General Introduction and Background

Hi everyone, 
 
I just wanted to write this introduction to my blog to give folks a general idea what it is about.
 
Basically I am hoping to cover all aspects of Scottish travel, outdoors and culture, from the perspective of someone who has lived here almost 30 years, and is only recently beginning to rediscover some of Scotland’s delights. As a nation I think we are all guilty of sometimes neglecting our own countryside; we have so many beautiful spots to visit which are literally on our own doorsteps. Even the most remote areas in Scotland are only a few hours’ drive away so there really is no excuse not to get out and explore!

River Carron, Abbotshaugh Woodland, Falkirk - literally a five minute walk from my house

I decided to start the blog after failing to complete the West Highland Way last year - I've read countless blogs of people's amazing experiences, but never any bad experiences. It took me a few months to get over the whole thing, but now that I've started training again for next year I've truly been bitten by the bug once more. 

I grew up in the Central Belt of Scotland with the Ochil Hills right on my doorstep, so this was a favourite place for me as a teenager to escape from it all. I've climbed many of the hills, and hope to cover them again once more as part of my blog. About a year ago, I moved to the Falkirk area which had literally dozens of walks along the Forth and Clyde, and Union canals, and of course the world famous Falkirk Wheel.

The Ochil Hills, near Sherrifmuir

My blog is not all about walking though. Scotland also has a rich and fascinating past, which is a very important part of our culture and identity. This area is of particular interest to me as I studied history at university, so I love to learn more about our past whenever I can. Scotland still has many important historical sites still intact which are well worth a visit - so it's great that I can combine this interest with my love of the great outdoors.

The Falkirk Wheel and canal boats

This all sounds very serious indeed, but I don’t intend it to be. If you have already read my West Highland Way blog you will have found that I have tried to incorporate as many humorous aspects of the experience as I can. Please don’t forget that another important aspect of our culture is that we all love to have a laugh, have a good drink, and party into the night. With this in mind I will also be hoping to cover pubs, events, festivals, and any other bits and bobs that might fall into this category.

Andy taking part in a Jacobite commemoration at Sherrifmuir

You will also meet my partner Andy along the way, who will also be joining me on many of my adventures, although sometimes rather reluctantly, as I'm sure he would rather just sit in the pub! 

Out of breath at the top of Henry's Hill, Falkirk

I hope you all enjoy reading about my adventures in Scotland, and thanks in advance for visiting my page.

Ailie

How NOT to do the West Highland Way - Conclusions and Improvements

Conclusion – Where I think I went wrong, and how to improve for next time.

 

Setting off on Day 3

Footwear

Undoubtedly biggest mistake of all was wearing the wrong type of footwear. I used an old pair of leather boots, approximately 15 years old which I hadn't worn in years, and hadn't practiced enough in prior to the trip to give my feet the chance to get used to them again. The leather was thick and inflexible which caused rubbing in places, and also didn't let any air in for my feet to breathe - the result of which was numerous blisters the size of golf balls (no exaggeration!) In some places I had blisters upon blisters, and even blisters underneath my toenails - I had no idea this was even possible!  I did wear two pairs of socks to try and reduce the rubbing against the shoe, however this didn't really seem to have much effect.

A friend struggling with the steep rocks at Loch Lomond

On the second day when the blisters were already bad I made the fatal mistake of changing into a pair of converse, which at the time seemed more comfortable, but were just not thick enough to handle the stony path up through Garadhban forest, so by the time we got to Balmaha I could barely stand up, let alone walk. I soldiered on with Compeed and plasters for the next few days, but really my feet were so damaged by this point it was inevitable that I wouldn't be able to complete the route.

The thing is, I had lots of conflicting advice regarding foot care and footwear. A work colleague had told me she completed the West Highland Way in nothing more than a pair of plimsoles, so either she has feet made of steel, or she was lying. I had also been told to use surgical spirit on the soles of my feet for a few weeks prior, in order to harden the skin. I didn't do this, but should I have done? My feet are naturally soft, so even when I go for a pedicure there is no hard skin to remove. Perhaps this might be something to consider for next time - however I find the prospect of hardening the skin on my feet slightly revolting, but if I must I must.

Modelling our midge nets in the huts at By the Way

Another tip I picked up was coating your feet in Vaseline and letting it dry in for about an hour in the morning before you set off. This I did, although it didn't really seem to make much difference. I read elsewhere that you should use the vaseline at the end of the day, rather than at the beginning - does anyone have any opinion or advice on this? I've also heard of people using talc, and we met a German girl along the Way who had something which resembled a roll-on deodorant – if anyone could enlighten me as to what this might be? As she said she was an experienced walker and had never had a blister. 

