16.7 miles; 45,737steps, average pace 26.48mph

After another good breakfast we set off just after 9am as it was going to be a much longer day's walking. The weather was a bit overcast as we began the steep climb out of Kinlochleven, zig-zaging to ease the gradient of the hill. It was very busy with walkers at this point, but as it happened only about 7 from the group were going all the way to Fort William. As it was a Saturday, many were out for a walk with their club, probably hoping to climb one of the 11 Munros (mountains over 3000 feet) in the area.

After the climb out of Kinlochleven which lasts for quite a time, the walking is never really steep but undulating. On this section it is a mixture between moorland and forest track, although a lot of the trees have been cut down.

Although it was a longer distance, the paths were fairly good and there were no more serious gradients. Still I couldn't believe my eyes when about halfway into the walk 6 cyclists came up behind us. You can perhaps make out the ruts in the road, made over centuries by carts on the old military road. I did not envy them.

Much of the walking was through forests and since we had already gained the highest point near the start, combined with low cloud, there were no panoramic views so it was a case of best foot forward at a good pace while the going was good. At one point we did catch a glimpse of Ben Nevis through a gap in the trees, but the summit was hidden by cloud. A noticeable feature of today was the sound of cuckoos in the trees; something I've not heard for many years.

There was a really bad patch about 4 miles from the end as the WHW was diverted straight down a path in the forest. Jim had laced my boots in the morning as he said I wasn't pulling the laces tight enough and that was why some toes were blistered. When we were forced to turn down this path I did find it uncomfortable, but we were nearly there. When we arrived at Ben Nevis it was still cloudy and we continued along to our hotel, where we had a pleasant meal and chatted with a very interesting couple from Norway, who were travelling throughout Scotland by train.