WHW: Day 8 – Kinlochleven to Fort William

15.85 miles (15 miles officially)

After three shortish days, our last leg is officially the longest at around fifteen miles. By the end of today we will be in Fort William, our West Highland Way will be complete, and our merry company will disband. But first we need to climb out of Kinlochleven and get into the hills. 

Having absolutely zero sense of direction, I’m not entirely sure if we come out of the village the same way we went in, until I see the black pipes of the power station way over on the other side. We have to pause quickly once we’re in the woods, and dig out the deet, or whatever bug repellent we have as we seem to be walking into a cloud of midges. It is the first time that has been needed. 

I’ve had a few bites along the way, but not many for me. When I was in Ireland last September, my sister enjoyed sitting next to me as she was less likely to get bitten. However, my sister-in-law’s suggestion of taking B-Vitamin tablets might have reduced the appeal of my blood a little bit. 

I think that I’ll be ready to go home tomorrow (tomorrow I will wish I spent an extra day in Fort William to climb Ben Nevis and miss the ‘joy’ of Sunday bus replacement services). It has been a lovely week and a bit, with just the most incredible weather, but with the end so close, I’m chomping at the bit to get there.

It’s a long day however as we are up in the hills, and it is undulating. It is a blessing to go slowly because the expanse of the Highlands is breathtaking. It’s hard to imagine that small communities once nestled this landscape. Even the real Macbeth apparently lived on an island in one of the lochs that we pass. It looks empty now, but I try and put myself into a world where the path that we walk on now, rumbles with a horse and wagon with provisions to sell at villages and small holdings. Where smoke wisps rise up from home fires in the glens. Did the mountains that surrounded them feel like a cradle? Or a prison?

About three hours or so before we reach our end point, the behemoth that is Ben Nevis comes into view. We can see right to the top, but Ian tells me that this isn’t strictly true as the summit in the centre isn’t visible from below. It’s a bruiser of a mountain, taking up space with its wide brawny shoulders, and it is clearly the alpha amongst the giants that surround us. I’ll remember this tomorrow when we drive back through the lakes, as they’ll seem puny in comparison.

The sight of Ben Nevis imperceptibly quickens our pace, although it is quite a while still before we start going down towards Fort William. I should savour this. This moment, these eight days when our sole aim for each day is to walk between one abode and the next. I remember feeling that feeling during the Coast to Coast Walk. Our real world is out there waiting for us, but for a while we are in this fellowship, of our friends and occasional random strangers who have become familiar as the days have passed.

I talk to the daughter of a mother I had spoken to two days ago. They walk sometimes together and sometimes at their own paces, so her mother is currently a little way behind. They’re both American but the daughter is a lecturer at Edinburgh University, and this walk has been on her and her mum’s bucket list. She loves Scotland and feels settled here. We both know that this weather we have had has been unbelievable.

The drop down into the glen happens quite quickly and for the last stretch we’re walking on pavement into the town. The finish used to be at the outer edge of Fort William, but local businesses had lobbied for it to go through to the other side, which is fair enough. We get a few cheers from people drinking beers, a few of whom I recognise from the walk. We are definitely looking forward to our own beers. 

There is no obelisk at the end but a line to cross and a bench with a statue of the weary traveller, around which we huddle around him for one of our last group shots. An apt end, and then we get the beers in.