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Lochaber 2007

 

Over the Hill to Bridge of Orchy

 

 

 

 

Friday 10th August

Day Four of our holiday dawned with the mist low on the mountains and a light drizzle falling. We went down and enjoyed another cooked breakfast and then packed all our belongings and set out on the old drover's road to Bridge of Orchy. Dad had calculated that this was ten miles long and we needed to get there by 3 o'clock to catch the train to Fort William. As we reached Blackrock Cottage and a ski-centre that seemed very run down to us, Glencoe was filled with gloomy black clouds and, out to the east, Rannoch looked bleak and desolate.

 

(Above: Blackrock Cottage at the head of Glencoe, on the old road over to Bridge of Orchy)

 

At Blackrock there was a notice saying that Bridge of Orchy was still 18 km away, and so dad had underestimated the distance. We pressed on uphill, trying to guess how many people we would meet, and remembering that we had met no-one the whole day that we crossed Rannoch Moor. But the route we were on had been designated part of the West Highland Way and we soon discovered that that attracted large numbers of people. Whereas in former years dad remembered the track as a lonely route across to Ba Bridge and Inveroran, today we counted each walker (and 3 cyclists who almost ran us over) who passed, and in four hours we met 93 people.

 

(Above: Pete on the way to Ba Bridge... Below: At Ba Bridge)

 

By the time we got to the River Ba, blue gaps were appearing in the clouds and the day was brightening up. Then a long detour took us round Loch Tulla and we made very good time in the final stretch, arriving at Bridge of Orchy with an hour and a quarter to spare. We sat down at the station to eat our packed lunch (we hadn't stopped once in the previous 12 miles) and played obscure games that Peter invented to while the time away. Then the train arrived and we got on board. Soon Rannoch was passing by, and the summit station at Corrour, before the train carried us on to the busy tourist town of Fort William.

We booked in at our Bed and Breakfast and then toured the shopping precinct, buying some blister plasters and sachets of hot chocolate, before enjoying a really nice meal in town. Peter laughed at dad when he got cream all over his mouth and nose. Finally, feeling very full, we returned to our accommodation. Tomorrow we plan to climb Ben Nevis, though the forecast is gales with gusts of up to 60 mph and a predicted temperature of -3° Celsius on the summit. We are ready to make the attempt and reaching the summit will probably depend on the weather conditions. Meanwhile we resumed our card games and before we fell asleep the score had reached Peter 163 Dad 155. What would the next day bring? Would our training make us fit for the big ascent? Would the weather be as bad as predicted? We were soon to find out.

 

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