Day 86 - Kinlochleven to Fort William - 15.9 miles

This was supposed to be of the longest and toughest sections of the WHW

so we'd planned an earlier start so after a late night and despite the attempts of Alec and his Boe Violet gin recommendations we were still ready for the off at 09.00.

Some others of the July 4th revellers were not so ready!! 

Today, it was Dave's turn to join us with Hamish

as Emma was going to go forward on the bus to Fort William

with Rory, Alfie and Jess...with the sore paw.

The trail involved an initial steep climb of 800 feet out of Kinlochleven in the rain but we had great views along Loch Leven towards the Pap of Glen Coe in the background.

Once above the tree line, we felt the increasing headwind as we followed the old military road to the North West.

For part of the way we had the company of three ladies from the US - two sisters, Kathy and Michelle and their cousin, Deborah who despite the amazement and awe of their friends back home had decided to walk the WHW.

All had gone to plan so far until this morning when they had almost flooded their hotel by inadvertently dismantling the plumbing in their bathroom. The account of the hotel manager going to the early morning rescue of three American ladies in their bathroom will probably go into Kinlochleven folklore. 

The strong headwinds continued.

and brought the occasional heavy showers.

Until, as the route turned North through the Glen Nevis forest the conditions started to improve.

I really like these little colourful resilient pockets you see along the way

an isolated heather and

a gatepost

- despite the rigours of the tough environment.

The later stages of the walk were supposed to give fine views of Ben Nevis 

but not today as much of it was shrouded in low cloud.

As we descended towards Fort William, we were met by Emma, Elspeth, Rory, Alfie

and Jess with the sore paw...

who'd all walked up from the town to greet us.

Then all we had to do was to find the official end point of the WHW

so we decided to go along to the Black Isle Bar

where we'd agreed to meet up with some of the others

Kathy, Deborah and Michelle

and Alec and Ann (who'd battled through to the end nursing the biggest blister we'd ever seen and wearing Alec's size 9 boots. What a trooper!)

and even Joe made it despite having to cut his evening short to rush for his overnight Sleeper down to London.

Great congratulations to all and thanks to everyone for making it so much fun.

Total distance walked so far = 1066.9 miles

Total ascent so far = 125 045 feet

If you'd like to leave a comment, correct me on any detail or just nudge, it'd be great to hear from you. If initially it comes up as Anonymous, please just add your name at the bottom so I can see who it's from.

email: david.LL.thomas@gmail.com

mob: 07850109100

If you'd like to contribute to any or all of the three great charities I'm supporting, here are the relevant links.

- Parkinsons UK   - My dad had Parkinsons in his latter years and the research work this charity funds and the support it provides to patients and their families is invaluable. - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/david-thomas215

- Just Wheels UK  - this is a small charity set up to provide wheelchairs in a rural community in Tanzania. It does this through funding training, education and the local fabrication and servicing of bespoke wheelchairs. My nephew uses a wheelchair and as he grows I can see the life changing freedoms that proper wheelchairs can bring to both users and their families.- 

 https://donate.thebiggive.org.uk/campaign/a056900002H35TDAAZ

- RNLI   - these are the brave guys who selflessly head out to sea to help others. I volunteer at Littlehampton RNLI shop and often meet families of those who’ve had first hand experience of their loved ones being saved from the sea. Having sailed for years I can say thankfully we’ve never had to call on the RNLI's services but it’s amazing what it does to know they are there 

https://www.justgiving.com/