Inverarnan to Tyndrum (19.2km)
We woke up after a great night’s sleep at Beinglas Farm. We’ve stayed there a few times before, and it’s a lovely campsite with brilliant facilities. They have a big covered campers’ kitchen, laundry, hot showers, a well-stocked shop,and a pub/restaurant that does breakfast, evening meals, and packed lunches.*
When we were packing down we saw the man from Doune Bothy walk in hoping for cooked breakfast but he’d just missed it, so he got a tuna sandwich from the shop and washed it down with a half pint o’milk.
A few years ago Ian and I were camping there and coming down from Beinn Chabhair we realised we wouldn’t make it back in time for dinner so we rang them and they saved us some! You’ll not go hungry at Beinglas. Anyhow I digress… We set off on the West Highland Way which runs through the farm.
We were excited to catch a glimpse of the famous Falls of Falloch through the trees from the path.
Upstream of the Falls of Falloch there are smaller waterfalls and interesting circular rock formations.
We crossed several burns running off the mountainside into the River Falloch along this part of the path.
We saw this sign on one of the footbridges. I looked it up and found it’s the John Kynaston Memorial Bridge, paid for through a Crowdfunder set up in his memory to replace a bridge which was washed away in a storm in 2020. John was a West Highland Way Race committee member.
After that we crossed the River Falloch itself at Derrydaroch. There are lots of cables by the bridge there, which I assume are part of the controversial Glenfallloch hydro scheme.
We followed the path between the river and the railway tracks for a short time. Lichen-covered alder trees line the river bank here. Alder is a water loving swamp-dweller. Its wood doesn’t rot when waterlogged, but becomes stronger and harder instead.
We passed under the railway line through a “sheep creep” – I love that name! It’s an underpass created for farm animals, so it has a very low head height. If you’re tall you may want to take off your backpack!
A short walk along a section of the old main road led us to another underpass – this time human-sized, under the modern A82.
The route follows a very clear track here on the Old Military Road through farmland.
As you can tell by my grin, I was very excited to be here! We’d glimpsed this section from the road and railway many times over the years and talked about walking along it and now we were!
We enjoyed the glorious views of the Crianlarich Hills and vowed to come back and explore them.
At the gate to the forestry just outside Crianlarich we saw the first of many signs by the entrepreneurial Pat, offering massage to weary WHW walkers.
We were now at the Crianlarich Crossroads – a natural meeting of ancient routes and the halfway point of West Highland Way. It’s a 15min detour to Crianlarich which has plenty of amenities if you need to rest or resupply. But after a sandwich stop we continued on towards Tyndrum.
We walked through the forestry plantation down to Strath Fillan. It does make me feel quite sad so I was glad to come to the end of it.
After the forestry we met the railway again and passed under it through an amazing stone viaduct.
After a short walk through a birch woodland we were back at the A82. Unfortunately there’s no underpass here so it’s quite a hairy crossing!
We crossed over the River Fillan – one of the names for the River Tay in its upper catchment. Upstream it’s called the River Connonish, then the River Fillan, then after Loch Dochart it becomes the River Dochart, until it flows into Loch Tay and emerges as the River Tay.
The River Tay is 188km long – making it the longest river in Scotland. It’s the largest river in the UK by measured discharge – (the measurement of how much water passes a single point at one time). The exact source was identified in 2011 – a lochan on the slopes of Ben Lui.
Across the river in Kirkton Farm we saw this info board showing the summits of the Crianlarich Hills, including Ben More – the highest peak in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. Definitely need to go back on a Munro bagging trip!
Kirkton Farm is part of SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) it’s one of their research farms in the West Highlands. It’s the base for scientists and staff from their Hill and Mountain Research Centre – aka HMRC(!)
Just after the farmhouse, the way passes between two fascinating historical sites. On our left were the ruins of St Fillan’s priory, founded by Robert the Bruce in 1318 in honour of St Fillan – an 8th century Irish monk who traveled to Scotland and settled at Strath Fillan.
On our right was Kirkton Burial Ground which has four Early Medieval cross slabs which may date to around the 7th or 8th century.
Next we walked through the campsite and Strathfillan Wigwam Village on the farmland – set up as an experimental model of farm business diversification by Scotland’s Rural College. The future of the site has been in question after it suffered heavy losses during the pandemic.
We saw a man gold panning in the Allt Auchtertyre on the farm (you can just see him if you look closely at the below photo). Gold is in the hills and rivers around Crianlarich and it’s a popular activity here. There’s a controversial new gold mine in operation near Ben Lui.
We met the River Fillan again, and followed it for a kilometre or so. The route doesn’t cross over the river here, but Ian nipped onto the bridge to check out the views.
The path goes through trees by the river, and there’s an interpretation board for “Tyndrum Community Woodland”. It was planted after a wildfire in 2000, using seeds from a nearby remnant of Caledonian Forest. A West Highland Way sign told us it was only 2.6km to Tyndrum!
We passed the site of the Battle of Dalrigh (King’s Field) where Robert the Bruce and his troops were ambushed and defeated in 1306 by his former allies – Clan MacDougall, and he narrowly escaped capture.
Not far along from Dalrigh we passed the Lochan of the Lost Sword. Legend has it that after he was beaten at Dalrigh, Robert the Bruce and his army threw their weapons into this lochan. This included Bruce’s sword – Claymore, and according to folklore it lies here to this day!
Just before Tyndrum we saw another interpretation board about the community woodland explaining how the young Scots Pines here were grown from seeds of the remnant of ancient Caledonian Pine Forest on the approach to Beinn Dubhchraig.
It’s an incredibly beautiful woodland, and the new trees bring hope – it was a joyful ending to the day’s walking!
A very welcome sign told us it was 500m to the By the Way campsite where we planned to stay in that night at Tyndrum, and after a short walk along the banks of the River Lochy soon we had arrived! We also saw a sign for the legendary Real Food Cafe where we planned to eat that evening.
After setting up the tent we walked down to the Real Food Cafe for a hearty homemade meal.
*Sadly since we did the West Highland Way Beinglas Farm Campsite has closed after 25 years, as the land owner did not renew their lease. You can read their statement about this on the website.