Day 94 Loch Lomond

Today we walked along Loch Lomond. It was a most beautiful day, but it was also very tiring-the guidebook says yesterday and today are the most strenuous. I’m glad if that’s the case, as today was certainly pretty strenuous. We left Rowardennan Youth Hostel bright and early and headed along the Loch. It was lovely-beautiful […]

Day 92 The West Highland Way

Today I caught the train to Milngavie (pronounced Mull-guy) to the start of the West Highland Way (WHW). I wandered about Milngavie looking for some meths -for my stove, I’m not yet reduced to drinking it-and eventually found some in the pet come-things you might need for the WHW-shop. They had a grey parrot on […]

Days 90 and 91 Rest days 14 and 15 in Glasgow

Today started with a leisurely coffee and some porridge. I don’t usually drink coffee when I’m walking, unless it’s decaff (too dehydrating) so it is quite a treat. My clothes are now hanging on the line and I am making use of Elaine’s electric massage machine whilst she is out for a walk with Reggie, […]

Day 88 The Falkirk Wheel

Today’s most pressing problem was food. I had passed a bakery and a nice looking cafe on my way to the hotel but they were both half a mile in the Wrong Direction. As I had a 16.5 mile day I didn’t want to add any extra mileage. I had to rethink my route. Happily, […]

Day 87 East Calder to Linlithgow, slag heaps and a canal

Today started with a walk through Almondell Country Park before we reached the Union Canal which we followed all the way to Linlithgow. Almondell Country Park was delightful. Within 10 minutes we had seen more walkers than in the whole of yesterday. We walked along wooded paths and over a suspension bridge to reach a […]

Day 89 Heading towards a rest day.

Today I only had 11.5 miles to go to Kirkintilloch (or Kirkie, as the locals call it) where I was meeting Elaine who was picking me up in the car and taking me to her house for a couple of rest days before I start the West Highland Way. You might be forgiven for thinking […]

Day 86 Across the Pentland Hills

Today started with a trip to both the Co-op and the deli in West Linton to gather breakfast and lunch. We had both slept soundly-I managed nine hours-and were ready to leave by 9 am. Unfortunately we both forgot our walking poles and had to get the cleaner to let us back in. On starting […]

Day 85 Naked hiking

Today, before I say anything else I would like to reassure my readers that neither Sue nor I were doing the naked hiking. The day started with a substantial breakfast at the Tontine hotel, followed by a quick trip to Greggs for sandwiches. I forgot to go to the bakery, but we had a surprising […]

Day 84 Rest day 13 in Peebles

Today I am tired. It is two weeks since my last rest day and I’ve really felt it. Peebles is a perfect place for a rest day, compact, lots of shops, easy to re-supply (unless you want dehydrated camping meals or a travel-size tube of toothpaste), and food available without stepping out into the the […]

Day 83 The Borders and the Blisters continue

Today we had sore feet. I know, I complain about that often, but they are the most sore they have been for a very long time. Moreover Sue has bad blisters-despite an easier day yesterday. We decided we would again shorten the day and booked a taxi to Traquair. The weather forecast was dire. Thunderstorms […]