day 12 trail notes | kinlochleven to fort william

stats

weather:

full sun

accommodation:

home

steps:

36,664k

planned mileage:

15 miles

actual mileage:

15 miles

total day mileage:

16.30 miles

well it finally arrived - the last day of our west highland way hike, which was also our longest day totalling 15 miles from kinlochleven to fort william. 15 miles sounded so easy & achievable when we were planning but it really did put me through my paces.

our plan was to rise early, head back into kinlochleven, park the van then set off at a good time. of course this didn't happen as early as expected, with having to pack up & stop at the shop for food, it was around 10am before we were walking. straight away we knew we'd be finishing late which was going to be tough going, especially because there was not a cloud in the sky & the sun was blazing down already, so just had to take it in our stride & deal with it. within 5 minutes of leaving the van little had tripped, scrapped her knee & had a big cry so that stopped us in our tracks to settle her. dad decided that he would pop her onto his shoulders to settle her while we were moving which worked a treat.

the first mile or so after leaving kinlochleven is tough; you're basically straight into a steep & intense climb through the woods on a mix of path & rocky terrain. having little on dad's shoulders & me only having a day pack for this section really helped give us the pace & start we needed for the day otherwise we both might've struggled. we passed a few hikers with big rucksacks on who were turning back as they couldn't manage the climb, which is a shame. we thankfully had a lovely wee breeze for this climb so that was cooling us but also keeping the midgies away. how that climb isn’t the climb named the devils staircase is beyond me though. i'd heard about it being a tough start to the last day & people sure weren't exaggerating.

once we had cleared the initial climb we stopped for a food break on a huge rock & admired the view. the pap of glencoe was in full view & looked beautiful in the sunlight. stopping at the shop in the morning was a good idea, we knew we'd be burning through a lot of food & water doing the 15 miles especially in the sunshine, but more the fact having something different for snacks rather than ham wraps was thrilling. felt like a tiny reward but was a great motivation for little too as she was excited for the different food at our stops.

once we had finished our snack we set off again. thankfully now we had done 1/2 of the big climbs for the day, with the second coming around mile 11/12, so we had a nice relatively flat track to walk on for the better part of the afternoon. we had to stop a few times to put cooper into any streams or puddles we passed as he was panting a fair bit & not taking it upon himself to cool down in them. considering he's a spaniel, he is absolutely not a water dog unless absolutely necessary so dad had to dunk him a few times & make him drink some water.

around mile 4 we passed through the deer gates & had to pop cooper onto the lead. there was a whole herd of sheep within this area which meant he had to be under control which was unfortunate for us both. he is more an off lead dog with great recall but not good enough to chance around the sheep, so i popped him onto my waist band to keep my hands free for my hiking poles. he of course hated this & made it his sole mission to pull for the next few miles until we passed the next gates where he could be let off again safely. it helped me walk quicker but it wasn't the day, with the heat or lack of shade, for him to be overdoing it.

the landscape here was wonderful. the hills just towered over, making me feel tiny, but i was in awe with it all. we hardly seen anyone on this section so the feeling of remote & peacefulness was at an all time here.

around the 6 mile mark we parted ways with dad. he had walked in this far with us but now he was turning to run the same 6 miles back to the van, driving around to fort william & we would meet again later, around mile 12. instantly my energy & motivation levels dropped along with littles. cooper was the only one still riding the excitement wave. it was around 1 oclock by this point & we were doing really well in terms of pace & milage covered but as soon as we sat to have a break & dad left it was a bit like mmph. i had to entertain & motivate little again solo, which would've been fine as it had been the previous 10 days, but she was enjoying grandads company so wasn't taking me on. we had to walk another 6 miles to the next meeting point with dad & that felt too much all a sudden. our days had been around the 7/8 mile mark so having almost already reached that then having to do it again on top of that just suddenly felt unachievable. my rule of stopping every mile / hour for a break & feet check went out the window & it was noticeable. my feet were throbbing a little but being the fact we were in the middle of a glen with only one way to go they had no choice but to carry me onwards.

around mile 8 we had gone through another deer gate, which meant coop was back on the lead sadly. as much as i enjoyed this because he was pulling me up the hills, he was desperate to get off & starting to pant a fair bit due to this & the heat. thankfully, we stumbled past a small stream next to the path so decided this would be a perfect time for another break.

