The long drive to Fort William
After driving for hours, the traffic suddenly stopped and for the next couple of hours there was very little movement. We later discovered that the main road had been closed and traffic was being diverted onto a smaller and rather busy road.By the time we got past the traffic congestion, we decided to look for somewhere to spend the night, rather than driving for another hour or so to reach Fort William. Unfortunately this was a very busy weekend, so there was no vacancies and we had to keep going.
An unexpected stop
By now it was getting dark and I was following a curve on the road when the tyres on my left hand side briefly hit some gravel on the road shoulder, before returning to the solid road.
No big drama I thought, but a little later I started hearing a strange sound and soon it sounded like at least one flat tyre. As soon as possible I pulled over to inspect the damage, fearing two flat tyres and no spare tyre in our rental car. We were extremely relieved when we found out we had only one flat tyre AND a spare tyre in the back of the car.It was getting late and the air was full of midges, so I let my husband be the hero who saved the day. While he changed tyres, I waited inside the car with the kids, listening to a great Norwegian audiobook about a boy called 'Muffe'. I did feel a bit bad about leaving him alone with the midges, so once he had changed the tyres I helped get our luggage back into the car again and then drove to the nearest hotel.
Unfortunately this hotel had no vacancies either, but they sent us to a nearby hostel and around 23:00 we went to bed in a dormitory with two fellow travellers.When we woke the next morning we tried to be as quiet as possible, but it's a bit difficult with two young boys and a squeaky floor. However, when we left the two other people in our dormitory were still in bed, I guess that's a fairly good sign.
Climbing Ben Nevis
We arrived in Fort William just before 09:00 in the morning, where we bought a map of Ben Nevis and a compass, just in case. We then drove to the Ben Nevis Visitor Centre, where we packed our bags and set off to conquer the mountain.
Ben Nevis is 1344 metres high and the highest mountain in Great Britain. The hike is estimated to 7 hours excluding stops along the way. By the time we left the visitor centre it was almost 11:00, which meant we didn't have much time for stops along the way and with two boys we would probably also have a slower pace than indicated at the visitor centre and online. We have done quite a bit of hiking with the boys already, but this was the toughest climb we had ever done so I was not sure we would be able to make it all the way to the top.As we started climbing Ben Nevis, the boys set off at a brisk pace, overtaking many of our fellow hikers. There was a steady flow of hikers aiming for the top - this hike reminded me a little of hiking Besseggen in Norway, one of Norway's most popular hikes, where you can experience queues across the narrowest part of the ridge if the weather is really nice.
When we were
half way up the mountain we enjoyed lunch and fantastic views of Fort
William and the surrounding area. By now we had climbed quite a few metres from sea level and had to put on some more clothes. As we continued climbing, we soon climbed into misty weather and limited visibility. This persisted all the way to the top, so we didn't get a very good view from the top of Ben Nevis. However, there were quite a few people at the top, enjoying their food just like we did, so we spent an hour up there talking to people we'd met along the way and cheering for newcomers.
A great hike for everyone
On our hike we wore good hiking boots, waterproof clothes in case of rain and warm clothes in case it got cold. We also had two backpacks with more clothes and lots of food and drink. Many of the other hikers had similar equipment, but we also saw people wearing jeans and high-healed boots, and people carrying their equipment in carrier bags. Some even walked without bags, so I don't know if they brought any food and drinks at all.
What impressed me during our hike, was the diversity of our fellow hikers. Some of the people we met were extremely obese and I was worried about the strain they put on their bodies as they steadily huffed and puffed their way up and down the mountain. One large man we met on his way down gave out a small groan for every step he took, it sounded like his muscles were causing him great pain. At the same time I thought it was wonderful that he did this hike, getting both exercise and fresh air, and hopefully also enjoying the magnificent views. We overtook a couple of very charming big guys about half an hour before we reached the top. It was clear that the hike was very tough for them and I was really happy on their behalf when they reached the top almost an hour after us. You just have to admire such determination.
The Big Ben Nevis Triathlon
And speaking of determination: While we were climbing the mountain, we noticed people running past us with numbers on their backs. We later found out that this was The Big Ben Nevis Triathlon.The triathlon starts with a 1,9 km sea swim, followed by a 90 km bike race and ends with a 21 km run up and down Ben Nevis. After having climbed Ben Nevis I was extremely impressed with these competitors, I felt no need to run - and I hadn't even been swimming and biking before my hike.
A quick descent
Walking down Ben Nevis I realised just how steep and stony the track was. Our oldest son was the only one in our family who actually ran down the mountain - the rest of us preferred to reduce the strain on our legs and walk down.Due to the great speed held by the boys, we made it to the top and back down again in only 7,5 hours, including a total of 2 hours in stops. This was much faster than expected and also probably the reason why we all had sore muscles on Monday.
Camping in our large, new tent
We spent the night in our brand new tent, bought on holidays in Australia. The tent sleeps up to 10 people, so we had plenty of space and you can stand upright inside the tent - luxury!
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