West Highland Way With a 3 Year Old - Day 10 Trail Notes - Rannoch Moor to Kingshouse Hotel - Anna Hardie

day 10 trail notes | rannoch moor to kingshouse hotel

stats

weather:

overcast

accommodation:

wild camp

steps:

22,073k

planned mileage:

4 miles

actual mileage:

6 miles

total day mileage:

9.60 miles

after a peaceful nights sleep on the moor, we were up early to get going before the thunder that was forecasted came. our day was short with only about 6 miles to do but it was on the cobbles so i wasn't sure how quickly we could get through it, especially with the thunder in my mind. we were slow on the cobbles yesterday as we also had full sun on us but today thankfully was already overcast so i was more hopeful for a better day. it was a nice, cool & welcome contrast from the past few days.

once we had left our little sheltered camp spot & rejoined the path i noticed how many people were on it & passing us already. it was the busiest part of the trail i'd seen so far, especially with it only being about 9am so i put it down to the forecast. nearly every person that passed us mentioned it & asked if we were aware what was due. the people must've been up early early to get through onto the moor & pass us by this time in the morning, likely so they could get into a safer space before it hit, which was a totally reassuring thought when you have a toddler who will walk at 1mph max lol

we managed to have a very quick start to the day surprisingly. as we had just joined back onto the trail we met a lovely solo hiker who was passing us. she stopped briefly to talk, then asked us to walk & talk, which was nice. instantly littles mood was good as the lady was lovely to her so it made her want to walk & keep up with her. i was enjoying our conversation so i picked little up so we could match the ladies pace a bit better & so we could clear the more exposed areas quicker. we walked & talked with this lady for about 30-40 minutes before we needed to stop to have a break as little was asking for a snack, so we said our goodbyes & she carried on. i never even thought to ask her name, but it was lovely speaking to her for that part of the morning.

when we stopped for our snack break i couldn't believe we had done close to 2 miles in that short time while walking & talking. that was the fastest we'd moved the whole duration of the west highland way so far, so i was chuffed. it was a short day to the kingshouse & now felt even more achievable with that 2 miles done by this point of the morning. i was more than happy for little to take her time walking if she needed since i knew we were about 1.5 hours faster than our usual pace so we were set to do the whole 6 miles in about 4 hours, which would've been about 3 hours quicker than expected.

by around midday i felt confident that the forecasted thunder wasn't going to arrive any time soon, so i relaxed a little about how we were doing for the day, especially knowing we'd done a quick few miles by this point too. we were running low on water so when we found a stream which was flowing fast enough to fill up at, we stopped here for another break. little was enjoying playing with the gravel on the path so i took this as a moment to take the bag off & make some ham wraps for an early lunch. we had one final ascent to do then it would all be downhill to the kingshouse, so i thought food would be a good idea. after our wee pre lunch food break we had walked & talked with a few other hikers who were all lovely & full of interesting stories which helped pass the time on the ascent.

everything about this day was all going great, until it wasn’t.

at around mile 5 the cobbled, uneven, rocky drovers road got the better of me & caused me to take a flyer, knocking down little in the process. instantly knew the fall wasn’t good & that i'd goosed my ankle badly. in the process of landing the fall i felt it pop then instantly it was swollen & i couldn't put my weight on it. it happened in the middle of the path so i had to basically crawl to the side of the path, dragging my bag that i'd just dumped off me to the side as i could see other hikers approaching. i was in a sickly, dazed type of zone where i knew i couldn't interact with a stranger at that moment so i didn't want to bring any unnecessary attention to us & make it obvious i'd hurt myself falling.

i had knocked little over in the process of falling so she was a little bit upset & surprised at the fall, so i was focused on calming her & making sure she wasn't hurt. she was fine, the fall caught her off guard & spooked her. once she was calmed & settled the pain of my ankle kicked in. it was throbbing & felt like it was it's own heat source. i'm not an expert but i knew this wasn't good. after about 30 minutes of sitting by the side of the trail i had to find the courage to stand to see if i could walk on it or put any weight on it, mainly to rule out that i didn't break it. i was really hoping i could stand & walk because i really didn't want to have to ask a passing hiker for help or at worse, have to phone mtr for help. thankfully i could walk on it so i put it down to a bad sprain & decided that i could walk the final mile to the kingshouse, as slow as that would be.

the fact i could see the kingshouse when i felt was like a bad joke. it was so close yet it felt like the longest mile of my life. i couldn't believe i had fallen, i couldn't believe i'd actually hurt myself & i couldn't believe it had happened so close to the finish point of the day but i was determined not to let it get to me. i would walk this final mile & then once our tent was up & sorted, i would access the situation & make a plan from there. there was no way i was giving up & not finishing this trail, not after overcoming all my issues in the first half & especially not with only 25 miles to go.