So as you can see, I had hints and tips flooding in from all angles, so if anyone has any advice at all regarding foot care then it would be very much welcomed, as this was my biggest downfall last year. At least now I've gone out and bought myself some proper walking shoes which I'm currently practicing in, so hopefully I should avoid the same problems as last time.

A happy pint at Balmaha

Company 

I’d suggest for anyone attempting the walk to do it with a group of people you’re comfortable with, as you will be stuck with them for the next week or so, and although you will be sharing in many wonderful high points, you will also be forced to share the lows. 

The group that I went with consisted of one really good friend, plus a few casual acquaintances whom I’d only met once or twice, and one that I’d never met at all. As I live a distance away from the rest then I missed out on a few of the meetings, so didn’t get to know everyone very well prior to the trip. The group consisted of 5 girls, plus one married couple who were constantly arguing which made things rather uncomfortable for the rest of us. (They have since divorced, but that’s another story!)

Day 2 at overlooking Loch Lomond

There was also the issue of the missing phone charger, which may seem a bit petty – however after this I could no longer trust anyone in the group. I’m not accusing anyone of deliberately stealing it, but even if they had only picked it up accidentally then they couldn’t be bothered going and checking when I asked them to. 

Next time it will just be myself and my partner on the walk, and possibly another couple who have yet to decide. I think smaller groups are generally better as you can suit yourself and don’t have to try to please everyone else. If you want to push further on then you can, if you need to stop for a rest then you can. Last time I just remember constant bickering and huffing as people couldn’t agree on what time to set off in the morning, or who was sleeping in what bunk (What else do you expect with a large group of girls?!)

NB – The girls and I have all kept in touch and I’m quite good friends with a few of them now, so any hard feelings or disputes during the walk are now long behind us! 

Refreshments at Bein Glas after a very tiring day

Training 

This was my first attempt at distance walking, and I have to say I was totally unprepared in terms of training. I did a few 7-8 mile rambles through the Midlothian countryside around Bonnyrigg and Roslin - however this area is mostly flat and so doesn't present much of a challenge. Although at the time I considered myself to be reasonably fit, looking back I realise I just wasn't in the best shape to tackle something like this. We were all quite embarrassed at one point along the shore of Loch Lomond being overtaken by a couple in their 60s, and all of us in our 20s and 30s!  Saying that, everyone else in the group seemed to manage it alright, with minimal training. And I've even known a 20-stone guy who has completed the walk. So perhaps it is possible, although difficult, to manage it without much training. However the lack of training combined with all the other factors just exacerbated things to a point where I had to give up.

Stopping to stretch our legs in Garadhban forest

I've already started my training for next year, as I aim to be fit as possible if I'm to carry my own bag, and also I want the walk to be pleasurable rather than gruelling. My training will definitely include several long hill walks carrying my pack in order to get used to the extra weight. I'm currently living in Falkirk so I'm making use of all the walks along the canals and woodland, as well as the hills surrounding the Falkirk wheel, gradually increasing my distance each time, and even jogging part of the way. I must say I'm already feeling much fitter, and this is only the beginning. We also have the Ochil hills nearby which I used to walk as a child, so I'm looking forward to tackling those in the next few months, and we are even planning to try a few Munroes towards the end of the summer! 

We found the sign for Rob Roy's cave, but not the cave itself!

Lack of supplies

I only brought enough food to last two or three days, and it was mostly picnicy sort of things which I ended up sharing with the group (and got nothing in return!) so I had to end up either buying cooked meals in pubs, or stocking up from shops along the way which proved to be extortionately priced. By the time we got to Tyndrum I had only £20 left to spend on food for the next four nights, so I made the snap decision to spend it on a bus back to Edinburgh, rather than face starvation!

The difficult section between Inversnaid and Inverarnan

  

Route planning

Again, I had been absent for most of the meetings so didn't really have a say in the route plan. I'm not really sure who came up with the plan, but to me it seemed rather silly walking only six miles one day, then walking 20 the next - rather than just spacing them out and doing an average of 13 miles per day. However the fact that we were having our bags carried meant that we were tied into being at certain locations at certain times which limited our options. In the end I’m glad we used the service, as some parts were difficult enough, and I doubt we would have managed otherwise. One of our group attempted it for the first day, but then ended up paying to have their bags carried after that. Admittedly we did have lots of unneccessary extras weighing us down, so next time I'm hoping to carry my own bag, and only bring the absolute essentials so that it's not too heavy to carry comfortably.

