Day 4: From Rowardennan to Inverarnan and a haunted inn

After breakfast, a taxi took us and several other hikers to Rowardennan. On the way a conversation picked up, with the result that Debbie exchanged email addresses with one of the other women, and they each promised to visit the other at home sometime in the future. (To be clear, the other woman was English. Debbie, of course, is American.) Once we got to Rowardennan, we set off.

The route to Inverarnan hit a halfway point at the village of Inversnaid. And our hiking instructions stated clearly that there are two routes between Rowardennan and Inversnaid: an easy one that follows the road, and a hard one (but much more scenic!) that closely follows the shore of Loch Lomond. After my experience on Day 2, Debbie and I agreed we would take the easy way. But we never saw the road branch, and finally we deduced that we were taking the hard way. It really was profoundly beautiful; but it also meant that we were clambering over tree roots and crossing large rocks that had pre-empted the path. My progress was not fast.

The Drovers Inn, Inverarnan

We had planned to eat lunch at the Inversnaid Hotel, but we got there around 2:45 or 3:00 and they had stopped serving. So we sat on chairs outside and discussed what to do next. Before Debbie could say something, I told her clearly that—just doing the math—covering the second half of the trail at the same speed we had covered the first half was not feasible. That would put us getting into Inverarnan close to 9:00 at night, and that was crazy. So, for purely arithmetical reasons, I had to quit here and find another way to get to our destination. Did she think she could walk the remaining distance in a reasonable time without me? Yes, she did.

The best way to get to Inverarnan (if not walking) turned out to be to take a ferry across Loch Lomond to Tarbet, and then a bus from Tarbet to Inverarnan. And the last ferry of the day was leaving from a dock immediately adjacent to the hotel … in ten minutes. Perfect. I walked over to the dock and took the ferry. When we reached Tarbet, I stuck my head into the first building I saw (a coffee shop by the dock) and asked how to get to Inverarnan. I learned that the bus stopped right in front of that building over there—maybe a one or two minute walk. (My feet hurt by then, so let's be generous and say three.) When I got there I saw that there were only a handful of busses each day, but the next one was due in … about ten minutes, again! My timing could not have been better.

So I took the bus to Inverarnan, hoping it would be easy to find The Drovers Inn when I got there. Turns out the bus stopped not more than fifty yards from the Inn. I wonder, in retrospect, if there is actually anything in Inverarnan besides the Inn? No matter. I checked in, collected our luggage and dragged it upstairs to our room. There was one bathroom on our floor, down at the other end of the hall. It had a large bathtub but no shower, and only one toilet; so it could be used by only one person at a time (or two who knew each other very well). That said, I never had to wait for it.

Dining at the Drovers Inn

I held off ordering dinner as long as was feasible. When Debbie still hadn't arrived and they were 30 minutes from closing the kitchen, I figured I had better order for both of us. I had just given my order and was starting on hers when she walked in the front door. So I called her over and she placed an order. We got drinks, and we ate.

Debbie had enjoyed her walk, and told me all about it over dinner. She met and talked to several more interesting people, and enjoyed the scenery. I told her about my incredible good luck on my way to the Inn. It was a pleasant meal and then we retired to bed.

I will write in a later post about the challenges that we faced in preserving modesty around each other. Of course we have each seen the other naked before, but that was ten years ago. Ever since we reconnected in … gosh, late 2017 (I just checked) … we have both been very careful to observe the proprieties, at least around things that are clear-cut. During this trip that largely meant changing clothes in the bathroom. But this time there was no bathroom adjacent to our bedroom, so we just changed when we had to, and looked the other direction. From my point of view it worked just fine, but I was aware that that's what we were doing.

The Drovers Inn is supposed to be haunted, but neither of us saw any ghosts while we were there. Maybe we were too tired.