Thursday, June 30, 2022 - Ewich House to Tyndrum at mile 53.8, 4 miles
I had a restless night, eventually getting up and reading The Witcher on my phone for awhile. I downloaded a few books just for this kind of emergency. After reading for an hour I got up at 8:00am and Pounce and I went downstairs for the buffet breakfast. I had Sylvia's homemade yogurt with local honey, fruit and an egg on toast. Pounce was brave and tried the black sausage. She said it was pretty good. The coffee was phenomenal. Alas, all good things must come to an end and we packed up our gear and our bounce bag for the luggage transfer service to pick up and send on to Glen Nevis Camping. My room was only 60 pounds for the best stay yet in Scotland. I highly recommend the Ewich House.
We walked the road back to the West Highland Way. We are not purists but we did connect our footsteps. We hiked past the Augustinian ruins of St. Fillan's Priory and the cemetery there and hiked along the River Fillan, passing Strathfillen Wigwams where we stopped for a pee break.
 |
| St. Fillan's Priory |
Saint Fillan was an Irish missionary who came to spread Christianity in Scotland in 717AD. In 1318 Robert the Bruce established St. Fillan's Priory after he was given sanctuary in by some Augustinian monks following his defeat at the Battle of Methvan.
 |
| Strathfillan Wigwams |
 |
| Hiking beside Fillan River |
This area was full of history and we passed the site of the Battle of Dalrigh where Robert the Bruce fought Clan MacDougall.
We were only doing a four mile hike today and we took time to relax by the river and Pounce did some yoga. The plan for today was to hike to Tyndrum and then take a side trip to Kerrera Island for a couple days. Pounce had read about the island and planned a train trip to Oban and from there to Kerrera Island. The hike was sunny and warm and we enjoyed the rare sun.
 |
| Loch of the Lost Sword |
 |
| Robert the Bruce supposedly threw his sword in this lochan |
The historical placards were a definite bonus along this stretch of the trail. It is always interesting to pass a place where hundreds of people died but you would never know it if not for the memorial. Most of these battles took place 200 years before America was even discovered, but the Scots have long memories.
Right before we got to Tyndrum it started to rain again. We walked to a restaurant called The Good Food Cafe, and it definitely lived up to its name. We had to leave our packs outside. I had a burger with chips and a lemonade. Afterwards we walked over to the Green Welly, an icon of a stop along the West Highland Way. It had a restaurant, outdoor store and a mini market type store. I bought some more postcards and stamps, got some cash from the ATM and we also got a stamp in our West Highland Way passport. Then we walked the trail back to the train depot where the midges feasted on us while we waited for the train to Oban.
 |
| Out head nets kept us sane while we waited for the train |
No comments:
Post a Comment