Milngavie to Drymen

A good thru-hike should start like any other with a full backpack, wearing an unspoiled set of clothes, and a nervous walk to the starting point. And this thru-hike had all of those. I left my hotel at 7am on an empty stomach, unsure of what to expect from this adventure.

First things first, I had to get breakfast before I caught a train from Glasgow to the starting point: Drymen. Luckily there was a familiar place to get some food: McDonalds. I ordered a basic breakfast menu item, and snarfed it down as I quickly walked to the station. You don't want to be late on your first day!

The station was easy enough to find, however the exact gate was a bit harder to sus out. Good thing I was in a country that used my native tongue (or at least as close to it as Scottish is to American English). The platform wasn't on the main level, but a sub-level seeing as it was a more local train and not one bound for, example, London. Good thing I wasn't the only one heading that way.

I didn't have to wait long for the train to arrive. Right on schedule. I felt uneasy stowing my backpack in one of the luggage shelves, so I kept it on my lap. There were some people on the train that I had seen yesterday as I toured the city, and others that I had spotted in the station this morning. One of those people sat across from me. I couldn't think of a non-awkward way of striking up a conversation, and considering I was pretty confident about what they would say seeing as they had a very large backpack with them, I said "I hope this is the right train to Drymen for the West Highland Way." And that's all it took: we became instant trail-friends on the train, and hiked that first day together. By the second day though, I was on my own for the rest of the hike.

A short train ride later and we were in Drymen. Our first priority was finding food for breakfast since I only had a small sandwhich from McDonalds, and they had nothing. We stood out as we went in the opposite direction of the trail starting point and went to a local grocery store. With food in hand we returned to the start point.

You can judge how much a place cares about a trail by it's starting point. Is it ceremonious, or is it just a sign on a dirt trail? The West Highland Way (WHW) had a proper marker for the start of the trail in the form of a small obelisk, and an archway with the name of the trail in big bold letters on a metal banner across it. We posed for selfies before strapping in, grabbing our poles, and heading through the arch and onto the trail.

For the first hour or so we walked through the outskirts of the town by going through a lands set aside as a city park or walking path area. By 10 am we were well out of the city and into open farm fields and pastures.

Lots of short stone walls and wooden fences surrounded us as we walked along a gravel path. The trail was bisected by a road for a short while, and walking along a road is never a fun time. Luckily it didn't take long and we were back onto grassy terrain in no time. We passed through a metal gate, and were in the lowlands. There were green hills as far as the eye could see.

Here and there trail markers dotted the path, emblazened with the WHW symbol. Clouds threatened to drop rain on us all day, but thankfully they never did. We marched through green fields, across rivers, and through thickets of trees.

Around noon we came to our first resting spot of the day, a trail-side cafe called "Turnip the Beet". Clever. I ordered one of the most delicious trail sandwiches I had had in a long time. I gobbled the whole thing down in no time at all. Thirty minutes later and we were back on the trail, just before a light misting of rain began. We donned our rain coats and kept going.

More green pastures and fields as the afternoon got on. The misty rain went away shortly after we continued walking, and sunny skies were with us for the rest of the day. Cows and sheep and ducks kept us company on both sides of the trail behind small wooden fences. We even passed a "Trolls Bridge" at one point. It was fenced off, but who knows if it was real or not.

The dirt trail gradually turned into walking on a road once more, albiet a much more local and farm-type road (no lane markers, only wide enough for one car), so there wasn't much traffic. This road walking would continue until we made it to the first place for the night: a field on a farm in the town of Drymen, Scotland.

By 3pm we had arrived. I set up my tent and got my home-on-the-go situated. This place had hot showers, a welcomed relief at the end of a long day of walking. I had a CLIF protein bar for a snack, and then sat there for a bit in front of my tent. Dinner time roled around, and it was time to fire up the trekking stove. I can't recall what the meal was, but it was a pre-made backpacking meal.

After eating the person who I had walked with today asked if I wanted to go into the nearby town and grab a drink. Sure, why not. What else have I got to do here in a field on a farm? It took about 20 minutes to get to there, but there wasn't much...there. A small hotel with a restaurant and a bar/cafe that looked just a little too fancy for us. We opted for a pint at the hotel bar. It wasn't very glamorous, but at least it was something to do.

We headed back to the farm after only one drink each, and settled in for the night. Tomorrow I would be heading to a campsite on the beaches of Loc Lomond, and if the sunny weather held it would promise to be an awesome experience.