West Highland Way Day 1 - Milngavie to Drymen

May 27:  This was our first official day on the Way, that is the West Highland Way.

The Starting Point

We covered 13+ plus miles from the hotel, but only 12 miles from the start of the official route to Drymen.  It was a typical hiking day, with cloudy weather, moderate temperatures great for walking (i.e., no sweating), no bugs and pretty level.  The scenery was great with views of some small "bens" (mountains), rolling pasture and farmland, a few tree plantations, small lochs, and first view of Loch Lomond.

"The Way"

We started just after 9:00 am and reach our destination (Drymen at the Braeside B&B) just about 3:00 pm.  We had a lunch break at Beech Tree restaurant, at about mile 7.  The owners seized the opportunity to serve hikers on the Way with a welcoming attitude and warm hospitality - they provided food, drink, and a welcome toilet stop.  Betsy and I had tea, crisps and leftover bagel with cheese for lunch.

Lunch spot

Notable sightings included the WHW Trail Angels (a charity dedicated to preserving the Way; they had a "wildcat" and a wolf pup in attendance and were soliciting donations), numerous groups of hikers and a few stately homes off in the distance.

Wolf pup

Blue bells

Spring flowers along the roadside

The Braeside B&B was very welcoming.  They had assigned rooms to us all and even carried our luggage to the rooms.  They made reservations for dinner for us and directed us to one of the oldest pubs in the area (across the street).

Our room at the Braeside B&B, very comfy

The best beers yet - national lager on the left, local ale on the right

Beers were excellent - we all found that the local ale brewed by Belhaven ('Twisted Thistle IPA') to be particularly good.  Dinner at the Drymen Inn was also fun sitting in a conservatory-type room off the front of the building.  After dinner, I strolled around the village, seeing a lawn bowling match going on and another view to the north of Loch Lomond and Conic Hill (points on the Way that we will see up close tomorrow.