West Highland Way Day 5: Tyndrum to Inveroran

Our thinking for the day had been to take in a hill on route to Inveroran. However, getting up, Bruce’s foot was niggling.

Breakfast at Heather’s

Having stayed in Tyndrum last night, we were at our favourite B & B, Tigh na Fraoch. This was a lovely start to the day as we had a chance to catch up with Heather, Bruce got to enjoy Colin’s trout, and there was good chat at the breakfast table with the other residents, all of whom were also on the WHW.

We debated our plans for the day. The intention had been to add a munro into the mix, however we decided we should just take it easy and head straight to Inveroran. Decision made, we packed up and set off on our merry way.

I noticed on starting walking that Bruce was wearing shoes rather than boots. For a fleeting moment I contemplated going back and changing as I didn’t need boots for what we were doing, but continued on figuring if the forecast rain came around midday I’d be dry and comfortable.

Changing Plans

The walk started with an easy incline from Tyndrum. This is a section we’re very familiar with having walked it both on the WHW and at other times when we’ve planned to be in the hills but inclement weather has put us off.

There’s a good landrover track so walking is easy. Bruce was rather taken with this gate. Look closely!

The day was good, weather forecast suggesting light rain only around lunchtime for a couple of hours. Bruce’s foot, while not pain free, was not feeling any the worse for walking so we debated whether to go up the hill after all.

I was somewhat grumpy as I had a plan in my head that I was happy with and it was about to change. We’d packed for the walk to Inveroran rather than a hill day, but we agreed there was potential to get up the hill before stopping at Bridge of Orchy to be refreshed.

Having started off cool, we’d warmed up on the walk so layers were stashed in our backpacks. The hills looked appealing, our target for the day hidden from view at this stage.

Beinn Mhanach

We turned off the WHW and headed towards the viaduct, delighted to see a train coming just at the right time!

Once under the viaduct the good track continued for a couple of miles. Having looked at the Walk Highlands route profile it appeared that this would be a challenging ascent – short but steep! We continued up the main track for a fair bit, remarking that this would be a great munro with a bike!

It’s also a great summer munro as there are a few stream crossings, all of which have fords or stepping stones and none of which were challenging today as the water levels were really low.

The path up the hill was marked by a small pile of stones and here the real ‘fun’ of the day started; this was definitely Type 2 fun as we reflected later!

Initially there appeared to be a small path, then we lost it, unsure if we were following a path or a small burn. Given that Bruce was in shoes and I was in my leaky boots we were both getting wet feet. I think he won this competition overall!

We continued to pick up occasional bits of path, then lose them, essentially heading straight up the grassy hillside. Going was very slow and hard! We could see something that may be the top but it was tricky to determine in the mist. We stopped and put on waterproofs as the mist appeared to be dripping moisture.

As we reached the summit the ground levelled out. The route description was accurate – a large grassy pudding of a hill. However, it’s another munro completed.

We didn’t hang around at the summit due to the driech conditions and were amazed at how quickly we managed to descend! It’s so much easier to lose 500 metres of elevation than it is to gain it! Always a bit like a mountain goat, Bruce skipped down the hill with ease. I wasn’t too far behind him for a change, even in front of him at one point!

It was a great feeling when we saw the track once again and even better once we were walking on it. We retraced our route, all the way back to the viaduct and the WHW beyond it.

We continued on the West Highland Way path from where we’d left off, roughly halfway to Bridge of Orchy. There we enjoyed a refreshing beverage and reacquainted ourselves with Jeanine and Sue, two lovely ladies that we’d met yesterday and over breakfast. All too soon we had to make a move as we had the latest possible dinner reservation at the Inveroran Hotel and an hour to get there.

Weary legs forgotten, we hotfooted it off up the wee hill that led the way. This is another lovely section of path and our only regret was not having the time to really enjoy it.

We made it to the hotel just in the nick of time! This was very fortunate as by this point we’d both realised how much the day (a fraction off 20 miles) had taken out of us. Coupled with a lack of food and not quite enough water, I think I was close to ‘the wall’ as was Bruce, both of us feeling a little jelly legged to say the least on the descent.

Dinner was worth waiting for! Beautifully presented, I was way too hungry to take a photo of my main course, but managed dessert. If our sleep is as good as the food we’ll have no problem in going again tomorrow.