WHW Day 5 Crianlarich to Bridge of Orchy

This was my epiphany day!

It started off with catching the bus back from Tyndrum to Crianlarich. That itself was a minor triumph, as I was lucky enough to get a seat on the bus but then had the next 25 minutes to endure as Alan, the driver, had to sort out an overbooking situation; sorting out places for 8 seats that just weren't there.

I was joined by a petite, energetic, American woman from Colorado and we had a fun conversation about what was going on, where she was going to visit, "Are you on your own?", "Is it safe?", "You're brave"; all the usual.

This was followed when I got off the bus after the short ride. I'd utilised the ladies loo in Crianlarich when a woman burst in. She was as tall as me; a broad, energetic woman from Durham, with mad, dark, curly, shoulder length hair and immediately burst out telling me that this was the first visit she'd made to Scotland on her own. She'd just packed her dogs and tent into the car, she was 62, she'd not been to Scotland since she was a child with her parents, it was a bit emotional moment for her...it all came blurting out. I felt enormous warmth for this person before me who had just bared her soul to me, a complete stranger. I didn't really say anything but strangely ended up giving her a hug, making sure she was alright and then moving on. I think I'd felt a bit shaken too from the previous night, I could identify with her feeling alone. It just seemed the right thing to do to reach out to her, and it seemed to help.

Anyway, I still needed to walk the 0.75 miles up the hill to re-meet the Way. This was actually a nice part of the walk, without the knee problem I had coming down. It rained; I didn't expect it to do much else! My waterproof trousers didn't seem to appreciate it anymore and started wetting out and the seams going. They were more than a decade old, so I forgave them for the time being, hoping they'd keep it together while I needed them!

Occasionally the cloud lifted and I could see great views across the glen. The slight gain in altitude lifted my spirits too. I'd come to Scotland for the hills and felt as if I'd almost spent 3 days getting nowhere! A bit harsh, but it was now that I could start to see something that filled me with excitement! Plus, I had to turn the map over to the other side and knowing I'd passed the halfway mark was a great motivator.

This section of the Way took me along undulating paths, through larch interspersed with open areas of heather, now in full bloom. Bees gathered pollen despite being damp fuzzy balls; how did they manage to take off? It was spectacular around Herive Burn with so much water filling it. I managed not to fall over on this footbridge...

Descending through the woods I crossed the road, wove through some woods next to the road and then onto the bridge over River Fillan.

The next part was really interesting where a plaque had been set up to illustrate the remains of St Fillan's Priory. St Fillan's marked the 50 mile mark. The picture on the plaque didn't really look anything like the ruins but just finding out a bit more about an areas history is usually fascinating to me. Even the name of the farm next door, Kirkton. Well Kirk being a name for church; that was easy!

I soon passed Auchtertyre, being sorely tempted to use their net facilities but seeing the numbers of people there really put me off! It was great to finally feel as if I was in the hills, while it was still raining the cloud base lifted a little and I could start to see the hills I sensed (and saw on the map) were there!

The path took me back across the road to a curious area that had been 'improved' by the addition of some signs for tourists, pointing out a pivotal battle Robert the Bruce had participated in and a tiny loch that's rumoured to be the watery home of his broadsword. On the outskirts of Tyndrum I found the old Lead mine before walking past the campsite I'd stayed at. Coming upon the river I met two young Frenchmen who were eating a massive brick of cake using a huge bushcraft knife to divvy it up. It looked as if they were considering their options about how to cross the stream that had breached it's banks. They offered me some cake so I had some and stood there for a couple of minutes chatting with them. I decided to just cross the stream without any pontificating; poles make it so easy and my feet were wet through so made no difference to me!

Getting to the main road in Tyndrum I decided to go to Paddy's Bar for a pint of orange juice and lemonade (ah, surprised you there?) and skidded over the tiled floor back to the decrepit seats which seemed to have an argument with my waterproof trousers. I was joined by a couple of men of about my age who chatted to me for a bit. They'd just come down off the hills having bagged a couple of Munros and were in an endorphin afterglow. One lived in London but joined his mate who lived in Edinburgh. It seemed to be a regular thing for them and I was pretty envious of him living so close to big hills.

However, time for me to get back out there and I started the next part, the long anticipated stretch from Tyndrum to Auch and onto the Bridge of Orchy.

It was as if with every step I felt more joyful. The views started opening up more, the cloud lifted further up the shoulders of the hills and I started to get glimpses in the distance of some major mountains. It was awesome!

I strode out along the track, passing an oncoming couple with their matching rubgy shirts and as Beinn Odhar rounded away, appreciating Beinn Dorain to the full. I came upon a stone bridge and sat down to just gaze up at it and take some water. It was magic. It felt like this was what I was here for. The couple of days around Loch Lomond and the stretch to Crianlarich seemed a long time ago, I felt renewed by being in proper hills. It was just great! If my sketch paper hadn't been halfway to papermache then I'd have sketched the mountain.

I only had about 3.5 miles to go to reach the Bridge of Orchy and pitch up on the other side of the bridge there. I really enjoyed the area around Auch and the views. The weather was a bit unpredictable, as if the mountains were bouncing the clouds around.

Further along the road I found a place where a mass manufactured, 4 berth tent had been laid out, some socks laid out to dry on a blue plastic sheet, and a few other clothes too. I looked around to see if I could spot anyone, but there was nobody in evidence at all. Very strange! It looked too neat to be abandoned. Curiously I did find out a few days later what had happened...

Coming up towards the hamlet I looked up to see another great view, this time of the saddle between Beinn an Dothaidh and Beinn Dorain.

Life was good!

As the path transitioned into the road alongside the Train Station I came across the two French guys I'd had cake with earlier. They had decided to give up the walk; the weather had got to them and they had limited time. Instead of completing the WHW they were going to get a train into Fort William and then out to Mallaig, and then walk a couple of clicks to a remote pub that one of them knew. Sounded fair enough to me, though by this time I was fully engrossed in the walk again, back in the other reality where my time horizon stretched to how long it would take to cover the next three miles or so. I love living like this, in this state, life is more immediate and seems far more real.

I walked stiffly downhill to the hotel where I downed a pint of orange juice and lemonade extremely quickly, and went back for another. A group of about 20 young Americans got off a coach outside and started to take over the bar. I took this as my cue to get out of there and headed off to pitch on the ground on the other side of the river. There was one other tent there, already up and lived in. I pitched mine quickly. Extra haste because of the abundance of midges (they are so generous with their blood letting).

Sorting myself out in the tent I had a look at my 'waterproof' trousers. From how wet my legs had been earlier in the day I knew they wouldn't be great shape. They had done me proud over the years but were so old and ragged now but I couldn't really complain. Apart from the next day I'd be crossing Rannoch. Oh well. I guess I'd got my moneys worth out of them! I decided to ditch them, hoping my normal DWR trousers would do, got some food and wrote some notes up in the tent.

It had been a good day and given me back a sense of purpose in the walk.