Wilmotts Walk This Way

Day 6 - The Finale

2008-05-23T17:58:00.009+01:00

Just a quick note to let you know we've arrived safe and sound! We were expecting Clive's daughter Sarah and her boyfriend Nick at the finish, but were shocked to also see Kate and Rhian (My daughters) as we came around the corner to the finish line. There were lots of hugs and kisses and a bottle of bubbly to celebrate. Then, to add to the surprises Rhian announced that she is pregnant!

We were all feeling good today and really pushed the pace. Once again the weather held out for us so we carried our waterproofs for 95 miles for nothing! I'm sure you'll understand but we're going out to celebrate now, so we'll finish the blog in the morning. Bye for now!

Sorry about that! Had problems sending photos from my phone at Fort William so am completing the final blog from the comfort of home.

Day 6 began with the disappointing news that David's blistered feet had got the better of him. He started with only one good leg (as a result of his arthritic knee) and once he ended up with a blister on that foot, there was no way he would be able to walk the final difficult 14 mile slog. It had been an ordeal from Day 1 for Dave. Dave's fitness was better than all the rest of us, but you had to have been there to realise how tough the whole walk had been for him. While the rest of us were enjoying the views Dave just had to keep his head down and plough on or he wouldn't have got as far as he had. Up hill and on the flat was no problem but he even had to resort to coming down the steep downhills backwards. A brilliant effort! Well done Dave!

A photo at our final digs and away we go. I have to mention the food on offer at this place. We all like our grub but this was crazy. The breakfast was the biggest you had ever seen, with not just the traditional full Scottish or alternative kippers, trout and salmon, but also every fruit you could imagine, a cheese board, cold meats and rolls. When the packed lunch came, well, to take it with us we would have needed Fox the Movers to transport it for us. It wouldn't fit in our bags so we had to leave half of it on the beds.

Out of the village of Kinlochleven and first sight of the initial climb ahead.

Quick stop for a peek at the view from half way up the slope. The village is soon disappearing below.

This is Kinlochleven from the top of the climb. There were a lot of people walking today. We seemed to be passing walkers all the way up the climb and it continued as we sped along the first half of the walk. The only time anyone went past us was when we stopped for a coffee break.

First view of the way ahead down through the glen.

And there is the path stretching out as far as we can see.

We made good time today, helped by a cool wind on our backs. Note the attire. Fleeces and long trousers the order of the day for the first time.

A well-earned coffee break.

The top of another climb. At about this point I broke into an adaptation of a Rolling Stones classic: "This must be the last climb, may be the last climb, I don't know". Needless to say it wasn't.

Another mountain stream. That first one we had encountered and dipped our toes in on Day 1 seemed a million miles back. No stopping today though.

It's hidden by clouds but the mountain behind is Ben Nevis. The closest we were going to get to it. Much as we would have loved to have gone up it (honest) it just wasn't going to be feasible. Maybe another time!

We finally finished climbing and it was down hill all the way to Fort William in the distance.

Around the final corner and the finish appears and, to our surprise, not only Sarah and Nick, but Kate and Rhian as well. What a welcome!

Celebration time! David had joined us on the road a couple of miles out so we were able to finish as we had started, the 5 brothers all together. What a feeling! And thanks to Clive's younger daughter Jenny there was a bottle of bubbly to celebrate.

And here they are, our welcoming party (from left to right) Nick, Sarah, Rhian and Kate. Fantastic to receive such a welcome after our hard slog.

The best feeling of all; getting those boots off at the end of another gruelling day. David's feet were just too sore to contemplate taking his shoes off until he really had to.

Not a pretty sight, Alan's blistered and bloodied big toe. The things we went through hey!

But for me, my first thought when I saw my daughters was "oh s**t I'll have to have a shave now!"

Time to let the hair down (we wish!) at the local Indian Restaurant. The one thing that kept us going today!

And so to the next time. A poster found in Fort William the day after we finished the walk. Who knows if it will be this one but I'm sure we'll do something next year. This was a fantastic experience and so far we have raised almost £7,000 for the Breast Cancer Campaign and Alan has raised around £1,500 for LATCH. Thank you to everyone for your support and we hope you enjoyed reading about our escapades.

Day 5 cont...

2008-05-22T15:23:00.009+01:00

Well there's a coincidence! We arrived at our destination and there's 'something of interest' , and it happened to be the locally brewed beer!

Despite being the eldest David found a burst of energy today and picked up the pace (probably still excited from last nights game or he'd read up about Kinlochleven in advance and knew there was local beer at the end!!)

All ready for the start of day 5. It's a few degrees colder today. Reaching for woolly hats to protect the bald heads for the first time, well apart from Clive of course. (David still celebrating United's win last night)

Last look back at King's Hotel. A real walker's hostel. No frills but very welcoming.

Crossing the way in style.

The route followed the road for a while

Nice back drop but not our digs for the night thankfully!

Then we started climbing the Devil's Staircase. David, the mountain goat, out in front. I think he must have had a date with the devil.

