10/ Walking the West Highland Way: Day 9
The last day: Kinlochleven -> Fort William, 24km
September 10, 2021
Kinlochleven -> Fort William, 24km
And so begins my last day on the West Highland Way.
It’s due to be a long, long day. My longest so far at 24km. It's a distance I’ve averaged on past long-distance walks, yet this time around it's going to be a mammoth achievement for various reasons I’ve written about in previous journal entries.
The day starts off murky and wet. A grim morning, made grimmer by the presence of midges. I spot them before I even leave my tent – they’ve made it into the porch of my tent, and I know this because amongst the drips of water I can see sitting on the grey mesh above me, there’s also a horrendous amount of little black dots.
I poke the the material to make the fat drips rolls away, and accidentally touch the outer mesh of the tent... there are even MORE midges! Nasty. I prepare myself to be engulfed as I step out of the tent.
The air is thick with them this morning. I thought I’d already experienced the worst of the midges, but I was wRoNg. My tent is... covered is the wrong word. It looks like someone came along in the night and doused my tent in pepper.
Hoo boy.
I pack up as quickly as possible, sprint-walking between the bathroom, the drying room and my tent, covered in midge spray and and my midge net firmly over my head. They seem to be out in their thousands today! And here I was hoping it would be cold enough by now that they’d be gone. Nope.
I leave the campsite sharpish, planning to get breakfast at one of the local pubs and hopefully to get another one of those delicious sandwiches for lunch. Unfortunately, I discover that neither of them are open to non-guests for breakfast. The Co-Op it is. I grab some thankfully nice-looking pastries for breakfast and stare for at least five minutes at the disappointing sandwich selection that I know will be absolutely meh. I could really do with a hot cup of tea but I’ll have to wait until Fort William now. This morning isn't starting off so well.
I munch on my paltry breakfast as I exit Kinlochleven around 8.30am – the midges don’t seem to be as heavy in this part of town thankfully so I eat mostly in peace, hopeful that's the end of them for the day.
The trail leaves the road quickly and starts to go up. I haven’t really looked at what today’s going to be like since I know it’s going to be a challenge either way, but I do know that the day starts with an uphill. Glimpsing what’s in front of me, though, I have a Very Bad Feeling.
I’m soon proven right; it’s steep uphill, and for most of the way the trail is only large enough for one person – an unwelcome throwback to those horrendous hours walking along Loch Lomond. It’s a busy morning too and there’s lots of people behind me. Mostly groups by the sounds of it.
Not only that, the weather is not cooperating. It’s way too warm and damp. Surrounded by trees on all sides as we climb, it feels like I’m in a jungle far from here and not in Scotland on the cusp of autumn.
I keep my fleece on for as long as possible but it’s just too hot. I’m baring my arms and neck to the world now, concentrating too hard on putting one foot in front of the other to think to put on more midge spray that's definietly sweated off by now. I take many breaks; everytime I think I’ve reached the top, it just CARRIES ON. I’m in a terrible mood now.
Finally, finally, almost an hour later, the ascent starts to level out. I don’t realise how high up I am until the trees start to clear and the view is revealed. It’s incredible. I don’t think this is the highest point of the trail but it feels like it. The clouds hang low, the broken formations hinting at colossal mountains underneath.
The sea of fog only covers certain areas, making it seem like like the mountain I'm standing on is floating. I vaguely spot Kinlochleven through gaps in the mist, and it’s so small it looks like a toy town. I'm in my own version of 'Wanderer above the Sea of Fog'.
I sit and take a break here, refuelling with snacks and recovering from the gnarly ascent. A guy I met yesterday shows up as I’m sitting and we chat and catch up. Then he tells me I’m surrounded by midges! I didn’t even realise and have a minor meltdown, trying not to heave as I suddenly realised I’m literally covered in them.
Internally screaming, I quickly set off again – it’s getting colder now and windier, so hopefully they’ll piss off asap. I try not to think of how many times I was bitten on the way up and cross my fingers that it’s not too bad (it's definitely worse than bad lol).
The landscape begins to even out now and the trail lengthens before my very eyes as I approach Lairigmor, the Great Pass. The path is encompassed by tall mountains on both sides and I can see for miles.
I can also see how busy it is; where did all these people come from? I suppose some of them must be doing a day walk into Fort William.
I don’t mind too much anymore; this part of the walk is so open and spacious, not claustrophobic at all like the steep climb to get here. I feel more settled – calm – and I’m glad that the weather hasn’t improved. The dark, fast-moving clouds and the brisk wind makes me feel much better.
The next few hours are more of the same. I keep a vague eye on the distance I’ve travelled, trying to put as many KM behind me as possible before I sit for lunch so that I’ve got less distance in front of me afterwards. The scenery is incredible here – this is turning out to be a strong contender for my favourite part of the WHW despite the rocky start.
