Day 67 – Saturday, August 06, 2011 – Kirkintilloch to Drymen, 17 miles

Underpass near Lennoxtown

Today’s walk was a connecting route from the Forth and Clyde Canal to the West Highland Way. The route out of Kirkintilloch follows another rails-to-trails route until it reaches Strathblane. From there, a pleasant walk through the forest along a creek named Blane Water connects to the West Highland Way.

This is my third time on the West Highland Way, so the sights along the way were familiar to me. A few things have changed since the last time I was here, 9 years ago, when Janet and I walked the WHW with our Canadian friends, Keith and Cathy. First, there was an early section of a mud slog where cattle were frequently penned. The route now bypasses that on a clean, dry path.

Rory

Second, in the village of Gartness, Rory has established an “honesty shop” with soft drinks and ice cream – help yourself and leave the payment.

View from WHW

The biggest change appears to be the number of walkers on the WHW. In the past, I encountered other walkers only occasionally. Today, I encountered at least a dozen on the three hours I was on the WHW. We’ll see how many I encounter over the next 10 days. Obviously, with so many walkers, I can’t talk with and photograph everybody.






© 2011 Ken Klug