Looking back down the Devil's Staircase the way we had come. A quick burst from me and I managed to get ahead of Clive, Alan and Paul but David's long gone!

Definitely feeling good today having climbed Devil's Staircase. We took a detour another 150 metres higher to admire the view down Glen Coe. Well worth it but not clear enough to see Ben Nevis. Notice Alan had to stand on a rock to be in this photo!

The route back down. David had to climb down some parts of the descent backwards as it was so steep it wasn't kind to his dodgy knee.

More views from the top!

Our destination for today in the distance. We can almost hear the brewery calling!

We arrived at Kinlochleven and discovered it has it's own brewery. After sampling the local brew we might not be home just yet! Cheers!

Dragged ourselves away from the pub to our B&B for the night. Very nice though a little bit cramped! Poor Paul is in with Clive and I, stereo snoring for him tonight!

The view from our room.

We can't believe the journey is nearly over! Just 14 miles left of our big adventure. The whole experience has been out of this world...where are we going next year boys? Please send in any suggestions....It's always great to hear your comments!

Day 5

2008-05-22T07:54:00.004+01:00

Before breakfast on Day 5 and we have finally been able to get on the internet and see the good work that Rhian and Kate have been doing on the blog on our behalf. One slight correction, it was a walk of a mere 75 yds that Paul turned down the other day.

So today is our short one just nine miles. We're going to start prompt and get it over with and hopefully find something of interest to do at our destination, Kinlochleven. Today takes us to the highest point of the route, through Devil's Staircase and up to 550m, including a short, sharp climb.

Highlights of the walk so far, obviously the stunning and ever changing scenery; good accommodation, food and beer; the different people we have met along the route.

Sorry got to go, we can smell the bacon.

Actually, decided on the kippers, lovely they were too! The maitre de was a real character, fussing around like an old mother hen. You weren't allowed to sit down until you had been to the cereal table and a new waitress was told off for not putting a jug of coffee on the table, a punishable offence apparently. All the guests were smiling at one another. A group of Belgians found it highly amusing.

Forgot another highlight earlier, the single malt whiskies we have been sampling each evening. Right, I think everyone is ready, will be sending more messages later. Looks a bit cloudier today. The peaks are not visible, hopefully they will lift as we go along.

You'll never walk alone!

2008-05-21T21:57:00.002+01:00

This is what a liverpool fan thought of tonight's game!

Well someone was happy!!! Well done United!

Day 4

2008-05-21T21:23:00.004+01:00

Wow, day 4 already! And we're off after our night of four star luxury. Only 13 miles today so we allowed ourselves a lie in and set off at 10 am. The main aim of today is to make it to our next B&B in time for the United match this evening.

A big climb started the walk today. Everybody set off at different paces. Dave was striding away up front, followed by Clive. Alan limped along behind in third. I was in forth, blogging as i went. Paul was at the rear using the shorter day for a spot of bird watching (of the twitcher variety, of course!)

On the steps of the hotel ready for the day ahead. However, by the looks of this photo Paul appears to have given up altogether and is catching a lift from Clive. That's what big brothers are for!
Obviously Clive has had enough and Paul has found his feet again! Here he is on the bridge of Orchy.
This was the view from the top of the climb. It was a fantastic view of the mountains around us.

And this was the Loch below.

This was at the highest point so far. We were getting a little to close to the snow!

We stopped here alongside the mountain stream for lunch. Perfect for cooling off sweaty feet!

We climbed and climbed today. The peaks that we looked up to earlier were now all around us. This was the highest point of the day.

This is our hotel for the evening. We made it in good time today, a mere 4 and a half hours of walking. David has bagged his seat in front of the telly for tonight's game, but we spotted the aerial on the way in...there could be sabotage!

The view from our hotel. The scenery just got better and better. In fact it was the best day today...or was it the day before...or the day before that?! The story continues...

Day 3

2008-05-20T20:13:00.004+01:00

Day 3 over and we're well over half way there! We've now covered 59 miles in the past three days with just 36 miles to go. The course today was slightly less strenuous than yesterday, however the miles covered in the previous day had left their mark on everybody's legs and feet. Blisters are springing up on blisters, and muscles which we never knew we had are aching!

Paul's enthusiasm of climbing Ben Nevis has well and truly disappeared when a simple 750 yard stroll to check out a "holy pond" resorted in Paul saying "I know I should go and have a look, but I can't be arsed."

It took us a little longer to get into our stride today, but once we got going we were off and running...well almost. Still having great fun along the way, as you can see...

Day 3 here we go!

Have you met my friend the bear (I'm the one on the left by the way!)

The half way point in the route - 47.5 miles

Here we are eating lunch while the midges are eating us. First drop of rain but it didn't last long.

Feet are sore and weary but when i tell everyone there's only 2 miles to go it soon brings a smile to their faces.

We made it! This is our hotel, The Bridge of Orchy. Very Luxurious! Thankfully the beer's easing the sore feet by the second!

