The West Highland Way in four days | May 2022

well i've made it to mall guy just outside glasgow i'm all set to do the west island way i originally wanted to do this midlife crisis in may 2020 but uh you know things have happened but two years down the line we're finally ready to go and i can't wait to get started all right then let's see what the weather's like not bad not bad at all all right let's do this come on let's go [Music] so [Music] [Music] finally we're off yes about 30.5 k 19 miles today from mogai to boa high on the shores of loch lomond [Music] thank you ah it's a beautiful morning got a good start got some sunshine some clouds nice breeze it's a bit of a procession early doors because uh of course everyone's starting so uh there's a lot of people in front of me and behind me but uh i'm sure we'll thin out as things progress [Music] so you may be wondering uh how many days i'm taking to do this well four which is stupid to be honest with you but after my 2019 spectacular dragon's back dnf i wanted to set myself a challenge that was a doable b relatively easy c on my own terms and d with comfortable beds hot showers and flushable toilets lambs oh i love myself a lamb that's so cute yeah how you doing fella [Music] it's very nice so far but it's it's quite sort of flat it's on an old railway so there's just a hedgerow in the fields you can't really see much right now but uh it's a nice little start to the hike just call the glimpse of loch lomond just over the field there can't really see it from here very well with the camera but uh yes it is down there somewhere honest it really is [Music] i must say it's nice there aren't any mountain lions in the trees lurking and licking their lips and eye me out for their lunch it's nice to walk without fear of death you know i'm seeing myself some more like loman i'm just saying just over the trees there hopefully i'll open up in a second there it is yes all right my friends there's conic hill we're heading up that bad boy i think it's gonna be a little blustery up there and it might start raining all right then how about rain now okay well first one this is the test of my test of my love for rain which i've yearned for in arid dry california i said i want some rain let's see how long it lasts before i'm whining about this so it really started lashing down i got to get a little down but i'm quite snug in the jacket uh the jacket has gone over everything it's got my pack and everything so it keeps everything dry so uh yeah just my legs getting wet but you know there's skin so nothing to worry about [Applause] that's the stuff that's what i'm talking about [Music] a little bit of a slippy sliding down hilly bit rocks and mud and water so i think we're almost about my heart now so yes pint put my feet up [Music] buddy cars i think we're at the village [Music] and that was the end of day one of the oak tree inn in belmar i'd had a great time and it was a superb introduction to the west highland way i checked into my room got cleaned up and had a nice early dinner with a well-deserved pint however i couldn't linger too long as i had to sort out my train wreck of a bag before the next day but not before having another cheeky pint of course morning about six o'clock day two let's see what the weather's like moist it's 10 part 7. time to head off on our merry way after a lovely night at the oak tree inn highly recommended and we're heading north and unlock omen [Music] i wanted to get an early start because it's 45k today this is the real challenge uh if i can get through today i'm going to be confident about the rest of the rest of the walk and it's going to be halfway by the end of today so let's do this [Music] i'm adorned with a comedy poncho [Music] i saw some blue sky up there i think it's gone now hey [Music] you don't really see much of loch lomond if i'm honest but uh really but um it's still very nice in the woods it's beautiful birds are tweeting it's a greenery [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] just over halfway i'm at the end of the snide hotel and just had a spot on lunch now we've got a bit of a climb coming up so let's see how that goes [Music] this is a muddy rocky mess these uh these these shoes are doing really well on these horrible rocks and mud really good grip uh sarcone pair of green elevens if anybody is interested ooh this bit uh this bit just passed inverse knife to invergary it sucks yeah it's lots of ups and downs and tricky rocks and roots and slippy mud and it's just real slow going but yeah here's where it is just emerging from the trees after a short climb and we're seeing the highlands up ahead i passed some people earlier on and uh they said uh oh yeah yeah you worked out how many bluebells they were right one of their friends and he's like yeah yeah we calculated approximately 1.5 billion blue bells around loch lomond give or take a few you know whoa you're blowing a nice shower as well [Music] [Music] very exposed up here now getting wind and rain but it's very refreshing after um nearly a marathon [Music] so [Music] oh my god almost finished we're just going to turn off the west side away now and go down to korean lank where the hotel is