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6 people, 96 miles, 3 days, 1 charity = 1 amazing Morgan McKinley Million experience!

It was an inauspicious start to our journey as we arrived in Glasgow and struggled to find our car hire meeting point. This wasn’t a good indication of things to come if we were getting lost so early on at the airport. But eventually as we found it and decided to share our plans with the friendly staff we were told by one of the them that the West Highland Way could not be done in 3 days. He was so adamant that he promised to come into work on the Saturday on his day off when we returned the car to check in to see if we made it. (Challenge accepted).

DAY 1

We embarked on our journey of 40 miles on the first day. Once we eventually found the start of the route (it is trickier than it sounds), the first thing we noticed is how friendly everyone is (they talk to strangers!), which is very different to the London commute. We were feeling good, the mood was positive, but little did we know what lay in store.

A delayed start and tough terrain led to us missing the last ferry across the loch which meant we had no choice but to do an extra 4 miles than anticipated. The night drew in and the torches came out, eventually walking in complete darkness with only torchlight to guide us. As you can imagine, all of this contributed to a late finish with most of us completing day 1 around 11pm, and some not getting back to the hotel until after midnight.

DAY 2 

Sleep seemed all too brief and we were up before we knew it. This day finished at the Kingshead Bunkhouse which was one of the finer bunkhouses in Scotland. We got there in decent time so we even enjoyed a team bonding drink which did wonders for morale! 

DAY 3

Started with a rainbow which we took as a good sign and Matt (our driver extraordinaire) captured the photo here.

It was the final day but also the shortest distance, so should have been the easiest day, but when it starts with something called “The Devil's Staircase” you know it is not going to be a walk in the park (pun intended). It was hellish to climb up with already aching limbs, feet and knees. Therefore progress was slow...

We made it!

As the group of us walked through the centre of Fort William town towards the statue which is the new finishing point for the walk, there was an enormous sense of achievement. I can honestly say that everyone got on well and team morale got us through large sections of a very tough journey. It was not necessarily a team sport, but teamwork got us to the end. While Scottish weather takes a lot of stick, on this occasion it could not have been better. We must have had good karma from raising money for charity and used it up on the weather!

Well done team! 

We have managed to raise over £3,000 so far, plus you can still donate to the charity by clicking here.

Ian Palmer | Director - Tax & Audit, London