An easier walk ahead of us tomorrow by comparison, just 13 miles!

Day 2

2008-05-19T21:21:00.007+01:00

What a day! Today's challenge was 21 1/2 miles of difficult terrain, probably the hardest day we'll have (we hope so anyway). The journey took nearly 9 hours but once again the views were well worth the pain. Paul started the walk yesterday by talking about taking a detour on the last day and conquering Ben Nevis, however we think the altitude must have got to him and the idea hasn't been mentioned since.

The camaraderie on the walk is fantastic. It's amazing how many people you encounter out here, and everybody has some word of encouragement.

War memorial
The loch at Rowardennan. We stopped here for coffee - 7 miles in and still 14 miles to go. Looks like it's going to be a long one today!

Lunch time over. Time to put those sweaty socks back on. Only 9 miles to go, but we've been told the last 7 are the toughest.

Just one of the many banks of bluebells we keep encountering.

Just to prove I'm on this walk! (The trousers are meant to be shorts!)

Just through Inversnaid - 7 miles to go.

Rob Roy's cave. Thankfully not our digs for tonight!

Last view of Loch Lomond. Not sure whether we're glad to see the back of it! Scenery is spectacular. It's changed in the last mile - definitely more highland.

And finally...we made it! On our first, well deserved, pint of the day. Only 20 miles tomorrow!

Day 1

2008-05-18T21:47:00.003+01:00

One down five to go, the scenery was breathtaking from the off. There was plenty of wildlife around including deer and we also heard lots of cuckoo's. Lots of people on route 20+ passed us while we stopped for lunch. Highlight of the day apart from the first pint was paddling our feet in an icy cold babbling brook after about 16 miles. Colin, Clive and Alan already suffering with blisters!

An hour in and first sight of the Highlands

First view of Loch Lomond, we will be following it for the next two days. We may be sick of the sight of it by the end

Loch Lomond from Conic Hill. Toughest part of the days walk and it came after 17 miles, a bit of a climb but well worth the slight detour

The Wilmott Brothers - Here's one for the album!!

2008-05-18T16:05:00.003+01:00

Wonder if they'll look this fresh at the end?

Starter's orders

2008-05-18T14:22:00.004+01:00

And they're off....

Set off at 9 O'clock this morning with Sarah (Clive's daughter) and her boyfriend Nick there to send them on their way, for the first stage of their 95 miles. The sun was shining brightly on their skinheads (well except Clive of course).

The first day's walking is 18 and a half miles from Milngavie, Glasgow to Balmaha. And that's all we know for now. We look forward to hearing from them later to tell us about their first day. Tune in later for the next installment.

Kate and Rhian x

The Travelling Wilmotts

2008-05-14T23:26:00.000+01:00

The Team

(otherwise known as "those silly buggers who are going walking in Scotland for 6 days")

The old men (well oldest men) of the family, senior partner David on the left hoping his arthritic knee is going to hold out and No. 2 Alan, only slightly dodgy knee.......shoulder.......back.

Seen here in training at the Garn Lakes in Blaenavon

No 3 Clive, the native, living in Scotland he has on obvious home advantage but slightly handicapped my another dodgy back and cronic achilles tendon problems.

He is giving it the thumbs up from Ben Lawers, the 10th highest peak in the UK.

No 4, that's me, Colin, on top of the Skyrryd in Abergavenny. I'm hoping not to get a recurrence of the shin splints that dogged my training a couple of months ago. I still don't see why I can't take my bike.

And finally, the baby, Paul. As you can see below he has finally mastered the art of walking and he's only 41. This is him on top of one of the peaks in the Snowdonia range struggling to stay upright in a howling gale. Oh, and by the way, another dodgy knee candidate.

So, now you've seen us, who's the smart money on to be the first candidate for an early exit. Send us your thoughts.

Welcome

2008-05-14T01:21:00.000+01:00

The purpose of this blog is to chart the progress of the intrepid Wilmott brothers (David, Alan, Clive, Colin and Paul) as we walk the 95 mile length of the West Highland Way from Milngavie on the outskirts of Glasgow to Fort William. We are due to start in 4 days time on Sunday 18th May 2008 and finish on Friday 23rd. If you are reading this blog its probably because you are already well aware that we are walking in aid of the Breast Cancer Campaign Charity in memory of my late wife Gill seen opposite holding our grand-daughter Eve, aged one day, a year ago today.

That is with the exception of Alan, who is raising money for the LATCH Charity with whom he has been associated for some time. The fund raising has gone incredibly well, far outstripping our expectations. I'm not sure what Alan's figure currently stands at but I know he has collected over £1,000 and the figure for the Breast Cancer Campaign is now well over £5,000. If you want to see more about this you can go to http://www.justgiving.com/wilmottswalkthisway

I hope you enjoy reading this blog and seeing pictures of what is meant to be breathtaking scenery along the route. I am hoping to update it each daybut that really depends on whether we can get internet access in some of the more remote parts of the walk.

That's it for now.

Colin