P in the wild

Inverarnan to Tyndrum.

I was still recovering on the morning of day 4, so I had a full Scottish breakfast at the Stagger Inn on the camp site before I left.

I did’t take a photo of my food but it was great. Instead you can also admire the weird shit they had on the walls.

As well as the guest book I didn’t sign.

I had trimmed my toe nails before setting off but my little toe had somehow grown a pointy bit that was stabbing into my other toe. Luckily the on-site shop had supplies to sort me out.

The shop was also where I had a nice conversation with another camper. No names, just talking. I was starting to like this talking to other people idea.

Packing up my things to leave a neighbour noticed I had used my towel to wipe the water off my tent and recommended using a sponge instead.

It wasn’t preachy, it was just advice from one camper to another. And he was right, my towel was damp for the rest of the week after that.

The difficult walking was all done with.

Today would be much easier.

In fact the only difficult parts were crouching underneath the sheep dips,

avoiding puddles,

and trying to slow myself down from the dancing pace I had settled into.

Eventually I passed through a sheep farm,

where I was lucky enough to witness a shepherd and his dog in action.

Getting closer to Tyndrum was a very tiny shop selling supplies.

All the profits went to the local school, who were raising money to buy a new climbing frame.

I didn’t have any actual money on me and I felt terrible. I had wanted to support the local economy during my trip, and here I was with a perfect outlet for it, and yet I only had my card on me.

I ended up spending hundreds of pounds playing on their local climbing frame, and yet I couldn’t find a way to spare a couple quid for the children to have their own.

Luckily the pizza rocks were free.

It wasn’t the ideal gift to give a hiker who still has 75km to walk, but it weighed less than the guilt.

Getting closer to Tyndrum I stumbled upon a Lochan that may or may not contain Robert the Bruce’s sword,

but I didn’t check.

I arrived in Tyndrum at a much more reasonable time than the day before, feeling a hell of a lot better for the easier path and slower pace of the day.

The route takes you past a holiday park with big signs that they have hot tubs. I will admit I was slightly tempted, but something told me to continue roughing it in my tent. It’d feel better in the long run.

So I setup camp in a corner of By the Way campsite, looking at this saggy tent,

before heading up the road to the Tyndrum Inn where I sat outside,

and had the best Haggis, Neeps and Tatties I’ve ever had,

before settling in for the evening and watching Good Bloke Outdoors' video on the insanely low amount of things he took on the same route as me,

as well as whatever Paul Messner had been up to that day.

Inverarnan to Tyndrum: 19km