Distance: 18.2 miles (36.6 miles total)
Time: 7 hrs 52 minutes
Tomorrow: Garelochead to Arrochar (est 12 miles)
Barnaby writes: The day started with us presenting James with the two routes that Dad and I had plotted from Dumbarton to Garelochead. He instantly asked, 'How long is each route?' When I responded with, 'Mine is 16.9 and Dad's is 18', he replied, 'The shorter one'. Dad's route would have consisted of climbing up a hillside and following the ridgeline all the way until we needed to drop down into Garelochead. However... my route was mainly down 'A' roads although with a long off-road section through Glen Cruin. My high point of the day was when during the off-road section we were faced with a large stream. I heroically said to Dad, 'Don't fear, get on my back and I'll carry you across this raging river.'
Well, it's difficult to know where to begin with this massive confection of lies and half-truths. It's certainly true that James' decision about our route today was entirely based on distance. It was quite funny to find both boys on their bed this morning, with Barnaby trying to interest his older brother in the routes on offer and James interested in one issue only - distance. That said, Barnaby's route really was rather lovely. The beautifully peaty brown River Leven was punctuated with fly fishermen all the way out to Loch Lomond. Barnaby was delighted to discover that we were going to pass the aquarium he'd visited with his hero, Neil (formerly known as Rabbi Neil). As for the stream in Glen Cruin, someone was definitely carried across, but I think that little Barnaby's memories might be playing tricks on him. And I think it was the stress he experienced as we walked down in to Garelochead that got him so muddled...
As we got closer to Garelochead there was an abundance of signs reading, 'Troops training. Do not touch suspicious objects', alongside a picture of something blowing up. I felt like every step we took was a risk and that just got worse as we got closer to Garelochead. As we reached the highest point of our walk I was intrigued by the [CENSORED BY MOD]. As we got closer I took out my phone to take pictures of the intriguing [CENSORED BY MOD]. On the drop down into Garelochead James noticed an off-road shortcut that I was worried might lead to James' demise. Although I was feeling quite anxious, Dad was more than happy to say 'Go on and see what happens.' As we joined the main road we saw the big fence around the [CENSORED BY MOD] littered with signs saying 'People who take pictures may get arrested and prosecuted.'
Okay, enough with Barnaby's mealy-mouthed nonsense. As we reached the summit looking down on Faslane Nuclear Submarine Base he took a photo on his phone. He was tremendously excited by the huge base down below us on the lochside. I told him about how excited I'd been as a child, seeing submarines going up and down the Clyde. However, his excitement turned to anxiety verging on neurosis when we reached the base perimeter and B saw signs prohibiting photography. He firmly believes that it's only a matter of time before a couple of burly MOD police burst into the pub we're staying in and cart him off. I just know that I'm not that lucky.
James concludes: The walk was a 7/10 at best. A summary is there was lots of dead stuff and a submarine base and the walk was a mile longer than it should have been so that was not cool. Actually because of that the walk was a 5.5/10 maybe a 6/10. Also we crossed a stream and Barnaby had to carry father over because father didn't want to get his toes wet because he is a baby.
THIS WILL BE ALL.
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