MERR ... THE WAY WE WERE (above Ben Lomond) No! we are not above Ben Lomond, the picture above IS Ben Lomond.

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DRYMEN - BALMAHA and BALMAHA - ROWARDENNAN (right (below)Bunkhouse, Balmaha) Breakfast over, plates licked and packed away, we head out for Balmaha. A short stop at the shop in Drymen has the owner inform us that quite a few walkers have started out towards Conic Hill. We all stand around attempting to look pleased at this latest news bulletine. Oh! and did I mention? .... it's still raining. Making our way towards Buchanan Forrest we meet up with two fellow walkers. Greetings of, "good morning, howzitgaun" and, "the weathers murder eh", all met with rather blank expressions. "You are enjoying", one of the blankos said in his best broken english, "we are from Frankfurt", (put that mustard away Danny!). Trudging on along the forrest trail we finally arrive at the foot of Conic Hill, or to be more precise, at the bloody big deer fence you negotiate to get at Conic Hill. There is a sign on a post informing of a detour to Balmaha due to the lambing season. Do you know how difficult it is to carry a wet 40+ lbs rucky, sodden wet, dance a jig AND try to look dissapointed! Off we go along the road towards Balmaha. During our welcome break in the cafe at Balmaha, we notice the two chaps from Frankfurt sitting in the corner. Danny decides to have a go at playing diplomat and proceeds to launch into a volley of verbals .... oh! woe is me. The two lads look totally bewildered. By the time Raymund and Allan reach the table Danny is pointing out a route on the map. This can only mean one thing --- disaster! All the lads want is a place to camp for the night near Rowardennan, not a high speed tour of the mountains and glens of Scotland. Things eventually get sorted out and we all make our way towards Rowardennan.
"WALK ON ...WALK ON ... WITH HOPE IN YOU'RE ........... A couple of miles along our route and guess who we meet up with? No not Jimmy McGregor, rumour has it he goes by air, but the chap from the caravan at Drymen. One things for sure, he won't get run over. He has obviously borrowed a "wurkies" bright yellow jacket and trousers for the walk, earning him the nickname ... BANANAMAN! The bananaman informs us he is just waiting on his newly found walking partner who has nicked behind the bushes for a 'glance at the scenery'. While he was waiting for his mucker we did the honorable thing and got off our mark quick style. Further on and a few melodic tunes later we meet up with a couple we had passed on day one. The couple inform us they are from Yorkshire, and despite the rotten weather to date they are thoroughly enjoying the 'Way'. The lady, Mrs. Yorkshire, (later re-named Mick McManus), is a rather large lady. So large in fact we thought of asking her to take our ruckies on a couple of miles. Arriving at Rowardennan, we head into the Hotel to find out about camping facilities in the area. We are directed to a clearing behind the Youth Hostel, about half a mile further along the road from the Hotel. Not too bad as it happens, well sheltered area and hundreds of gallons of ice cold water for a wash in the morning. A quick change of gear, some lead based bangers, and we're off towards the Hotel again ... just to be sociable. A couple of pints and a wee bit of banter and we are fully rejuvinated. Dark closing in around 9.30pm the bar door swings open. Guess who? ... got it in one ... the bananaman. Where had he been? After some debate we agreed he must have gone back to Milngavie and started again. He looked totally knackered as he slumped down with his pint. At this early stage it is clear to all that the pint glass he held was by far the most intelligent part of him. Having just been introduced to the company the bananaman informs us he is not confident he can pitch his tent. We ease his mind by offering to help him with this task. Overjoyed at this news, the bananaman launches into a routine of joke telling. Unfortunately the jokes offended most people in our company in one way or another. The bananaman was duly informed, "any more of these jokes and you pitch your own tent" followed by, "and thats no easy task with broken fingers".
(right) DUCK!!! .... AAAAH!! ... (I told you to duck!)
ROWARDENNAN - INVERSNAID and INVERSNAID - INVERARNAN Having spent the best part of two hours getting the bananaman to the camp site and settled, it wasn't exactly a pleasure going for a dip in the freezing burn first thing in the morning. The bold boy himself surfaced from his humble abode to inform us his rucksack had broken at the back the previous night on route to our site. This surprised no one in our company when you consider the weight of his ruckie was the same as all of ours combined. We were actually pleased he was having to stop here before doing himself or someone else some serious damage. The last we saw of him he was packing up his tent as we moved away towards the track. The walk to Inversnaid started off easy. The route follows the forestry track taking us high above Loch Lomond. The view from the top of the track is fantastic. Leaving the track you suddenly find yourself walking on a very narrow path, clambering up and down and winding around. This must rate as one of the more testing stretches of the walk. It has to be said that while enjoying the route taken, it was a pleasure to clap eyes on the Inversnaid Hotel, and even nicer to sit inside having lunch. At Inversnaid we meet another English couple walking the 'Way'. They were also having a well earned rest. Talking with them it was clear he was a walker who was enjoying every minute of his venture. She was for throwing in the towel. Having a slight oriental look about him earned this chap the nickname the 'Emperor', his companion was known for the duration of the walk as 'Blondie'. (God only knows what we must have been getting called). Exactly one hour after stopping and having been well fed and watered, we are on the move again towards Inverarnan. This stretch was certainly tougher than we imagined it would be. Scrambling through mud we thought we had put the difficult bit behind us. A pleasant walk along the end of Loch Lomond was brought to an abrupt end with a rather steep climb. Having had no mention of this climb in the "official WHW handbook" made the thought of the Devils Staircase a nightmare. The walk to Inverarnan was pleasant enough ending with a walk down through woodland and across fields towards the Inverarnan Hotel. It was boots off at the door and in for a refreshment. The barman informed us our camp site for the nite was about three quarters of a mile 'back' along the 'Way'. Not exactly the news we wanted to hear at that particular moment in time. Setting up camp in what can only be described as a huge rockery is not the easiest of tasks. Having looked about for the best site we get the tents out. We are by now all feeling a bit weary from the days walking and can't wait to get settled for the night. All ideas of an early night are somewhat dashed by the untimely arrival of, "Hissing Sid", the friendly neighbourhood snake. We quickly move site, forget about the early night and head for the Hotel again. Watching food being dished out in the Hotel makes everyone a little peckish - even though we have eaten. A long "will we, won't we" discussion starts. We, after some time, agree to order Chicken and Chips, only to be told they were finished serving food for the night. And to think all these foreign invaders were eating OUR chickens!
HISSING SID Hissing Sid gave us all a shock Of that there's no mistake, You'd have got a shock as well Pitching you're tent on a snake' The story though has a happy end, Oor Sid turned out the looser 'Cause he stayed in the field all night While we stayed in the Boozer.