Day 3 along the edge of Loch Lomond

Another aspect of the route planning was that we had ended up staying in accommodation every night, which although only hostels, campsites and caravans, ended up being very costly. Not only did we have the price of accommodation itself, but we also ended up buying an evening meal, and sometimes also a cooked breakfast. I'm not lying when I say my total expenditure was somewhere around £400 for the trip, which is absolutely ridiculous. This included travel, accommodation, bag carrying, supplies and general spending money. When I do the walk next year there is no way I'll be able to afford anywhere in the region of this amount, so I'm sure with better planning we will be able to do it for a fraction of the cost. Next time we're planning on wild camping most nights, with maybe a night spent at the campsite at Beinglas just for the sake of getting a hot shower. If I remember correctly a pitch was somewhere in the region of £7.50, so it’s hardly going to break the bank. 

Finally emerging from the rocky section

Conclusion

All I can say is that I've learned from my mistakes - and I've learned them the hard way. I definitely won't make the same mistakes twice! I'm really looking forward to trying again next year, and would welcome any comments or advice.

Making a wish at the Wishing Well on day 2

How NOT to do the West Highland Way - part 4

Days 4 &5

Inverarnan to Tyndrum - then home.

Day 4

That evening at Beinglas once we were back in the tents I had to get up and go to the bathroom, but my feet were absolute agony! It took me a good 5 minutes to limp the 30 metres or so to the toilet block, by which point I was absolutely desperate. One of the German girls was there again and tried to speak to me but I just had to run straight into the cubicle. I never saw her again after that, so I felt quite bad afterwards. I didn't mean to be rude but I might have wet myself in front of her if I didn't get into the toilet when I did. By this point I was really worried about my feet, and would have crawled back to the tent if the grass hadn't been wet.

Monster portion of Haggis Neeps and Tatties from the Drovers the previous evening.

In the morning my feet weren't much better, so reluctantly I decided not to do any walking that day. We had a cooked breakfast at the campsite and got talking to a couple of guys who were cycling from John-o-Groats to Lands-End for charity. We shared some of our toast with them as we had way too much food to eat ourselves, plus they were planning on setting off on an empty stomach. 

Gerard Butler's guestbook entry. If only we'd been there a night earlier!

I decided just to get the bus to our next stop at Tyndrum, and hopefully get my feet up for a few hours. But I had the whole day spare so there wasn't really any rush. I relaxed in the campsite for half an hour or so, then limped up to the Drovers, just in time to see the bus pulling away. I had another hour to wait, so just went into the Drovers and sat with a soft drink to kill some time. It was still only mid-morning, so they weren't serving alcohol yet - a stiff drink would have been preferable to try and numb the pain in my feet!

When I eventually arrived in Tyndrum around midday I was looking forward to just checking into our accommodation - the wooden huts at 'By The Way.' However the welcome I received was less than friendly, and was downright rude. As I approached the reception area one of the female owners practically came running at me shouting 'go away!'  I tried to explain that we were booked into one of the huts but she told me they weren't open until 2 o'clock and to go away. I was rather taken aback by this as this was the first unfriendly person I had encountered on the whole journey so far.

 

I trudged slowly up to the café at the other end of the village and passed the time with a magazine and cream scone. The battery on my phone had died by this point so I had no way of telling whether or not it was after 2 o'clock or not. I waited on the benches outside for another half hour, just to be sure, watching a group of bikers setting off on their journey. 

I headed back down to 'By the Way' and tried to check in again. It was the same woman as earlier, and she wasn't in any better mood than before. I gave all the booking details, but because I did not have the credit card that it was booked under I could not check in. I tried to explain the situation but there was no way this woman was letting me into our hut. I asked if I could wait here until the others arrive, and her reply was that I could sit outside, but I would have "no access to any of the facilities". Great - the rain was just starting to come down and I had to sit outside. 

As I was leaving the reception another group of walkers arrived and had asked to collect their bags which one of the carrying services had dropped off. As I was walking out the door I heard the woman shouting at them - "How do I know who you are? You could be anybody!"  Either she was having one hell of a bad day, or she has some sort of anger management issue. In any case, she probably wasn't best suited to a career in customer service.

