The West Highland Way could well have been our first long distance route when we started doing them back in 2011 but we chose the Rob Roy Way instead. It is good to finally be doing this iconic route. It's also a bit strange to be on a sort of 'walkers highway' with people from across the world undertaking the challenge, as well as it being a sort of right of passage for Scots to do the walk at least once. This provides quite a different atmosphere to most of our walks where it feels quite often like it is just us. The first person we meet is a hiker from Switzerland, so she'll probably have completed it before we're finished in Costa Coffee! Really don't need a shortbread before I've even started. As we approach Carbeth huts we notice we have actually done a small part of this route before whilst walking the John Muir Way. Ah, all that has occurred since we were last here in 2017! Ok, forget that, let's live in the moment! The rain is fairly light and punctuated with dry spells. Some swallows put on an aerial display for us and I make an attempt to photograph them. I actually manage to capture them although they look like three spots on the lens (see photo below). The volcanic shape of Drumgoyne looms out of the mist in front of us from the edge of the Campsie fells. We get the sense of the ground steadily rising, although in fact we are headed away from the Campsies. We hit an old railway line and trudge along, considering whether we want to divert to Glengoyne distillery or whether the extra half a mile might be regretted at the end of the walk! Jennie is quite far down the path and misses the moment I notice a tiny toad/frog lurking in the grass. I am excited about this but I have no-one to share it with except the toad/frog, and to be honest it just wants to get away so I stop bothering it! We decide to skip the distillery and instead sit on our bags in the rain and eat pork pies we have brought for lunch. We both decide we have very much gone off pork pies. We are about halfway at this point and it doesn't feel like it is going to be too bad a walk towards Drymen. As we have been walking along the old railway line we have spotted a couple of interesting juvenile birds which we are able to identify as a Robin (fluffy and lacking a red breast) and a Chiffchaff (similar to the adult but also fluffy) as well as a pair of Stonechat, a familiar friend from the nature reserve by Arbroath, and another Blackcap. We stop at a cafe called Turnip the Beet, both miss the pun and wonder why the music's on quite loud, however we are glad for a sit down. A young woman has taken a quite bedraggled but cheery looking dog on the Way that reminds me of Snowy in Tintin. We haven't met as many people as we thought we would actually, probably because we set off late and we are pretty slow. As we start to approach Drymen we move onto a quiet B road which looks on paper like it will be a fairly easy walk but is actually remarkably steep and undulating so at this point we find it really hard going. There are odd benches placed as if in recognition of this which we are grateful for. The woman with the dog passes us with the dog now looking even more bedraggled, but still fairly cheerful. Jennie brings out some chocolate covered raisins at exactly the right moment. We are even slightly envious of people camping at the campsite we pass because at least they have reached their destination and do not have to walk on into Drymen! Someone has had some fun with some Lord of the Rings references which lightens the struggle somewhat. One last push and we emerge at the crossroads of Drymen and indulge in a fantastic pub meal at The Clachan Inn where we are also staying. Hallelujah we have made it! Drymen is another place we have visited before. As well as being the end of Day 1 of the West Highland Way it is also the start point of the Rob Roy Way, where all this walking madness began! Hopefully the pub has a hairdryer as Jennie's boots are leaking again ...
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