Magic in the Mountains

May 10, 2024 (10 miles)

Fort William, Scotland

What an awesome end to a fantastic hiking trip! We have been so incredibly lucky with the weather and today was no different. We woke up around 7:30am in order to eat breakfast form the campground kitchen. We both got rolls with eggs and meat with coffee, they were really good (but not as good as Leven Bites!). We had a quick walk from the campground to the Ben Nevis Visitor Center. Unfortunately the actual visitor center was closed, but at least the bathrooms were opened.

We were on trail at 10am and started climbing right out of the gate. The full distance of the trial was just under ten miles with around 4400′ of gain. We started about 20′ above sea level and finished at 4413′. Ben Nevis is the tallest mountain in the UK and buddy it felt like it!

The climb was unrelenting but the views were amazing. It took forever but we finally made it to the top after crossing some snow. It’s pretty rare to get clear skies on top but again we were so lucky- views on views on views! We hung out on top for a while and ate a sandwich and enjoyed a wee dram before starting the grueling descent.

It was so pretty but after a while we were sick of the crowd and the sun and just wanted to be done. When we finally made it back down to the visitor center we made our way back into town where we went to check into the Highland Hotel. It was super old and fancy and felt like a nice treat after trail. We walked back into town for dinner after showers and ate Indian food at Cafe Mango. We went back for drinks at the hotel bar before turning in for the night. Inverness tomorrow and the official start of the second half of our honeymoon: sightseeing!