Milngavie to Drymen 12 miles

I went to bed too early, I think I was asleep just after 2100, and so I woke up just after 0200, and I never really got back into a deep sleep after that. Tomorrow night I must remember to ask Chris to mute his phone, as it kept dinging all night with notifications, and lit the room up.

The alram was set for 0700 as we had been told to take our suitcases to the collection point by 0745, but in fact they didn't arrive to collect it until 0800. It was a nice day, and as soon as the cases were collected, we went for breakfast, I was really looking forward to a full Scottish cooked breakfast. Unfortunately, the chef wasn't there, he had been taken to hospital the previous evening and so there was no cooked breakfast available, just continental style. Not the start I was hoping for. However, there was coffee.

We set off and found the official WHW starting point no problem, and we got our WHW passports stamped (equivalent of a credential on the Camino), and a few photos later we were off.

Within a few minutes of walking it was easy to forget that we were still in the city as the path took us through woodland into a country park and before long we had left the city behind. The weather was lovely, with blue skies, but breezy. The trail was well marked, although all we had to do was follow the 30-40 people in front of us. It is a very popular walk, especially in April as that is usually pre midge season. i think we averaged 2-3 miles per hour, so a very average speed. We had a few stops along the way as the weather changed and we had to put on our waterproofs, although as it turned out the rain was light and patchy, but it was windy.

We stopped for lunch, which was really good but the place was heaving with hikers, fortunately a table was clearing just as we were ordering. It was the first proper hike I had done since returning from Spain, and the Camino Mozárabe last July, and I was quite pleased with how I was doing, nonetheless I was glad when we came to Drymen. Our hotel for the night was the Braeside Guest house, it was lovely as was the lady who checked us in and took us to our room. The room was clean and comfortable with a great shower. I went over to the SPAR supermarket across the road and got some supplies for tomorrow. Dinner was in the Drymen Inn and it was excellent and not expensive. We were also book in there for breakfast, so I was looking forward to that. Tomorrow's walk is a bit longer than today, and mostly uphill so we will need that cooked breakfast!

With nothing more to do, it was time for bed.Läs mer