|
Day 2 - Milngavie to
Balamaha - 19 miles - A day of 2 halves and the bonnie bonnie banks
of Loch Lomond
I think I drank a little too much last night but it was a good
night.
Had breakfast at 8am and had smoked salmon and scrambled egg and
very good it was too. Only down side was no porridge. I was looking
forward to porridge but it was unavailable. Better luck tomorrow.
The B and B was great.
Morag the landlady was very friendly and a real character. Breakfast
rating an 8.
The snoreeze didn't work very well so an 8 there too. Probably the
beer!!
Bruce & Hilary (team taxi), Mike, Dale, Me, Matt and
Karen (team beer), at the start
So today is the first day proper. It was a wet start though the
first half was very wet indeed. The path is very well marked and we
didn't really need the maps. The paths were good and flat and we
made good if wet progress. We passed the whiskey distillery but
resisted the temptation to call in (we did sample some when we got
to Balamaha).
The rain persisted until lunchtime but then the sun came out and we
took the opportunity to have our butties. The second half of the day
was in glorious sunshine, so much so we ended ditching all the
waterproofs and fleeces.
The killer punch comes after about 16 miles when we had to climb
Conic Hill. A short but steep climb on top of tired legs. The effort
was worth it as we had great views of Loch Lomond, which looked
magnificent with the sun
glinting on it. A great end to the day.
We walked with Karen and the young hostellers and their friends who
are carrying all their stuff cos they are camping. We've called them
team paraffin, as they had to carry their bottle as it was leaking.
We left them in Drymen, as they had to find non-leaky receptacles.
Bruce and his daughter Hilary cheated by doing 7 miles of the walk
yesterday so took a taxi out this morning to where they ended up. We
now call them team taxi. We are
called team beer. Can't think why!!
We are staying in a pub The Oak Tree Inn and very nice it is too.
The meal was very hearty but unfortunately they ran out of real ale
(something that happened last night too so we are getting a
complex). Anyway we sampled a
few whiskeys including the one from the distillery we passed. I'm
not usually a whiskey drinker but enjoyed these a lot. Perhaps it
will help with the snoring!!!!
Anyway, off to sleep now. 14 miles tomorrow so not a bad day.
Photos from Day 2
First of many bluebells
First Glimpse of Loch Lomand (in the far distance) near Drymen
A bluebell
Waymark nr Dryman (Karen,
Matt and Dale in the background)
Matt and Dale take a well
earned rest
on Conic Hill
View from Conic Hill
View from Conic Hill
View towards Glasgow from top of Conic Hill
|
