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Walking Land's End to John o'Groats with Mark Moxon

Tyndrum to Kings House

The old military road north of Tyndrum
The old military road north of Tyndrum

Lady Luck must be smiling on me, because today I managed to avoid two of the most miserable things to afflict a walker. First, my leg held up throughout the day, and second, I didn't get rained on once. I should be ecstatic; behind the façade of a man who's rapidly losing interest in this walk, I probably am.

Rannoch Moor

The view along the River Orchy from the bridge at Bridge of Orchy
The view along the River Orchy from the bridge at Bridge of Orchy

Predictably I found it hard to concentrate on the walk itself. If my mind wasn't obsessing over every single pain and twinge in my body it was obsessing over the weather, because at last the heatwave has broken. Last night's thunderstorm heralded a change in the weather and the clouds rolled in and smothered the mountains overnight, leaving the atmosphere incredibly humid and on the brink of rain. With the state of my boots and the awkward condition of my leg, torrential rain was all I needed, and I stared at the clouds like a man possessed.

The view west from Ba Bridge
The view west from Ba Bridge
Loch Tulla
Loch Tulla
Rannoch Moor
Rannoch Moor

Kings House

Rannoch Moor
Rannoch Moor

Crossing Rannoch Moor to reach the lonely Kings House Hotel is, according to my guidebook, the highlight of most people's West Highland Way. If so, then I'm thoroughly past my sell-by date; I'm reaching the point when I've just about had enough of this bloody walk, and I'm not talking about the West Highland Way, I'm talking about Land's End to John o'Groats.

Kings House Hotel
Kings House Hotel