my feet were needing a rest, little was wanting to stop for a play & coop needed the water so it made sense. cooper however was once again not playing ball with the water, which meant i had no choice but to sit on the mossy bank so he would be in the water sitting next to me. of course the moss was damp, giving me a soggy bum but this was the only way i could get him in for a drink & to hopefully cool his coat off.

we must have sat here for a good 30-45 minutes, mainly because once we were down we didn't really have the energy or motivation to get back up again lol but also because for the first time during the day, other walkers had appeared. they passed us just before we were about to get up, so we stayed a little longer so we wouldn't be too close behind them when we started moving again, especially for when coop could get off lead.

eventually we were greeted by the views of the mighty ben nevis ahead. at first this felt wild seeing it ahead of us, realising how close we actually were to finishing after so many ups & downs on trail so far & the thought that we must be about 5 miles to the finish or thereabouts. i suddenly couldn't believe we would be finishing later on in the day!

both little & i had gained a new burst of energy after we were discussing our finishing meal. knowing we'd be finishing late evening / early evening & that we'd had the van to take us for food, we started planning what we could have. of course the only choice was a mcdonalds. a good, greasy meal after 15 miles was exactly what both little & i wanted.

we finally stumbled across my dad again around mile 11 or 12 & what a welcome sight that was! little & i were almost jumping for joy to have him rejoin us, little especially because he had taken an apple juice & a banana for her as a treat. she hopped onto his shoulders & got stuck into her juice box. me more for the reason it meant he could entertain little & i could focus on making my feet move on at a time. the not stopping frequently & the huge miles already covered this day meant my feet were really hurting now & it was a mental game making them go forward. having my dad to encourage little was a real help for getting us down that last hill.

dad had parked about 2 miles away towards the entrance of glen nevis. the plan was to get to the van, mend my feet as much as possible for the last push, get some snacks & put cooper into his bed for a sleep. the last mile would be along the roadside so having cooper with us would be an unnecessary stress as he'd already had a huge day out & isn't the best behaved in public on lead, so it was the better option for him to go into the van to chill out a little.

it took us no time to get to the van thankfully. it was nearly all downhill after we met dad which helped with the speed, plus little being on dads shoulders helped. taking my shoes off at the van felt like bliss. i let them air out for a good minute then popped some plasters & tape on for the last mile. the temptation to just take the van to the end & call it a day was insanely high. dad was going to drive around to the finish, park up & walk back to meet us so we could then walk to the end point together. he was doing a lot of retracing his steps that's for sure!

the road walk was surprisingly fine though. i think because i knew where we were & how long it would take to get to the end it didn't seem so bad. it was quiet enough & my feet were feeling better because of the quick mend i did at the van.

we had finally reached the original end point of the west highland way & stopped here to take a moment. i had passed this sign so many times before in the car, never thinking much of it, to now have walked 95 miles to reach it, could've brought tears to my eyes. we met a lovely guy who was sitting on the bench next to the sign waiting on 3 bikers doing the way & had been sitting for a few hours already at this point, but at least he had a good spot.

we carried on after chatting to the guy at the sign & were determined to get a move on. it was close to 7 by this point; we were both getting hungry, we still had about half a mile to walk then the drive home.

we thankfully could see dad walking towards us which meant we were close to the end. little decided she just wanted grandads hand for the final walk up the high street towards the end. we'd walked together for nearly 96 miles & she was more interested in finishing with him hah! typical. at the end of the high street we could see it, the end sign. the final point of our 17 days on trail.

we had done it. my daughter & i had walked the west highland way.

seeing that sign & touching it together with my daughter was emotional. insanely happy & proud we had completed this huge adventure together, sad that it was actually now finished, relief that i'd be in my own bed in a few hours & not in a tent. a few to say the least.

while we were taking our finishing photos & getting ready to leave for our mcdonalds, i spotted a face that i never expected to see again. sharon, the lovely canadian woman who had singlehandedly saved our hike by bandaging up my sprained ankle at the kingshouse on day 10, was walking past us. nothing could have felt more full circle than seeing her at the end, especially since she was the reason we were able to finish & honestly was the perfect end to our experience.

we must have sat with her & her friends for close to an hour, sharing both highlights & memories from our adventures since we last seen each other. a real nice moment. however it was getting well late & we still had our victory mcdonalds to have & drive home, so we said our goodbyes for the last time & parted ways.