West Highland What?

I was washing pots when it happened. A good bit of craic round a campsite sink. Them telling me how tired they were, me encouraging them that there wasn’t far to go. And so they asked me whether I’d done it before.

I hesitated a moment before telling them I’d done most of it, but didn’t finish. They asked where I stopped and, on hearing Kinlochleven, looked at me with something approaching pity. “Why would you stop with only one day left? Were you injured? In too much pain?”

The whole adventure flashed before my eyes. The dusky run to Drymen, Loch Lomond by moonlight, the long slog across Rannoch Moor and the struggle over the Devil’s Staircase. The seemingly infinite sense of possibility. Milngavie to Kinlochleven in one spontaneous run, rinsing out my body in the pursuit of a twenty-four hour completion.

I shrugged and gave a wan smile.

“Nah,” I said, “I was just tired”.

I walked back to the tent and left them to think what they may, but not for the first time I wondered when I would come back and get even with the West Highland Way.

It’s always there now, lurking in the back of my conscious, the need to return. But this season’s plan is dominated by the Bob Graham Round and the TDS. Another random 150km across half of Scotland is hard to fit in, everything is about training for those two things.

At the end of March, however, I broke my own rule and went full send down hill on a training run. It was the Yorkshire Three Peaks, I was on for a PB and my new shoes felt rapid. I guess it was inevitable.

I went all in from the top of Ingleborough. The watch buzzed the end of a lap and, distracted, I hit a loose rock and felt my ankle turn underneath me. There’s always a split second before the adrenaline kicks in and, in that instant, I knew it wasn’t good.

All of that to say, I ended up spending a week in Fort William unable to climb mountains. Which is a bit like being locked in a sweet shop while nil by mouth, it’s survivable but it’s not your first choice.

I tested the ankle out a bit with some running in the glen and up Cow Hill during the week and by Saturday decided it needed a slightly longer run out. It was time to finish the West Highland Way.

Just like Ross Barkley’s titanic efforts over the 5km distance, I could still get out there and finish. Does elapsed time really matter? It’ll be just like I paused the watch, stopped for an Irn Bru and it took a tad longer than expected.

So I flung a few gels in my pack and hopped on the bus to Kinlochleven to resume from there.

The 24km section from Kinlochleven to Fort William is usually the last part of the trail, most people doing it south to north, and is known for its steep climb out of town. After the first mile though it reverts to much more undulating trail and is a pleasure to run along.

The weather was pretty much perfect and the views were incredible particularly looking south over my shoulder on the first section to see the snow lined ridge of Aonach Eagach glistening with ominous intent.

I’d made my mind up not to push, needing to just keep a steady pace and make sure I didn’t over do it three weeks after the sprain. Self control was hard though, because heaven is a long stretch of single track on a sunny day.

As I came over the pass after the final climb, about seven kilometres left, I decided to try to get in under 2:30 for the leg. Not a stretch on a normal day but, trying to watch my ankle, it gave me something to aim for. I strode down the hill towards Glen Nevis, drinking in the views of Ben Nevis and that most wonderful of hills, Sgùrr a’ Mhàim.

By the time I hit the high street it was a done deal. I wove through the tourists and shoppers, touched the obelisk and dropped down to sit on the stone step.

I congratulated a hiker who’d just completed.

“Have you done it too?” He asked.

“Well,” I said, “not exactly…”

I’m happy to have done the whole route, counting this outing as a recce of the final section. My ankle seemed to hold up well and it’s let me get back to full training volume now, albeit still with the support. The Bob Graham Round, therefore, is still on. If the ankle can move so can I.

I’ll be back for the West Highland Way and next time, it’ll go.

Barkley West Highland Way
Moving time: a smidge under 25 hours.
Elapsed time: 1 year, 8 months, 16 days.