Part two of my trip along the West Highland Way, from Glasgow to Fort William. Part one can be found here.

Day 3

I had a fairly good night’s sleep at Sallochy Campsite, and woke up shortly after 7:00. I was amazed at the number of midges that were swarming around the outside of the bug mesh of my tent. This would not be the last time – it was a recurring theme on this trip!

Most of the day was spent hiking north along the shoreline of Loch Lomond. Fortunately, the weather stayed nice for most of the day. Unfortunately, it kind of got ugly later in the day…

The route had now narrowed into an actual trail. Up to this point, it was mostly either a gravel or dirt road, or a pathway alongside a paved road.  Now the trail (very developed, with a groomed gravel surface) wandered along the lochside, through ferny forests, and across lovely babbling brooks.

I passed a fairly large hotel, the Inversnaid Hotel, around 2:30 in the afternoon. There appeared to be a wedding going on, and I saw the bride and groom posing for photos near a waterfall below the trail. I made sure I didn’t photobomb them!

At 3:00, I rounded a point, and had a view up toward the north end of the loch. There were some dark, foreboding clouds up that way, and I began to hear the sounds of distant thunder.

Along this section of trail, I came upon one of the more interesting trail features I saw: a little gathering of three tables and some chairs made of wood, in the form of oak leaves and acorns. Very cute!

Shortly after 4:00, a little bit of rain began. It was just a little light shower activity, but I donned my rain shell, just in case.  A little while later, I strolled across a field with an abandoned old house, and a smaller stone building at the far end. This was my first bothy!

What is a bothy, you ask? “A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge… Most bothies are ruined buildings which have been restored to a basic standard, providing a windproof and watertight shelter. They vary in size from little more than a large box up to two-storey cottages.“ – Wikipedia 

The bothy had a trio of people inside already, and I joined them. It began raining much harder outside, as an actual thunderstorm came rolling through. The bothy was a solid stone building, with a couple of raised sleeping platforms. There were just a few small, deep-set windows in the walls, which made the place quite dark inside.

I sat down on one of the sleeping platforms, just below a window, and pulled out my book for a while.  A few other people came in and dried out, then carried on. There was a bit of conversation among the occupants, but each group mostly seemed to keep to themselves. As a solo traveller, I didn’t chat much with the others…

Home for the night was going to be a campground at Beinglas Farm, which was a little over three km along the trail. The rain seemed to be pretty much done by about 6:00, so I packed my things back up, and got on my way.

Fifteen minutes before I got to the campground, the skies opened up. Seriously, the rain came down hard! Truly a deluge, for the remaining 20 minutes on the trail. I splashed into the campground, and was thrilled to see that there was a warm, dry pub on offer! I shed my rain layers, paid for a campsite, and sat down to a dinner of cullen skink, bread, and Guinness(es).

After a little while, the rain began to ease, and I went out to set up my tent. With the rain dying off, the midges began to reappear. I set up the tent and got right in. Later in the evening, someone was playing live music in the pub, and it sounded pretty good! Unfortunately, I knew that exiting the tent, and getting back in later, would permit far too many midges inside. I declined to do so…