West Highland Way - Day 2 (Mon 4th May 2015)

Balmaha to Inverarnan - 20.5 miles

We awake to bright sunshine and are both feeling pretty good, not too achey and really looking forward to today's walk even though the guide book says it can be pretty hard going!
There's a minor panic as we think we've missed the AMS van while we're having breakfast - don't fancy lugging a suitcase around the banks of loch lomond!
We stop to have our photo taken with the Tom Weir statue and head off around the first 7 mile section towards Rowardennan, one of the park rangers stops for a chat and tells us this next section is one of the most beautiful places in the world, I think she's probably right!

The walk follows the loch shore past the caravan site, passing gorgeous little beaches before heading through beautiful woodland paths where we catch a glimpse of Ben Lomond, eventually passing the starting point for the path up the mountain…but that will have to wait for another trip!

We have a stop for lunch at the Rowardennan hotel in the lovely beer garden and get chatting to a couple of guys who are doing the walk in 5 days like us, we've seen them a few times along the path so far and there are lots of day trippers out too enjoying the sunshine.
It's nice having a few pubs along the way for a pint of coke and a bit of a breather… and at this rate the sandwiches we bought in Milngavie will never get eaten!!
The next section to Inversnaid (7 miles) is through a lovely wooded section, we take the higher route on the forestry track, it's a nice steady walk but quite undulating and I have to admit by the time we arrived at Inversnaid my feet were on fire and we were both glad of a sit down at the Inversnaid hotel. There was a fairly sorry selection of us in the beer garden, I think the heat had made the walk a lot more tiring, several people were talking of getting the bus so we downed our drinks, pulled our boots back on and set off quick sharp before we were tempted to do the same!! 

Still 6.5 miles to go to Inverarnan and we're eager to get to Beinglas farm at a decent time.
The next section around the loch is absolutely stunning with beautiful views across the water and Rob Roy's cave along the way but you have to remember to keep your eyes on the ground as there's lots of rocks and tree roots to watch out for plus various ladders and boulders to clamber over too. It's pretty fun at first but it does tire you out after a while and it's really slow going so we're glad when the path finally opens out and we head away from the loch to a wide pass with fabulous views across the water.  The sun is low in the sky and the light is just beautiful at this time of the day.

We pass a lot of people along this section, and most people are tired but happy and eager to get to Inverarnan as soon as possible; we pass a group of lads from a military school carrying the world on their backs and looking thoroughly miserable at this point (we see them later on at the campsite and they seemed much happier once they'd managed to get hold of a beer!)
I'm very grateful our stuff is on the AMS van!!
We arrive at Beinglas campsite at 7pm, it's been a long day but a fabulous one, exactly what we were hoping the West highland way would be like!
Beinglas farm is a fab little place, I had tried to get us in a camping pod but they were all booked up so we're in B&B accommodation in a block of wooden chalets on the site. 
After a hot shower and a a few drinks in the bar we're feeling a whole lot better, but try as we might we can't summon up the energy to head across the bridge to the Drover's Inn which is a shame as we've heard great things about it. Never mind, it's always good to have an excuse to come back!
We head back to our cabin with aching legs and dog-tired but blissfully happy after a beautiful days walking in the sunshine…hopefully tomorrow will be just as great!