Roy Bridge to Moy Bridge

Distance Walked: 13.05 miles

Total Distance Walked: 37.88/82 miles

Day three had arrived. I was feeling well-rested, but something was off. I had indeed come down with a cold. I work quite an intense job and find that every time I'm off work, I always come down with some kind of cold. Obviously, this holiday was no different. Not wanting to put a downer on the holiday, I tried to be my cheery self around Sarah. My head was pounding, my eyes were heavy, and my nose was a waterfall. We cleaned ourselves up and then headed down for breakfast.

Breakfast of Champions or Losers?

We are given the breakfast menu, and of course, there is a continental buffet for us to help ourselves to. To my disappointment, none of the cooked items are vegan-friendly, and there are no beans… No beans!? It's unfortunate that I am lactose intolerant AND unable to eat eggs because, otherwise, I would've broken my plant-based diet to have scrambled eggs on toast as a last resort.

Sarah puts a lovely order through of just that, with mushrooms and tomatoes. And I request some toast. The manager seems a bit confused by my order and heads off. I go to inspect the continental options. There are cereals but no alternative milk, and there are jams. I grabbed some jam, but I wished they had some peanut butter too, as this would have made my breakfast much more fulfilling. As I make my way through the jam on toast with my fever rising, Sarah and I discuss whether it is wise to carry on or if we should take a day off for me to recover, as we are about to head into a 20-mile stretch of absolute nothingness.

To go or not to go?

We get back to the room after a satisfying breakfast for Sarah and a really depressing one for myself. We check the forecast and look outside; it looks like we're in for another day of drizzle, which adds to my concern. I pump myself with two Ibuprofens and an immune-boosting drink and decide we should just carry on, as, in the worst-case scenario, I could just bunker down in my tent for a day.

This may not have been the most sensible choice, but I really did not want to let this cold get in the way of our holiday.

Goodbye Stronlossit Inn. Hello Tulloch.

We left the inn and headed to the train station to catch the train back to Tulloch. We had a fair wait ahead, and I was so desperate to wee. Eventually, the train arrives, and I run to the toilet. It was out of order. Saddened by this, I sat squirming in my seat until we arrived at Tulloch. Sarah giggled at how I made sure everything was matching outfit-wise.

We arrive in Tulloch ten minutes later and head out. I quickly find a hidden, but not-so-hidden, spot to pee. Then we move on with our adventure, heading back to Inverlair Lodge to carry on where we left off the day before.

The walk was mostly uphill to the lodge, and I was really hungry from my lack of a substantial breakfast. Sarah cracked out the best trail mix to help keep me fueled on this gruelling hill.

Inverlair Lodge and Beyond.

Both ecstatic that we were finally back on the path, we carried on along this quiet road, which soon passed next to a beautiful Loch. We also saw a little monument, which I, of course, had to mount.

We carry on a little further, and I see a pole with the Loch in the background. Being a pole dancer, I could not resist the urge to attempt a cute photo. However, this did not go as planned, and I ended up turtling on the floor as Sarah laughed, enjoying the sight before her. Finally, she offered to help me up, and we carried on. Not much further ahead we came across a sign stating the end of the public road. We both looked at each other knowing that this was when the remoteness would truly begin. Passed this sign, there would be a lack of human life. Excited about what was ahead, we carried on the road passing the last few homes we believed we would come across for the next 2 days of our trip.

We headed down the road passing a farmhouse, after which we almost went the incorrect way

As we walked we found we had to watch our feet ever so closely, as there were lots of frogs, and it was mating season. We came across 3 frogs stacked on top of each other, humorously calling it a froggy threesome, I tried to record this beautiful mess. Unfortunately, as I crouched down the weight of my bag took me and I collapsed to my bum. Sarah was amused at what had just become before her, crying with laughter.

We both realise at this point we are a little bit delirious, so we walked a little while longer and decided to take a little break, while the rain had chilled out. We decided to have some couscous, a Bulk bar, and a cup of buttermint tea. Sadly, it was much more impressive than the breakfast I had earlier that day.

It never ends!

After lunch, we carried on along the fire road. The path was lovely and obvious for this stretch, so Sarah and I just got lost in endless chit-chat and pretty views. We even came across another East Highland Way sign, which got us both excited and remotivated. Until it seems, we went deep into the forest. There were no longer any views, although there were some entertaining frogs to watch. This stretch of road felt endless, and our motivation was dwindling. We started scouting for camp spots until we saw what seemed to be gorgeous mountain views ahead. With delight on our faces, we picked up the pace. We had arrived at Moy Bridge, and oh wow, what a reward that was.

It was a beautiful place, surrounded by the most picturesque mountain landscape. The bridge itself was not spectacular by any means. We took a moment to enjoy the reward before heading on our quest to camp.

The Perfect Camp Spot.

We approached a gate that warned us of blue-green algae and deer stalking. Thankfully, we were outside the season for deer stalking, but we kept a note that the water in the Lochs ahead may not be the best to take water from. We started walking in search of the camp. It was not looking promising. With big rain clouds above, we were starting to panic. We had walked around 13 miles at this point and just wanted a comfortable pitch. We kept going until we approached the first loch and noticed a little grassy path off to the side. We walked down it and... Bingo! We had found the perfect place to pitch up.

We quickly do so and then make our dinner of Huel Hot and Savoury Carbonara. A rather sad meal later, we both get into our tents and get ourselves comfortable for bed. The view we had was just outstanding. Happy, and fulfilled, but still feeling terribly unwell, I decided to go straight to sleep, even if it was only around 8 p.m.

Reflections on the Day

Although it rained all day, and I was extremely unwell, we really did manage to have a wonderful day. There were so many entertaining parts, many moments where I made a fool of myself and the scenery just kept on giving. Moy Bridge really did deliver the reward we needed that day. It was a hard day of walking but I don’t regret carrying on the adventure. We made the right call, for sure. If you do decide to walk the East Highland Way, always watch your step for frogs. They were everywhere. Also, only do this walk with a friend you know you can truly and utterly be yourself with. We definitely became very delirious that day and discussed some of the most hilarious topics, many of which were very inappropriate.

Tune in next week on our quest to Laggan, the trip only became more chaos from here.