the west highland way
Day 2 – Rowardennan to Beinglas campsite
Another amazing day on the Wet Highland Way [sic].
The is going to be a shortish one. I’m knackered. It’s been almost 17 miles, and I’m wrecked. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it though. I’ve cleared Loch Lomond now, and have entered the Highlands proper. I’ll try to summarise the day in words and pictures.
6.30am alarm call again, and I was on the road by just after 8. The trail out of Rowardennon was pretty underwhelming for the first few miles, just skirting the woodlands on a wide uninteresting path. Further along, the route split in two – the High-Road and the Low-Road. The High-Road is easier, but less scenic. The low road is supposed to be more challenging and rewarding . I’d planned to do the High-Road, but I was getting a bit bored and decided on spontaneity instead.
It was a good decision from the start. I was immersed in the woodland immediately. I’d chosen a perfect time of the year to do the walk – browning bracken on the forest floor above a mostly green canopy. The trees were like the smug older sibling that gets to smirk about staying up late. This is an example of the type of nonsense that I keep myself entertained with on the way!
The path got trickier as time went on. It was very rocky, going over fallen branches and across exposed tree roots. It was hard-going, undulating terrain which broke your stride and tortured the legs. I’ve done river crossings before, but for much of the way, the trail was the river! As hard as it was, it was very entertaining. At this point I felt fit, probably the fittest I’d felt in 15 years.
I’m going to skip over the last stages because they were hard. My legs were destroyed with 4 miles still to go. I just kept going. What else could I do? It started to chuck it down. The ground was muddy and slippy, making progress slow. Eventually, I made it to the campsite. My hut isn’t what I expected, but I’m planning an alcohol induced slumber, and will worry about tomorrow when it comes…
