Today was definitely our worst day so far for weather. We'd got a taste of things to come from the weather late afternoon, but today was much worse.

 

Miles-wise, The Devil's Staircase - the part of the Way that takes you over the top from opposite the iconic 'white cottage' in front of the Buchaille Etive to Kinlochleven - isn't one of the longest stretches, but there's a climb of over 700 metres involved. Fortunately it zig-zags up and down for much if the way, following the route of an old military route, so it's not a straight incline. However, the path underfoot is made of hard, jagged stones and we wondered at various points what sort of boots these soldiers of old had and how fit they must've been.

 

By the time we'd walked from Glencoe Mountain Resort where we'd all eaten a hearty breakfast in preparation, the rain had begun to fall. Sharon's right foot was causing problems, so we darted inside an old byre for shelter while she and Gry did some foot First Aid. Things were not looking good, even with Compeed and padding. Then as we sat there with Julie at the doorway catching up on texts, we were joined by a succession of people taking refuge from the rain, including a man who was one of the many people each year who stop to take photos of the cottage. After he left a group of men came in and took part in what sounded like a work group call - in a byre!

 

While they were there the rain intensified to torrential. Plus, while Sharon's foot was patched up as best Nurse Gry and Dr Sharon could, by the time we'd walked, or hobbled, to the start of the Staircase she was still in pain and it looked unlikely she'd be able to continue. However  after taking off her inner sock she decided to give it a go.

 

The path goes up to the top of a hill. At the top, Gry and Sharon celebrated with a nip of Norwegian Aquavit, from a miniature brought over especially to accompany us on the WHW. After that, the path dipped down to a valley with a series of stepping stone crossings over fast-flowing streams before it takes off over the hill again.

 

The Staircase is supposed to be one of the most scenic parts of the route,but in truth, other than short, tantalising glimpses of the surrounding mountains, loch and forests behind mist we saw very little.

 

As for the walking itself, it was a slog: the rain, cold, hard rocky surface underfooth took its toll on our stamina. Julie sped off on her own early on while Sharon and Gry coped with flagging energy levels with a combination of food supplies, word games, and ABBA songs!

 

The last part of the route, as you descend, is ultra-frustrating. Every time you think you're at the last zig-zag down, the path suddenly rises up again. Eventually though, we all made it down safely albeit soaked through, to our apartment accommodation in Kinlochleven for the night, where, at time of writing  our waterproofs are still drying out.

 

There's "waterproof', and there's 'Scottish rain waterproof', it seems.