putting any weight on my ankle was so uncomfortable, especially once the weight of my rucksack was back on, but at least i had the hiking poles with me as this took a huge brunt of weight. the cobbles made it very difficult to walk as i was having to land funny which made every step painful. little was very concerned but was also very comforting. she was telling me i was doing great & that i was brave.

after what felt like forever, we made it to the kingshouse. i have never been so happy to see this building before! we arrived around 2pm & i was expecting the informal wild camping area behind the hotel to be empty, being so early in the day, but much to my surprise there was already 8 tents set up. it was a sunday so i was surprised at it being so busy. thankfully i managed to find a great spot away from everyone but right next to the river so we set up here. my ankle was really hurting by this point & i needed to sit down, so the rock in the river was a great spot. i took my shoes off & decided that the river would be cold enough to essentially ice my ankle & that it did. it was freezing & instantly took some of the heat & pain off my ankle. i would sit here all day if i had to. however, little decided she wanted food so it was time to hobble down to the walkers pub & see if they were serving.

the first person i spoke to arriving at the kingshouse was a lovely canadian hiker called sharon. she had asked me how our day had gone so i told her about my fall & much to my luck, she was a physiotherapist & offered to take a look at my ankle for me. she took one look at it & confirmed straight away it was badly sprained. she offered to tape it up for me if i had tape as this would help with healing it & would help me walk more comfortably, but of course i didn't have any. she said she usually carries some as it's handy to have but decided not to take it for some reason this time. i thanked her anyway & hobbled off to the toilet. when i had come out of the toilets, sharon had found tape for me! i couldn't believe this, she had asked a random table of hikers if they happened to have any & to my luck again, they did. so i hobbled outside & she taped it up for me. instantly my ankle felt so much better & i was able to walk on it without much hassle.

i spoke to sharon a bit about what she thought i should do in terms of continuing my walk & if i would do damage continuing. she recommended a rest day if i could, keeping it iced in the river & elevated & assured me that i wouldn't do any long term damage if i decided to attempt the last 25 miles. this was reassuring, so that was the plan. spend the rest of the day resting, then spend tomorrow resting. my mind felt at ease with this surprisingly. if this sprain had happened in the first half of our walk i likely would've come straight home, not even contemplating a rest or replanning.

we spent the rest of the day basically lounging around the hotel watching the rest of the hikers arrive, watching the resident deers roam around & watching the ducks in the pond. it was nice & relaxing, exactly what we needed. we ate scones in the restaurant, drank some tea, ate some steak pies then decided to call it a night & head for our tent around 630. just as we were about to leave for the tent the thunder hit. the rain came pouring down, the sky had darkened & the thunder was clapping hard. it lasted about 30 minutes before it let up enough to head for the tent & by this point i was ready for bed.

as we were getting ready for bed i took one look at my battered right leg & just laughed at how pathetic it was as my ankle was wrapped & my knee in plasters. how could i be so unfortunate with 3 falls, all landing on the same leg!

little was straight down with the sound of the rain crashing off our tent sending her to sleep. around 9pm the thunder & lightning started again but i was pretty confident we were safe in our tent with the nearby mountains, the hotel & the trees all surrounding us. if it was going to hit something, it would surely hit those before us!

costs of the day

food -

kingshouse hotel £17.63

total £17.63

iphone shots

a selection of shots taken on my phone during the day.

rest day

i had slept with my foot raised up on my bag hoping this would keep it elevated throughout the night but if anything it just made it super uncomfortable. the throbbing was intense in the morning & i was quite glad that i decided to take a rest day instead of trying to attempt the devils staircase on it.

it took until after breakfast for the weather to finally clear up. it had been raining hard since the thunder last night although it did clear the stuffy air, which was needed. we took some photos around the hotel as the light was looking lovely. for the rest of the day we mainly ate scones in the hotel, stuffed our faces on their steak pies, watched the deer & ducks roaming & overall took our time doing everything. it was grea

while we were lounging about during the afternoon we met a lovely guy called sean, who was waiting on his wife monica arriving to the kingshouse. she was walking the way by herself to raise money & he was going ahead each day to set up the tent for her coming later. an amazing display of support from him! we sat with him for a little chatting away until monica arrived with their two dogs, obi & solo. we sat with them for a bit until it was time for little to head to bed so we said our goodbyes. they were lovely, especially to little, so it was great to meet them.

we headed for bed around 7 to get an early start in the morning. my dad was coming down to meet us & walk the next 2 days with us, so little went to bed super excited to see grandad.