the least said about training......

Training has not been at the forefront of my thoughts this last week,  mainly due to work commitments, although I did spend most of Wednesday trundling around the streets of London in 3 inch heels and managed to clock up over 6 miles in all and very sore feet!

Fitbit has been a lonely place with the others having a break from it too. 

That said, we do still have around 15 weeks to get some miles under our belts before the challenge in bonnie Scotland!

Maybe this week? Suzanne has laid down the gauntlet for another week long challenge, so we shall see come Friday...

I was reading an article about dog walkers not giving their dogs a decent amount of "sniff time" - the canine equivalent to taking in one's surroundings - and rushing to get the exercise finished, so I have decided to make a concerted effort to let my two have more "sniff time". Unfortunately, depending on where we are walking, this may mean more calories consumed, as being hounds they tend to eat everything in their path or make a beeline for any tiny morsel within sniffing distance. I will just need to be a little more vigilant and try and spot any potential eating hazzards before they do!

My navigational skills need a little work, as this weekend I had planned to try out some different walks and did this, but seemed to take a long time to actually get on the right track. Must try harder!

Day 2 of our challenge
The 2nd day of our challenge takes us from Balmaha to Invernarnan and eventually to the Drovers Inn - (can't mention too much about this place, as Claire B really is terrified of ghosts!)

The first 7 miles of day 2 will take us from Balmaha to Rowardennan a small rural community and the start of the path up to Ben Lomond.
From Rowardennan, we trek another 7 miles to Inversnaid, which will take us past Rob Roy's prison where he was said to have held hostages. (for those who don't know, he was an 18th century outlaw/hero known as the Scottish Robin Hood)
After reaching Inversnaid, we start on our final 7 mile trek for the day which is reported to be the roughest part of the route to Inverarnan.
As we travel along  taking in the superb scenery we will come across Rob Roy's "Cave"  - not really a cave, more of a crevice under some fallen rocks, but some one has kindly painted the word "Cave" so that we are in no doubt what it is!

The end of the day will end at Drovers for a well earned rest and a good nights sleep, Claire B, by which time would have managed to work out the exact dose of night nurse to send her off into a deep sleep without waking her feeling too drowsy in the morning, whilst the rest of us, helped on our way by a few shandies with dinner will probably be too shattered to worry about ghost hunting and will no doubt also enjoy a good nights sleep without the need for medicinal intervention!

Where are we going?

Up till now, I have paid little attention to our schedule, thankfully Kenny knows his stuff about where we will be and when, and the lovely Clare has organised all our accommodation for us. 

My part has been little more than, tell me how much I owe and when I need to pay it and to whom!

So I thought it was about time I started checking out what this walk was all about.

We start our  97 mile trek from Milngavie and arrive in Fort William and hope to complete the journey in 5 days.
Milngavie.

According to wikipedia its a commuter town being only 6 miles from Glasgow and also a popular retirement location and is best known for the start of the West Highland Way footpath. 

The start is marked by a granite Obelisk in the town centre hopefully it will also be well signposted so that we will know which way to go.

I'm sort of assuming that Kenny will know where to go and how to get there and being a native, he can obviously speak the lingo so the rest of us won't have to shout or speak slowly to the locals in order to be understood should we need to ask the way! We also have Neil for the first couple of days, so surely between the two they can get us on the right road, as you know what they say about women and directions and whilst I know my left from right my navigational skills are not the sharpest.
Sadly we wont have any beagles actually walking with us, as that is a bit much to ask of our beloved hounds, but we are hoping that many mad beagle owners will catch up with us on our journey and at least give us the opportunity to get some beagle hugs as we will be missing our own like mad. I can't even remember when I last left Alfie and Freddie for more than 2 nights!
Much as I'm sure my female walking companions are lovely, I think they would be a poor substitute for my furbabies at the end of a hard days walking, however, with enough alcohol I expect they will snore like them!

Having made it past the start and out of Milngavie, our journey on the first day takes us to our first overnight stop, Balmaha, a village on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond.
By then we would have navigated our way through Carbeth, home to the Carbeth Inn a "wee pub in the middle of nowhere" according to its website and its claim to fame is that some of the Taggart episodes were filmed there!
Also passing through Drymen also having an Inn named after it , there seems to be a pattern emerging here.....
I'm hoping there are going to be a nice selection of hostelries en-route as all that walking will be thirsty work. I have heard that there is a floating restaurant on Loch Lomond so maybe if we get a move on we will have time to sample their wares.
Our accommodation in Balmaha (no Balmaha Inn sadly just the Oak Tree Inn) for the first night consists of bunk beds, which should be interesting, have not slept in one of those since childhood, a long long long long time ago.  I expect after 20 miles of walking and listening to Clare C's singing, a mattress on the floor will be welcome!
Training has fallen by the wayside recently Clare C has a bad leg I've been busy with BW accounts and have not heard any excuses from Claire B or Suzanne.
Am thinking I might have a week of increasing steps up to 25,000 per day then a week off and see how I get on. I don't want to over do do it now, do I? What do you think girls, anyone up for the challenge?

Haunted Rooms at the Inn!

As we stroll along the West Highland Way, our journey is broken with overnight stops at various places.
One such place is the apparently haunted Drovers Inn.
In a nutshell, a family in 1792 got caught in a snowstorm trying to find shelter as they headed down south to find a new life in the Scottish Lowlands. Sadly, they didn't make it and so rumour has it that they haunt the Drovers Inn, usually rooms 2,6 and 115. Therefore, if you believe this tale, and want to see them, those are the rooms you would choose.
Not being easily taken in by these reports, I would probably have a mild curiosity and would be quite happy to stay in one of those rooms. Lets face it after a whole day on my feet and with a hearty meal and couple of shandies for good measure, nothing is going to keep me awake, but I find myself having a strange urge to see what all the fuss is about. I wonder if you can request these specific rooms, or are they booked out months in advance?
I don't think Claire B would be too fussed about being my roomie for that particular night, as she has now admitted to being terrified of ghosts. Claire B is now trying to work out what is the right quantity of Night Nurse to take in order to knock her out but without waking up drowsy the following morning .Clare C did suggest a combination of Night Nurse, Wine and a smack on the end of the nose! The lengths that some people will go to. Just imagine the fun I could have....

 

On the training side, not much progress has been made by any of us this week. Clare C had a fitbit free week, Claire B, Suzanne and I had a challenge, which we all failed miserably.
Claire B fell at the first, with a chicken nugget standoff - she had the beagles with her who oddly enough were more interested in the chicken nuggets discarded at the side of the road, so her planned 15 mile walk didn't really materialise.
Suzanne, went on a nice long walk but actually forgot her fitbit, so a pretty pointless exercise.
Me and my boys had a pretty lazy week culminating in me having to spend too much time at home while electricians and plasterers were sorting out my lounge!

On a positive note, upon visiting my family this weekend, rather than the usual gifts of chocolate eggs, I was presented with blister plasters, scottish midge repellant and a tip about how surgical spirit will make the skin on your feet hard Thanks Andy!- have not worked out if that is a good or bad thing........