Another two w-words – water and walking – closely related to the first.
If water is not falling from the sky it is winding down rivers or pooling in bogs or dripping off moss or rushing off mountains in a blast of white in the green and grey. It also turned our rocky path on the West Highland Way into a shallow stream.
The weather forecast had been grim but couldn’t resist joining the WHW in Kinlochleven. We climbed just over 500m firstly through thick moist forest and then out onto the open highlands surrounded by mountains, tops covered in mist.
We walked to the top of the Devil’s Staircase to an astounding view down Glencoe. The mountains are so steep sided they loom imperiously over you. I keep being stopped in my tracks with an ‘Ah!’ when I look up or walk out of a room and am confronted with a mountain all over again.
Day 2 took us through the wild Rannoch Moor – bogs and rivers and stone bridges.
And mountains and wildflowers.
We’ve been staying in some very nice B & Bs and small hotels but the Bridge of Orchy promised even more. An old hotel with new rooms closer to the river all Scandi and white light filled. Then we encountered the staff – swarthy serious young Russian men, slightly intimidating. One in particular with an especially short neck cleared our plates barking “Your breakfast good?” More of a statement than question and a feeling like you didn’t want to disagree.
