Day 82 - Inveroran to Kingshouse, Glencoe

A  dull morning; we couldn't see the top of the hills to the south and it was decidedly grey looking north. It kept trying to rain but we were hopeful that it would fair up for the walk  across the moor. Luckily, by late morning when I dropped The Walker off, it was fine walking weather - cloudy with a bit of a breeze. As I drove round to Glencoe I encountered a man in Scottish attire (kilt, long socks, tam o'shanter hat and a staff, but no map), whom we have both seen on the path before. He had obviously strayed from the route - The Walker said that the chap really didn't know where he was heading when he had spoken to him a few days earlier and just seemed to be enjoying people taking photos of him!

I visited the Glencoe Mountain Centre where they have chair-lifts up the mountain but not quite to the top. If visibility is good tomorrow I may take a trip to get a different view of Rannoch Moor!
The Kingshouse Inn is much smarter  than when we were there last. It is white and sparkling now and had 5 or 6 deer walking around it when I arrived! They disappeared before I met The Walker, but when we came out of the Inn after refreshment one deer was by the van. Amazingly, he didn't wander off and I hand-fed him some bread. I've never fed a wild deer before!

From Bernie:
Today's walk  9.7 miles     :     Cumulative  1032.5 miles

Woke to the sound of light rain pattering on the roof & I couldn't quite work out whether the swishing sound was wind in the trees or the nearby river. My first thought was that it was going to be a bit bleak crossing Rannoch Moor but, true to recent weather form, it was dry, calmer & much clearer by mid-morning though the heavy, scowling clouds were never far away!

Black Mount, Rannoch Moor

The West Highland Way crosses the moor on Telford's early 19th century road &, as such, is a solid surface & easy to follow, unlike Caulfield's military road which continues to march straight up & down the hills! Telford's route, an important cattle drovers' road, was the only solid track across the moor until 1933 when the new-fangled motor-car demanded a more comfortable, wider & straighter surface... so that's where the A82 came from!

River Ba & Stob Ghabhar

Unlike any of the varied moorland already encountered en route, Rannoch is not the kind of terrain where you might set off across country & create your own path if the fancy takes you; it is a boggy, waterlogged, treacherous landscape sprinkled with pools & lochans, & only the occasional small rock to rest upon.... but don't stop for too long 'cos the midges & clegs will get you! Sounds horrible but I've walked it a couple of times & it's quite captivating.

Blackrock Cottage & Buchaille Etive Mor

Again, saw several of the couples & groups met over the last few days & spent some time chatting to the German girl we'd bumped into several times yesterday. She's walking the way alone & her route-plan is the same as ours, so no doubt we'll see her again. The American gents weren't at Kingshouse so they must have been away early from Inveroran; I guess they probably started in the wet but should have reached Kinlochleven before the rain returned.
Best news on the walker-front is that we spotted the very first of the groups of lads I'd met leaving Milngavie... the slow ones! We were driving down through Glencoe to our camp-site, they were just about to start climbing the Devil's Staircase.... more on that tomorrow!

Highlight of the Day: the manager's encounter with a deer at Kingshouse! She'd told me about the small group when she walked out on the moor to meet me; this one returned for a photo-call.... & food!

Beer of the Day: the last time we were at Kingshouse it was grubby, run-down & served poor-quality beer. Much smarter now, they stock several Cairngorm ales & I tried 'Stag'; dark, rich & smooth, it has a burnt-chocolate bitter flavour. Good beer.

Tonight's view from the van - Glencoe mountains