I decided to take a walk down to the end of the drive where the Way passes by, hoping to see my friends coming in. I shouted encouragement at a few groups of walkers who were passing, and asked whether they had seen a group of 5 girls and a guy - but nobody had. One man stopped to chat and explained that he'd set off at 6:30 that morning, so I knew my group were still nowhere near. Reluctantly I headed back up the drive to sit down on the wet grass. 

I'd only been sitting for around ten minutes when two of the girls arrived - they'd got as far as Crianlarich and decided to catch a bus the rest of the way to Tyndrum. One of them had brought me a can of beer, and at that moment I thought it was the kindest thing anyone could have done for me as I was feeling rather depressed. We went back to reception to try and check in for a third time. 

This time the woman said we can't get in without paying, which she hadn't mentioned before. If I'd have known it was money she was after I would have paid cash and got the money back from the rest of the group. We split it between the three of us and finally managed to get the key for the hut - it wasn't worth the wait. When we entered the hut all of the surfaces were covered in dead midges, and I'm talking hundreds, not just one or two. At least it was nice to get some shelter from the rain. 

We found the rest of the facilities to be quite restrictive – whereas all the other sites we stayed at had free washing and drying, at By the Way you had to pay for these. Granted it was only a few pence but still frustrating. If you didn’t happen to be carrying the correct coins then you wouldn’t be able to use anything. You even had to pay to use the cooker! Also there were signs everywhere telling you not to do this and that which felt as though they were dictating to you like some sort of schoolteacher and you were the naughty child.

The only good point about the huts was that they had an electricity supply which meant I was able to charge my phone. I’d only had it plugged in for about an hour when I checked it and found that someone had unplugged it and removed my charger. I asked everyone but they all denied having seen my phone charger, so clearly I knew someone was lying. I wasn’t sure at this stage whether it had been stolen or if it was a genuine mistake, so I left the issue for the time being. 

Anyway we decided just to have an early night, as I was still in a bit of a bad mood from earlier, plus the midges were so bad outside that it was impossible to leave the hut. I was hoping that after plenty of rest my feet would have recovered sufficiently to continue the walk tomorrow. 

Day 5

We had planned to set off early this morning as it was a long day ahead – 19 miles to Kingshouse. I woke up and began to strap up my feet while everyone else went off for breakfast. When they returned they told me that it was time to leave, even though I hadn’t eaten yet. I ended up storming off in the huff at this point, as there was no way I was going for a 19 mile walk without having something to eat first. I quickly gobbled down a tin of sausage and beans then we set off. I asked everyone again to check their belongings to see if someone had accidentally picked up my charger, but still everybody denied it. 

The weather today was awful, the rain was absolutely pouring down so we all had our waterproofs on, however within minutes I was soaked from the inside with sweat. Although my feet were much better they were still quite sore in places, so I soon fell behind the rest of the group. I think also that there was still a bit of tension over the breakfast situation so people were giving me some space. I was still a bit annoyed about this, plus the fact that someone had taken my charger. 

We had only been walking for about five minutes and were just crossing over the road at the other end of Tyndrum when I decided to abandon the walk. This was to be one of the most remote stretches, away from any sort of roads or transport links so if my feet had become any worse I’d have been stranded in the middle of nowhere. Plus I could no longer trust my group members, I could no longer charge my phone, and I only had £20 to last the next three days. I made the decision to spend this on a bus back home, rather than complete the walk. 

At the time I did not feel any sense of disappointment – only relief. I walked back down to the other end of Tyndrum again, and waited at the bus stop for over an hour. When the bus eventually arrived I fell asleep almost straight away, and only awoke when we were reaching the outskirts of Glasgow – I must have been exhausted. I had only enough battery in my phone to text my partner and let him know I was on my way home, before my phone died completely. The rest of the journey went very smoothly – straight off the bus and onto the train at Queen Street. Then straight off the train at Waverley and onto the no.31 bus. 

Even when I arrived home I knew I’d made the right decision. I had no regrets whatsoever until maybe a week or so later then it was only because we did not plan the walk properly and did not have the correct walking gear. My partner could only say “I told you so” as he had warned from the start that the whole thing would be a disaster.

I’m looking forward to trying the walk again next year though, and it is only now that I’m beginning to get excited about it again. It took quite a while to get over my bad experience last time, but now I feel as though I must complete what I started. Hopefully my next blog will be a success story rather than a failure! But by sharing this experience I hope that any inexperienced walkers who read this will not make the same mistakes.

Thanks very much for reading.

Ailie

Waiting at the bus stop in Tyndrum