Magic in the Mountains

May 6, 2024 (9.3 miles)

Tyndrum- Inveroran

Hard to believe this journey is halfway over! Today was probably the most scenic in terms of sprawling mountain views. Neither Cade or I slept very good in our camping pod so we were eager to get up and get moving today. We took showers (with shampoo!) and I did yoga before we packed up and headed for town. We went back to The Real Food Cafe for breakfast. Cade got the Scottish breakfast and I had eggs with venison sausage and a black pudding roll. We ate our fill and walked over to The Green Welly which was like a giant gift shop, outfitter, and gas station all rolled into one. I got cold medicine (I have been very congested/snotty and think I have a cold) and we got coffees and were on our way.

As soon as we walked out of town the mountains rose up to meet us. The mountains are “conical” or cone shaped because of their steep slopes and dramatic points. We meandered around the side of one and it felt a little less wild just because the highway was on either side. We went down through several railroad tunnels and walked along gravel double track trail for most of the day. You can certainly tell we are getting into the Highlands!

We walked through a valley along a small river for a while and moved from one jagged mountain to anther. We saw lots of sheep and ever got to walk beside some cows (no Highland cows to report). The miles came easy and we were able to make it to the Bridge of Orchy Hotel for our 12pm lunch reservation. Booking all these places to stay and eat was a pain on the front end, but it’s taken out a lot of the stress and I’m glad we did it this way. I don’t feel the need to do another “walk” like this anytime soon, though, just because it’s so boujee and the culture is different.

Our lunch today was a favorite so far. We were seated at a table by a window that overlooked the mountains. The restaurant had their own homemade bread and Cade got a sandwich and I got this yummy salmon appetizer. We split a bread board and drinks and stayed there for a while enjoying the view and reading on our phones. We only had 2.5 miles to go between lunch and where we were camping, so it felt good to just dick around and take our time.

Once we had our fill we set off again. We got to cross what I assume was the bridge of Orchy over a river before we started going uphill. This was easily the hardest uphill stretch we’ve had yet! I hadn’t looked at the elevation profit so I had no idea what was coming. It was steep and felt super long but in reality it was over in less than fifteen minutes. Because of all the logging there were no trees so the views were panoramic once we got to the top. We could see lochs and even joked that a pointy mountain was the Matterhorn. We took in the view from the top for a bit before descending into Inveroran.

We pitched our tent in the woods across from the hotel and read for a while since we got there so early. The real highlight was getting to eat at the Inveroran Hotel– best meal on trail yet! Cade got lamb and ratatouille and I got steak stew. Excited for breakfast there tomorrow. We finished the day in their cute little pub.