WHW, GGW, GGW, WHW - Round Trip COMPLETED!

Day 27 Walking, Tuesday, July 2.

Shandon Farm, Drymen to Premier Inn, Milngavie.  

15.8 miles (according to Pacer), 7.5 Hours, 37436 Steps.  

Completion!!!

Walkers - 253!!!!  The first 23 came out in a herd from a hotel in Drymen.  

Dogs - 6

Welcome to Europe my Ireland bound family - Susan, Kim, Maria, and Henry!  Watch for the Leprechauns 🍀 

At breakfast the only other person eating was a youngish man.  We struck up chatting.  He was going only as far as The Bridge of Orchy because of his work schedule.  He is a BBC Sports announcer for mainly Cricket and Rugby.  

Shandon Farm 

My choice of food once again was the scrambled eggs with salmon.  Wasn’t going to have it but decided it would probably be the last opportunity. Yum!

Late morning the Czech couple came up behind me. They had gone off trail to visit a side village church and graveyard.  We leap frogged a number of times until with their young legs they pulled ahead and never saw them again, and now never will.  

Stopped again at the Beech Tree Inn for lunch.  This time it was warm enough to sit outside and eat - my LAST tuna and corn sandwich for a while.  But it was tasty. 

Hairy Coos without their long hair are not as enticing.  

Watched for the Dumgoyach Standing Stones in a field.  There are 5 stones in the monument/burial site which date back 4,500 years.  Unfortunately they were way off in a field very difficult to see, and I didn’t have the energy to climb way out there.  

Met this man two weeks ago way up north. He was hiking a section of the WHW today and he instantly remembered me.  

My unnamed friends from the Czech Republic. 

Made it back to Milngavie with the foot burning.  But I made it.  Really felt a bit tearful as my personal challenge came to an end.  It wasn’t all that I had hoped for.  But in many ways far more.  Scotland is a stunningly beautiful country, and mountains make the Lake District of England seem rather tame.  

Went to the Premier Inn that I stayed at 4 weeks ago to collect my flight bag and get my room. 

Bath time for Lois and a bit of a major bath for clothes.  Clothes are currently hanging about the room and a floor fan is directed at them in hopes they dry by morning.  

My West Highland Way passport is double stamped 😺

Tomorrow begins the portion of the trip where I become a tourist in Glasgow for a few days.

Stay tuned for daily reports 😀

The following is a quote from Ruthanne Bessman from Wisconsin Public Radio.  I heard her say this  last winter while driving around Stevens Point and couldn’t remember exactly what she said.  I wrote and asked her for a copy and she emailed it. 

“Every year on the last Saturday before the New Year - I like us to remember the dear members of our Classics by Request/listening community who are no longer with us. And, you probably know that as I do every year, I like to recall John Gesinski’s descriptive words on the Andante from the Piano concerto No. 2 by Johannes Brahms.  

John died fourteen years ago - he was a devoted fan of this program - in fact he would send me a long and detailed email after every program commenting on the requests made that day.  

John said of this work by Brahms, “What a composer!  What sublime and gorgeous music!  But it also reminded me of a parallel with life.  In both music and life, you follow along the progress, enjoying every moment, and when the end comes, it's so gracious and inevitable and fulfilling that one doesn’t fret that it’s over but rather rejoice that it happened.”  “

Trekking in Scotland had to come to an end but it was fulfilling!