I had managed to pitch my tent 10.00 kilometres “as the crow flies” from the Cape Wrath lighthouse. This is the sort of thing that pleases me; I am easily entertained. Of course, I wouldn’t be walking in a direct, straight line to the lighthouse, and I wasn’t convinced that crows fly in a straight…
The bothy at Strathan seemed like the wisest place to head to today. With only one tent pole I was not sure that I should rely on my tent. Even if the French girl had been told that better weather was on its way, I wasn’t sure that attempting to use my tent with only…
The morning started where the evening before had ended – with midges. While I was being simultaneously eaten alive and packing my tent I realised that I couldn’t find the bag for my tent. The sensible conclusion was that I’d left it outside overnight and it had blown away. I cursed myself for my stupidity….
The B&B didn’t serve breakfast until 8am, so I didn’t get moving out of Ullapool until after 9am. Powered by cereal, toast and fried breakfast, and with good weather above my head, I yomped along. Today was going to provide relatively little elevation change, and with good path I was confident that I could make…
I awoke twice during the night. Once on purpose so that I could watch the stars. I could see them from my sleeping bag through the bothy window, but I got up and had a proper nosey at them too. The other time I awoke was due to the sounds of a wee critter. The…
I awoke to midges attacking my tent and my knee continuing to grumble. It had screamed at me loud enough at one point during the night to wake me up. There was sod all I could do about either of these problems and so I packed everything I could from inside my tent and prepared…
So my Cape Wrath Trail is done and dusted. Over the course of 10 days I have hiked 370 kilometres (229 miles). Having started after lunch on Day 1, and having finished before lunch on Day 10, I completed the journey in less than 9 days of walking, so I’m counting that as averaging just…
I awoke later than usual, finding it rather tempting to stay indoors and in my sleeping bag. Still, that river wasn’t going to cross itself, and I made my way to the top of the loch which, according to some information I found in the bothy, was supposedly the best place to cross it. It…
It had rained heavily all night long and I awoke to another day of cold and wet. I couldn’t say I was terribly eager to get started, but I knew that I would feel better once I was moving. I escaped my tent, took one look at the river next to me and thought “bugger!”…
I’d slept well, waking only to listen to a thunderstorm passing overhead. By morning the skies were grey and the wind had dried my tent. A good start to a boggy day. I knew that the next stretch over the River Carnach and towards Barrisdale would wet. I squelched along through the bog until it…