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Day 5 - Tyndrum to
Kingshouse - 19 miles - The biggest uninhabited wasteland in Britain
Well today was not as bad as we feared. Yesterday was tougher than
we thought especially at the end of Loch Lomond. Also we were never
far from the A8 and railway so the noise was always there. We are
still debating
whether we saw the osprey yesterday. Where's Matt when you need him.
Anyway, the good news is the snoring score was down to a 3. The best
yet. Yay. The bad news is that the breakfast was awful. Not only
didn't they have any porridge but also the rest was terrible. The
bacon was anaemic and the rest industrial catering. Ugh. A 3. The
overpriced packed lunch was actually pretty good so some redeeming
factors.
Highland cattle
As it was a long day we met up with Bruce and Hilary (team taxi) at
about 8.45 and set off. The weather was poor, fine rain and low
cloud but it could have been worse. If you watch the weather
forecast, that bit of blue just north of Glasgow is over us. One
consequence of all the rain is that we come across waterfalls big
and small on a regular basis. All the watercourses are very full so
some are pretty spectacular.
We followed an old military road until the Bridge of Orchy where
Dale decided he had to change his top as the damp was getting to his
pneumonia ravaged chest (see the
C2C blog). He ushered us away for a
bit of privacy
only for a train to pull in and Dale exposed his torso to those
getting off. That kept us amused for a while.
The route took us over the top to Inverney, which afforded some
lovely views. After Inverney we followed Telford's road, which was
built in 1908 and was the main road until 1933. This meant easy
going and small
gradients. Also we left the road and railway behind and the scenery
was becoming bleaker and more mountainous. We reached 1450 feet and
had great views of Rannoch Moor at 50 sq miles the largest bit of
uninhabited land in
Britain. The last bit saw us see Glen Coe and although the cloud was
down it was very impressive.
The Kingshouse where we are staying is fantastic. It has a cosy bar,
the food was ok but the best bit was that, as we were getting ready,
when we looked out of the window we saw 6 deer grazing just in the
car park.
Amazing. Unfortunately I then had venison sausages. Sorry.
Disappointed that Liverpool lost. They gave everything but it was
not to be. There was some Scots supporting Milan just because
Liverpool are an English team. Talk about chips on shoulders. Still there you
go.
A short day tomorrow but one with a climb out of Glen Coe up the
devils staircase. We will be reunited with the rest of team beer
tomorrow so that should be fun. I’ve missed them the last 2 days.
Photos from Day 5
Awwww Highland calf
Proud Dad
Dale and me at top of climb out of Bridge of Orchy. Loch Tulla in
background
Inveranan Hotel - Buttie time
Buachaille Etive Mor in cloud
Hilary dances with sticks!! Glencoe ski lift in the background
Glen Coe
Deer outside Kingshouse bedroom window
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