-man called Andy, from Yorkshire. Andy had simply bought some camping gear, and set off for six weeks of mountain climbing and wild-camping in the Highlands, drinking water from streams, and eating very little. We were truly in awe.
I should also mention that, despite all the warnings and stories I’d be told, NOTHING could have prepared me mentally for the midges on the West Coast of Scotland. We first experienced them in Rowardennan, on the banks of the Loch Lomond, and they easily surpass the nightmarish stories that surround them. We’d walked over 22 miles that day, and had finally found a spot to set up camp. We put down our bags, surveyed our surroundings through bleary eyes, and then they came. They descended from the skies like a bloodthirsty cloud (NOT melodramatic, thank you), and set about demolishing us at a rate of knots. Whilst Liam popped on his easy-to-hand head-net, I scrabbled around in my bag like a lunatic trying to dig to Australia through the centre of my pack, turning the midge-filled air a very deep colour of blue, whilst seeing nothing but red, and beginning to wonder how on earth highlanders possibly put up with this for hundreds of years. Perhaps they were harder men than us……perhaps.
On the plus side, the scenery has been beyond words. The mountains and valleys make truly majestic surroundings for the final, and toughest, section of this mammoth effort, and if you stare hard enough at the peaks disappearing behind cloud it’s almost enough to stop the pain. Almost.
I am sadly unable to miss any of you now, since I have forgotten everything from my previous life!
Looking forward to meeting you all,
Alex x
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