West Highland Way Day 3: Rowardennan to Inverarnan

The view out from our room at the Rowardennan Inn was of Loch Lomond and Ben Lomond shining in the morning sun. After a big Scottish breakfast and picking up our packed lunch, we began our second day following the east bank of Loch Lomond.

We gained elevation on a wide unpaved road that paralleled the loch, walking in the cool shade of a mature oak forest. We sooner lost our elevation to resume a shore side trail. These trails can be very strenuous as the trail manoeuvres over large rocks and tree roots gaining and losing elevation as the shore demands. This makes for slow going but compensates with great views. Some trail guides list this part of the whw as the most challenging.

One o'clock found us at the halfway point of our day at Inversnaid, a small harbor for ferries and tour boats with a large hotel and pub. A beautiful waterfall enters Loch Lomond fed by Loch Arklet. After eating our pack lunches it was time to tackle the next 7 miles.

More shore side walking and more slow go. The loch narrowed as we approached the north end. We could hear the main road and rail line on the west side of the loch. It was such a nice day we even saw people water skiing on the loch.

After 4 miles we left Loch Lomond behind us and turned northeast climbing out of the valley, with great views back south of the loch and the hills. As we climbed we saw feral goats with massive horns. The hillsides were still tinted blue with the great amount of blue bell blossoms. We then descended into Glen Falloch, losing all out elevation to the river Falloch and our destination for the night, Beniglas Farm at Inverarnan. Just off the main raid A82, Beniglas Farm has hotel rooms, cabins, tent camping, and car/RV camping. Most importantly, it has an excellent pub. Today being Saturday, the campgrounds were full of families who had driven in from Glasgow, Edinburgh, or other nearby cities.

After a nice dinner and a beer, we retired to tend to our aching feet and prepare for our next adventure on the whw.

Unedited  Day 3 photos are up on Flikr.