Golden Hour

West Highland Way Part Two

Day One

Day one of the west highland way felt as though i was going to take on a mountain and I hadn't even left the house yet. Getting dressed and pulling my shoes on that morning had felt like a task on its own. I had never liked getting up early in the morning, never mind getting up to do something I knew very little about. I knew it would be a long day walking, that was about it. A friend close to me had arranged it and I was really looking forward to giving it a go.

The car ride to the heart of Milngavie felt unending. I didn't really know what was ahead of me and it made me anxious. What if the first day had a huge hill? What if it was to hard for me? What if I can't do it? The common questions we ask ourselves when we are unsure of what is ahead of us. The drive took about an hour and a half by the end of it I felt as though I was going to fall asleep (i know a great way to start a walk feeling as though I need a nap).

When we parked and got out the car we met another two people we knew that were going to move the car to the end of the trail they did this most days for us so that we could come back home in the evening. This made the walk easier for us as we could go back home and sleep in our own bed. There were a few days that we stayed in the tows that we had finished the walk in but for today we knew we were finishing the walk and going back to our own beds and that made the thought of doing the walk a little easier.

We started the walk by walking through the town of Milngavie, i think we only walked about twenty steps before one of us needed to pee. So a quick pit stop was needed. Before we knew it we continued the walk up to the pillar that marked the start of the west highland way (obviously quickly stopping there to take a picture, how could we not something to show at home to prove we were actually doing the west highland way). The walk started by going under a sign that beckoned the people doing the west highland way that it was this way. It cut up a little country road and continued down beside a beautiful river in the woods. This bit was not so hard the walk was mostly flat and wooded keeping us mostly shaded from the sun. This did not stop us from adding extra sunscreen (that smelled like curry and attracted the flies. That is one way to keep us walking. If not before you knew it you where being bitten alive by any fly that could bite. It...was...great...fun...) but honestly I did really enjoy this day. Even though there was not really much to see. It was a very relaxing day in the middle of nowhere.

We passed a small what I think was a loch, it may not be classed as one but it was a nice peaceful large body of water. It was beautiful everyone that was walking with me stopped to look. We stayed a while to take in the view. The whole walk was filled with views that you would never see anywhere else. In my eyes there is nowhere like the Scottish highlands.

The walk passed almost the same all day, we stopped for lunch there was not much to see. Day one doesn't have a lot of sights but i does break you in for what is ahead of you. Well maybe....