Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Bridge of Orchy to Kings House, sort of

Three nights at Ewich House, from which place we were taxied to our starting point for the morning's walk, or picked up in the afternoon, were lots of fun. The owner, whose affect made you want to salute and say, "Yes, SIR!" was actually most accommodating, efficient, and thoughtful.

While there, we had dinner a the local pub with other walkers, one evening with a couple from Amsterdam, and the next, with a couple from Norway, all of whom spoke extremely good English. The time was cheerful and comraderie-ish.

Today, much of the scenery was eerily bleak and dramatic against stunning skies:






In case you are wondering what it looks like to do a long-distance walk carrying all your gear, meet Joe:





And this is what your legs can look like after a while, even it you don't carry all your gear, because Joe is carrying the tent:





A big cairn, strangely marking nothing obvious:





Another view, one with water yonder:




Sometimes, ya just gotta stop and take a rest, as these guys from the Czech Republic demonstrate:





A view from one side of Ba Bridge:





And from the other:





As we approached the Kings House Hotel, we were surprised by some red deer. Being in the process of shedding their winter coats, they are mangy, so all their beautiful redness not not show through yet:




And of course a buck was part of the group:





Although we walked to Kings House, we are not staying there. We are staying in Kinlochleven, the destination for tomorrow's walk. Having arrived early, we decided to catch the 3:18 bus to Glencoe Village. We shlepped to the bus stop and waited and waited and waited and waited even longer in the freezing freezing cold for the bus that never came, so back to the hotel we trudged, and called for our ride.


Whilst waiting, we met these good-natured guys, who were also waiting for a ride to Kinochleven, having, like us, broken a 21 mile stretch into two days. They claimed to be The Beetles because their names are John, Paul, and George, but Ringo is really Mark. See the fellow on the right? He boasted that he holds the record for being the most obese person ever to have climbed Kilimanjaro, and that since he reached the summit, the mountain is not quite so high as it was before his ascent.





Our B and B for tonight and tomorrow is luxurious. The beds have super thick quilts and pillows, the room is spacious and bright, and something I have never seen before in a B and B, fluffy bathrobes are provided, as if this were a spa or something.

Here is the view from our bathroom window:






Except for yesterday, we are still being favoured with excellent weather, so the walk continues to be easy. Tomorrow, we have "The Devil's Staircase" to contend with, but it is a short day, so how hard could it be?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

2 comments:

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  2. Hello again Victoria. It was a pleasure meeting you on this wonderful walk. We love the blog and the pictures of our legs and luggage, will be keeping updated with your progress. 1st picture is Joshua Hesketh, 2nd is Travis Hesketh and our 3rd musketeer was Joseph Hesketh. We all made it to the end safe and sound and wish you the same success!
    All the best.
    The Hesketh.

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