WHW Day 3 (Rab's Wee Hideaway) Traditional Cache
Lorgadh: As the owner has not responded to my previous log requesting that they check this cache I am archiving it.
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Lorgadh
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WHW Day 3 (Rab's Wee Hideaway)
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(regular)
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The West Highland Way (WHW), Day 3 Rowardennan to Inverarnan. This section, 22 km (14 miles) long follows the West shore of the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.
The West Highland Way is 152km (95 miles) long. The walk links Milngavie, North of Glasgow to Fort William - from the outskirts of Scotland’s largest city to the foot of its highest mountain, following the shores of Britain’s largest freshwater lake.
The WHW passes from the lowlands, across the Highland boundary fault and on, into the Scottish Highlands. Much of the Way follows ancient and historic routes of communication, and makes use of:
The old drove roads along which highlanders herded their cattle and sheep to market in the lowlands,
Military roads built by troops to help control the Jacobite clans during the 18th century and
Old coaching roads and disused railway lines from the more recent past.
If you are lucky whilst walking the Way you may also see some of the wildlife of the area. The feral goats left behind following the clearances, the magnificent red deer and away over the high tops, soaring golden eagles.
Ensure you have adequate footwear, clothing, food, equipment, maps and walkers guides etc. Also, let someone know of your itinerary, especially if you are a solo walker.
Geocaching is an international activity, embracing the outdoors and technology. Eight “caches” have been placed to correlate with each of the identified sections of the long distance walk ……an added bonus for WHW walkers and Geocachers alike. I hope you enjoy this one, and the other caches that are placed along the way.
The other caches are :-
WHW Day 1 (Dumgoyach) by reservoirdog
WHW Day 2 (In the shadow of Conic Hill) by Pooter
WHW Day 4 (Bogle Glen) by spioradsaor & Murrin
WHW Day 5 (Saint Fillan's) by DeputyDawg
WHW Day 6 (Rannoch Moor) by Flyfishermanbob
WHW Day 7 (The Devil's Staircase) by Billy Twigger
WHW Day 8 (The End Is Nigh) by Pooter
If you’re not walking the WHW there are only a couple of ways to get to Inversnaid. From the Western shore at Inveruglas a passenger ferry crosses regularly. I don’t think it has a fixed timetable but you can call 01877 386223 to find out. Alternatively you can drive in from Aberfoyle. It’s 15 miles from there and is a bit windy but has the most fantastic scenery, thoroughly recommended.
This cache can be found approximately 1 km North of Inversnaid. This area of the country has many romantic literary connections. William Wordsworth visited here, as did Sir Walter Scott whilst writing ‘Rob Roy’, published in 1817. And the Mare’s Tail waterfall above the hamlet is described by the poem ‘Inversnaid’ by Gerald Manley Hopkins, which starts – This darksome burn, horseback brown, his rollrock highroad roaring down……… Sounds like it might be worth a look but it’s a steep trek up with a rucksack.
From the car park near the pier and Inversnaid Hotel you continue North. Dogs on a lead only and no cycling I’m afraid. The start of the path here is the Western boundary of RSPB Inversnaid Nature Reserve. It covers an area of 374 ha (923 acres), a woodland and moorland that is designated an area of special scientific interest. Many breeds of bird can be seen here, buzzards, pied flycatchers (or flying piecatchers if you prefer!), redstarts and black grouse to name just a few. This is one of the areas where you could see the feral goats (you may not see them but you might be able to smell them!) and red (or even roe) deer. The Loch is also on the migrant path for other wildfowl. If you’re feeling fresh there’s a nature trail that heads up the side of the hill and loops back round to the WHW. It’s about ½ a mile long and has a couple of good viewpoints.
You will already have passed Ben Lomond getting here if you are walking the WHW and you get some great views of some of Scotland’s other most Southernly Munro’s from here. From Inversnaid looking SW you can see Beinn Narnain (who hides your view of The Cobbler). Then working north you can see Beinn Ime (the tallest one here), Ben Vane and Ben Vorlich. I’m happy to say that I haven’t climbed any of these hills! On the opposite shore you will see the water pipes from an hydroelectric power station. Not very pretty but at least it’s using a renewable energy source.
Slightly past where the nature trail rejoins the WHW is “Rob Roy’s Cave”. This is a crevice in the jumble of boulders under Sroin Uaidh and has "CAVE" painted in white paint on boulders to its right to distinguish it from the other, smaller crannies. The WHW clambers up, over and around the boulder field, and access to its nether regions is possible only from the northern end. I was sorely tempted to try and place the cache in the cave or very near by but thought it would be too busy an area. There are many ideal hiding places for a cache but due to tree cover and the steep cliff face nearby leading to poor GPSr reception I decided it would be unfair.
This cave may have been used by Rob Roy as he had a house nearby (frequently burnt down by his enemies) but it had an earlier name of "King Robert's Cave" (after Robert the Bruce). Rob Roy MacGregor was an eighteenth-century Scottish folk-hero (or cattle rustler, depending on which version of history you believe). Spend some time at the caves and continue your journey, once you’ve found the cache of course…...
At the coordinates above you will find a low-level sign pointing towards Rob Roy’s Cave. Stand with your back to this sign and you will be facing a large boulder (my definition of a large boulder covers this one!), it’s about 8 metres across. The cache is behind the boulder.
If you are doing some of my other caches take a note of the numbers inside the box lid.
The cache is less than 10 metres from the WHW marked route. The grading is taken for the terrain/difficulty from Inversnaid and does NOT relate to the WHW overall.
Good luck, hope you get good weather and may all your blisters be little ones!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx haqre n zbff pbirerq ebpx.