Magic in the Mountains

May 2, 2024 (12.1 miles)

Milngavie-Drymen

First official day on the WHW! We woke up in our very cushy hotel room and I did yoga before Cade got up and we went down to breakfast. I was expecting a continental style breakfast but what we got was so much nicer! It was like a little restaurant within the hotel. They had this super fancy coffee machine that could make espresso and lattes along with all the normal food stuff like toast, fruit, and yogurt. The big kicker was the chef that made to order nicer breakfast items. I had eggs, hash browns, mushrooms, sausage, and tried black pudding which was delicious!

After breakfast we packed up and were off. We had a mile walk from the hotel back to the start of the trail, but we were on sidewalks and greenways the whole time. I am so impressed with Scotland’s greenways thus far- they are scenic and there seem to be so many of them.

We passed back by the train station and walked through the enter of Milngaive to the obelisk that marks the start of the trail. It’s right smack dab in the middle of town! After a couple of quick pictures we were on our way. The trail was basically a greenway for the first few miles before it turned into smooth gravel/dirt trail following the river. We went up and over a couple of hills where we discovered the “scholar rocks” along a small stretch of trail. They were decorative and pretty and I was extra thankful for the sign explaining what they were: “Located across rural sites, the highly glazed, hand built ceramic rocks’ make connections to East Dunbartonshire geology and industries that once utilized resources provided by the landscape.”

The highlight of the day was our stop at Glengoyne Distillery where we went on a tour and tasting. It was so cool to go through the distillery’s history and process and then getting to do a tasting in their lounge overlooking the pond. Our tour guide, Rebecca, even ave us a free gift of two glencairn glasses and small bottles of their limited edition set when she found out wit was our honeymoon! The location of the distillery was beautiful and we could have spent even more time there. We will defiantly be back!

Once we finally pulled ourselves away from Glengoyne we walked a quick mile up the road to the Beech Tree Inn where we ate our first deep fried Mars Bar and ice cream and walked through their petting zoo. Afterwards we walked another quick mile to Turnip the Beet where we had a small bite of their Moroccan tomato soup and salami sandwich. We even saw our first highland cow and lots of sheep which we keep “bahh”ing at but they’ve yet to respond…

Most of the rest of the trail was a road walk through the scenic countryside that quickly got old. I was tired and ready to get to town! We finally made it into Drymen where we linked up with Susan from Kip in the Kirk to get shown to our B&B, Hillview, for the nigh. What a quant and peaceful little room and private bathroom! It was conveniently located next to our dinner spot, The Clachan, which is Scotland’s oldest restaurant (it predates America! Opened in 1734).

We had a delicious dinner- Cade got fish and chips and I had Malaysian lamb curry. We split a toffy pudding that was to die for and then waddled back to our room with full bellies. What a fantastic first day!