Go Away! to the West Highland Way
After you've got over the sheer excitement of settling into your wigwam, pack a dry change of clothes and shoes into your rucksack and head off for the most beautiful walk to a pub you'll have done in a long time.
Getting Away
An advance purchased return Citylink ticket from Glasgow costs £13, and £1 fares are available from Edinburgh to Glasgow via www.citylink.co.uk
A taxi from the Drovers Inn to Strathfillan Wigwams costs around £10. Try pre-booking 24/7 Cars on 01838 300 307.
Staying Away
Strathfillan Wigwams cost £11 pp/pn
www.wigwamholidays.com
Eating and Drinking Away
Buy munchies from the Crianlarich general shop, and eat a hearty dinner for under £7 at the Drovers Inn (www.thedroversinn.co.uk)
Playing Away
Yes, yes, we know that the West Highland Way, which spans from Milngavie to Fort William, is 95 whole miles of beautiful walks through villages, along riversides and over moors and mountains. And we agree when you exclaim, "that's too fecking long for one trip!" So, here's an easy peasy lemon squeezy weekend walking trip along just a small section of the famous route, with a trip to the bestest, friendliest, and strangest-things-adorning-its-walls-iest pub in Scotland - ending with a cosy alternative place to rest your smiling tipsy head.
Heading North West towards Glencoe, you can get off either the train or the Citylink bus at Crianlarich. A pretty village yes, but don't be lazy and unadventurous and just get a room in the youth hostel then go to the pub. Instead, Strathfillan Wigwams are only a half an hour walk along the waymarked path. The pretty and cool wooden wigwams have simple, cosy beds that can sleep you and three friends, and the best thing is - you wont be freezing your bits off in November because these little timber tepees are heated!
After you've got over the sheer excitement of settling into your wigwam, pack a dry change of clothes and shoes into your rucksack and head off for the most beautiful walk to a pub you'll have done in a long time. Ask for directions if you're not sure, and then after a five minute walk into the woods you'll be at a path which is the West Highland Way. From here it's an easy walk, spare a wee bit of boggy path, that is only six miles through woodland (look out for the impressive Falls of Falloch) with occasional views of the mountain ranges in the distance, to the village of Inverarnan. Here the healthy walk stops and the real mischief begins.
More famous than Inverarnan itself is the Drovers Inn, a cosy but eerie three-century old coaching inn that serves the tastiest Steak and Guinness Pie ever, and is also home to the most photographed bear in Scotland. Jimmy the stuffed grizzly sits in the reception area, alongside about 20 other stuffed animals, including stags, rabbits, pheasants, and if you look closely, a two-headed goat. The rest of the inn doesn't disappoint; you can eat by an open fire, while being waited on by the kilted staff (although to hear their Australian accent shatters the illusion somewhat). Then you should drink whisky in the bar and bounce along to the live folk sessions until midnight. Never fear, a two hour stumble doesn't await you - since you walked all the way here we reckon a taxi home to your wigwam is a well deserved treat!