halfway point on the west side away two days halfway i'm actually feeling remarkably sprightly i mean i'm tired but i'm not totally dead so oh that training has paid off yes that night i was staying at glen brewer house which is run by the creolaric hotel just across the street in the restaurant that night it was time yet again for fish and chips with another well-deserved beer however i soon faded fast and it wasn't long before i was back at the room and in bed a little stiff this morning quite a pretty good night's sleep let's see what the weather's like not too bad at least it's not raining yet day three let's go all right 6 30. heading to uh hike back up to the crossroads pick up the trail once again it's not raining so far back of the way someone camping over there i might just open them up [Music] frogger [Music] [Music] um you don't get this good stuff in america i'll tell you i've been dying for this for the last two hours [Music] [Music] [Music] hey so again some foreign way we came through here on the train and uh i remember seeing the hikers on the west island way going by and thinking i want to do that too so here i am oh dear i'm like up here oh just taking some shelter behind the building here in the aaron hotel is absolutely hammering down the wind poncho's flapping i can't hear myself think it's quite invigorating but uh cracking on hopefully we're gonna turn in a bit and then whenever the wind will be behind me [Music] and just like that it went from rain and wind lashing my poncho was all over my head so just boom just stopped the wind stopped the rain stopped blue skies [Music] happen to the moor veronica moore [Music] i'm calm once more [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] i can see the hotel [Music] it does not appear to be getting any closer [Music] as soon as i walked into reception at king's house it was a different world warm dry and cozy and i was soon in my exquisite spacious room to mix things up instead of fish and chips i actually opted for a venison burger and a delicious cheesecake as on previous nights though it wasn't long before i was sound asleep ah good morning oh last day today let's see what the weather's like shall we whoa sunshine this is it day four final day let's go [Music] [Music] oh that was the devil's staircase yes over the top of the hill down to kinloch lever so would i recommend doing the west island way in four days absolutely not i'm just doing it for a challenge so i wanted to see if i could do it midlife crisis you know that kind of thing especially you wouldn't do it if you had all your pace going get to the end get cleaned up have something to eat and then fall into bed and then repeat so yeah take your time and enjoy it it's just absolutely amazing highly recommended however many days you end up doing it [Music] i think there's a bylaw that says every vlogger has to say did you know that kidnap cleveland was the first village in the world to have every house hooked up to electricity [Music] time to tippy-toe around this bad boy dude over here well that should work what could possibly go wrong that one there i am now on the last page of the map i'm seeing a lot of hats on the trail look after your hats people [Music] so [Music] so [Music] i can see ben nevis tomorrow maybe [Music] can't stop staring at ben nevis it's very formidable really not very far now i think probably two miles just ascending to the road on glen nevis [Music] well it's been a blast am i sad that i'm near the end not really come on totally dude seriously is this road gonna end like where's the main road come on [Music] get in there [Music] ah there we go there we go here we go here we go [Music] oh [Music] good morning well that was yesterday afternoon while i managed to push through to the end there pretty much after that my legs seized up and i hopped back down the high street got some fish and chips got some wine go out to the hotel and crashed out and i could hardly get out of bed but this morning i woke up feeling quite chipper so what do you do when you've got a day in fort william let's go up ben nevis yeah when i said tomorrow maybe i really meant it i first went up ben nevis in 1994 and despite passing through fort williams several times since then i haven't had a chance to go up there it's been 27 years and i doubt i'm gonna have a chance to go up again in 27 years time so i should do it now while i still can there's so many people it's like a highway oh yeah sorry we're thanks okay oh well i sat down for a bite to eat before going around the summit to look at all the views and while i'm sitting there the clouds are rolled in and now i can't see anything so let's land if you can see stuff look at it when you get the chances and that's the end of my little west highland way adventure with a ben nevis bonus i hope if you ever get the chance to do the west ham away you have as much fun as i did and thanks for watching if you made it this far and uh see you on the next one you

Channel: Peter Hobley Explores Outdoors

Views: 30,411

Keywords: westhighlandway, scotland, hiking, ScottishHighlands

Id: odZmbPxzePU

Length: 37min 36sec (2256 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 13 2022