Before I stop for lunch, the environment changes again; it starts to undulate and the path shrinks, becoming a single person track, regularly passing through forest plantations. At one point I come across a large group of people all having lunch, and I spot a couple of familiar faces. It’s nice to see them and have a quick catch up but I don’t sit to join them – it’s a bit too early and I still want to cover a bit more distance. I’ll walk for another half an hour or so.
I end up walking for quite some time instead. The single track path runs for a while without anywhere good to sit. Finally, just before two and now quite hungry, I find a few tree stumps with an incredible view. Perfect.
I eat my shitty little cheese and onion sandwich, dose myself with chocolate, and spend some time photographing and filming. Watching the mist flow over the forests and hills in front of me is mesmerising. And it’s so quiet here, barely anyone around all of a sudden.
I move on soon after. The trail starts to descend now. I can see that the single track dirt path continues like that for a while, snaking and zig-zagging. I don’t see anyone ahead of me. It’s just past 2pm now, so if I carry on at the pace I’ve been managing so far, I should arrive in another few hours.
The rest of the day carries on much the same and soon enough the tiny dirth path opens up into a wide stone road, then rounding the corner to come up on Ben Nevis. Just the butt, anyway – the highest mountain in the UK is hidden in cloud today, and I can only imagine how gigantic it is. I also spy Fort William in the distance. Entering the endgame now.
The stony road is horrible to walk on and makes my feet ache with every step. I have to take a few breaks here, stopping to video call my mum at one point to show her the view. The road curves round and round as it gradually descends, Ben Nevis a constant on my right. Finally my surroundings change and I enter a forested area. Someone jogs past me – I must be close to arriving now.
I descend through the quiet forest, the squishy forest floor giving my knackered feet some reprieve. It’s dark in here, the trees so close together that they block out the measly grey light of the sky. It’s a beautiful place to walk through, mushrooms everywhere. I start to hear a low rumble as I come to the edge of the woods – a busy main road.
This last part is anti-climatic. The last few KM of the trail are along a pavement on the side of the busy road into Fort William. I try and figure out if I’ve made a mistake but I don’t think I have.
As I arrive in Fort William, it starts to rain harder than it has so far. I’ve not had to wear my waterproofs because of rain this entire way, and apparently I’ve got some karma to fulfil. I’m stubborn with putting on my jacket; surely, literally at the end of my walk, it’s not about to rain now?
I’m wrong, obviously. The sky opens up and I race to put on my jacket, though it’s way too late. As if the rain chooses this specific moment! I trudge along the pavement, getting absolutely soaked while traffic races by on my right. I’m not too bothered though – I’m literally about thirty minutes from a warm shower. I have to go pick up my backpack one final time at the Nevis Centre, about a ten minute walk from where I am.
I come across a roundabout leading into the town centre and see a sign for the original end of the West Highland Way.
I move on quickly, making my way to the Nevis Centre. I walk in, dripping and leaving a puddle as I walk. I grab my bag and try to figure out how I’m going to carry both at the same time. It’s not far to the town centre and my hotel, and I can’t be bothered to try and repack both right now. So I do the thing – I sling my big bag on my back and my daypack goes around my front. I feel like I look stupid... but it’s kind of comfortable ngl. It's heavy though and I very slowly make my way to the centre of town in the pouring rain.
I find my hotel splat bang in the middle of the main high street but before I go in I keep walking. At the end of the street is the current “finish line” of the WHW, and there’s a man on a bench waiting for me.
So I’m officially finished. I’m drenched, dog-tired, done. And I've arrived earlier than anticipated. I head to my hotel, check in, and have the hottest shower I’ve had so far. Bliss. My room disappears as I hang up everything wet to dry (and that’s basically everything I’m carrying), and I crawl into bed with a hot cup of tea, finally.
I had hoped to stick around Fort William and attempt Ben Nevis originally. Unfortunately, the accommodation here is way more booked up and expensive than I had realised; instead, I booked the one night here and a train ticket. I’ll head back to Edinburgh tomorrow evening.
I am drained. I struggle to get up to go to dinner when it's time. It’s so busy, I end up queueing for the cute little restaurant I chose to eat at. I stick it out – the only other option seems to be takeaway fish and chips, and I want to treat myself. This may only be the second or third time I’ve been “out” to eat since the pandemic began. It feels amazing to be here.
I eat an incredible meal and drink excellent wine, leaving me feeling like jelly. I consider heading to any one of the pubs which all seemed rowdy and exciting. I’m sure there must be some familiar faces around... but I’m absolutely exhausted and starting to feel a little ill. I head straight back to my room and watch TV until I pass out.
Until next time,
A
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A bit about me
Hey! I’m Ameena – a freelance writer based in London. I love to tell stories about adventure, the outdoors, and our relationship with the natural world, and by night, I’m a portrait and documentary photographer.