Andy Sweet's personal website

Even though I failed to finish the West Highland Way last year with painfully swollen, infected legs, Gregor, Gail, Mark & Bruce were all still keen to do the walk this year. Bruce came over first thing this morning, and we ‘phoned a taxi to take us to Milngavie to meet Mark and the Filipino boys who’d be carrying our big bags for us. And so the comedy began at around 8:30 on the first day, when the racist, homophobic, bigoted, misogynistic, xenophobic taxi driver arrived.

Me and Bruce were first down, and the taxi driver asked if it was my flat. When I said it was Gregor’s he asked us if Gregor was a “bluenose”, in reference to the last four digits of Gregor’s ‘phone number being 1690 - something that none of us had ever noticed before. Having established that Gregor was in fact an Aberdeen fan, we set off onto the M8. The conversation was flowing and soon turned to the merits of the speed restrictions in place because of road improvements. When we entered the Clyde Tunnel however, things got a lot darker, as the taxi driver began insulting every minority (and a lot of majorities!) he could think of, starting with his opinion of the Scots in Big Brother and continuing on to the way he treats his wife. When he goes home he apparently gives his wife the option of the TV remote or “the boaby”. I think he got the message when our replies became monosyllabic.

All this was bad enough, but he didn’t even know where Milngavie train station was, so after driving around for a while and stopping to ask for directions, we eventually got there and met up with Mark. After loading up the Filipino boys with our kit and sending them on their way, we sauntered our way to the centre of Milngavie where the first application of sun cream was made and photos were taken of us looking fresh-faced at the start of the West Highland Way.

The photo was taken by a girl who was doing the walk with her dad, and we kept bumping into them at various places along the ‘Way. After 5 minutes of walking we stopped for a half-hearted warm-up.

We made good progress along the Allander Water then onto the paths of Mugdock Wood, climbing up out of the urban environment to open moorland, fields and forestry plantations. Just after Carbeth Loch we joined the B821 for a short section before continuing up a tree-lined path at the edge of a cattle field. We took a break before crossing the stile over the wall as Gail was desperate for the loo so nipped off behind a tree. While we stood around waiting, a bunch of lads who’d been walking a few hundred metres behind us caught us up. As they approached us, one of them tripped on a tree root and almost head-butted Gregor in the chest. In the fine comedy-naming tradition of the West Highland Way we instantly christened him Zidane and his group by default became The French Team.

It didn’t seem long before we saw Dumgoyach rising in front of us - the first hill of any note on the West Highland Way. Beyond Dumgoyach we passed Dumgoyne, the last hill in the Campsies, and Glengoyne distillery. I suggested (half-jokingly) going in for a tour and a nip. Mark seemed up for it but it was decided we should stick to the walking on the first day, besides which whisky before lunch is a bit hardcore. Instead we had a break and made the second application of sun cream.

The sun was blazing overhead, and Gregor decided to take no chances with his napper by wearing two hats.

The path here follows the line of the abandoned Strathblane railway, and as such the route is very straight and rather unremarkable. Looking back after walking in a straight line for miles does however give an idea of how far we’d walked by this point, with Dumgoyach’s peaked summit visible at the end of the Campsies.

As we got closer to Drymen we were treated to our first glimpse of Loch Lomond, and soon after we were treated to a welcome (if late) pub lunch in the Ptarmigan Bar at The Winnock Hotel in the centre of the village.

After a good break we set off out into the sunshine to finish off the last section for day 1. Everyone was pretty tired by now, and Bruce was suffering a bit with blisters on both feet, so the going was slower than earlier in the day as we made our way through the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. Eventually we emerged from the trees to see Conic Hill looming in front of us.

A couple of miles later and we were crossing the bridge over the Burn of Mar and starting the ascent.

Progress over the hill was slow, but that only served to give us more time to appreciate the views, both back over where we had come from, and forward over Loch Lomond. With these views came the first appearance of Gregor’s video camera, and in what was to become a regular occurrence over the next week he insisted in pointing it at us rather than the scenery.

But after a last push we got to the bottom of the hill and were once again walking on the flat.

We crossed the car park in Balmaha and the collective sigh of relief was almost audible when the Oak Tree Inn came into view. Unfortunately the slow pace in the afternoon meant we arrived after 9pm, and so the main kitchen was closed. But all was not lost as we tucked into takeaway pizza sitting outside the Oak Tree Inn with a pint of blackcurrant & water and a pint of ale each - the standard West Highland Way drinks order!

We sat outside for a few pints until the midges started biting, then moved inside to peruse the “eclectic” range of books available in the bar, the Guinness Book of Records being a group favourite. After a few hours of increasing comedy we headed for bed - Gregor and Gail in the main hotel and me, Mark and Bruce in the bunkhouse out the back - so that weary limbs could be rested for another day’s walking tomorrow.

Day 2