Читать книгу Not the West Highland Way. Diversions over mountains, smaller hills or high passes for 8 of the WH Way's 9 stages онлайн

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Tea is the appropriate beverage. Tea served in an elegant cup, with a piece of buttery shortbread. For these are the couthie Campsies, the polite hills, the pleased-to-meet-you hills. In later days comes the struggle with the scree slope, the flog across the heather. Here on the edge of Glasgow is smooth suburban grass, a pretty picture of Loch Lomond, and a wee nip of whisky at the end of the day. Really, nothing could be nicer.

Including the Campsies makes for a long first day to Drymen. Instead you could take a 7km (4-mile) evening walk, and stop for the first night away from the hurly-burly of the West Highland Way at Strathblane village. Strathblane and nearby Blanefield have shops, pubs and a takeaway café. From there over the Campsies to Drymen is a moderate day of 22.5km and 750m (14 miles and 2500ft) – about 7 hours.

Couthie: snug, sociable, homely (Scots). From Milngavie walk the WH Way for 2.5km, to where Allander Water is beside the path, with a golf course opposite. As the path bends slightly right, uphill away from the stream, turn off right, more steeply uphill, on a path signed for Mugdock Castle.