Day 45: Hebden Bridge to Marsden ? 24km ?756m Our camp spot was beautiful, with amazing views of Hebden Bridge and the valley but I didn’t sleep well, the tents next to us and behind were noisy and the pitch was not entirely flat so I kept rolling into Tom. We woke early thinking we would get to Marsden and… Read More »Teacakes, Thunderstorms and Trail Angels
Day 42: Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Malham ? 23.60km ?812m Felt pretty hungry when I woke this morning, so gradually ate breakfast a bit at a time as we packed up. Only felt able to eat a bit at a time, not huge appetite like normal, despite the hunger. We got going at 0730 and left Malham for the long ascent to… Read More »Up hill, down dale
Day 39: Kirkby Stephen to Keld ? 17km ?489m It took a while to get to sleep last night with it being a Friday night and we were at a campsite where big family groups were enjoying beers and BBQ’s. As a result we ended up sleeping in until about 07:00 and had a slow start to the day taking… Read More »If we can walk 1000km, then we can walk 1000 more
Day 36: Greenhead to Alston ? 30.54km ?848m We were looking forward to a relatively easy day, expecting about 26km and 600m ascent. Not sure where the extra came from, and the conditions underfoot were not easy although at least mostly dry. There were also a lot of gates and stiles as we passed through a lot of sheep grazing… Read More »The real highest point!
Day 33: Jedburgh to Forest View ? 33km ?974m Today’s the day we enter England and leave beautiful Scotland behind us. We woke at 04:00 with the crows, as Spence the campsite manager had told us we would, but did manage to snooze until 05:30. It had rained at various points throughout the night, the tent was wet, and it… Read More »Hiker Havens
Day 30: Just outside West Linton to an Orchard near Innerleithen ? 40.30km ?571m It was a beautiful morning but we were under house arrest by the midges. Katie nipped out for a wee first thing and quite a few followed her back in. We packed up, surrounded, and made haste! Ironically, after being relieved to leave the tarmac behind… Read More »Blisters in the Borders
Day 27: Drymen Campsite to Bar Hill ? 36km ?466m It rained very heavily throughout the night, I woke needing a wee and waited for the rain to lighten up before dashing to the farm barn where the toilets were. We set the alarm for 06:00 and when it woke us thankfully the rain had stopped. There was the occasional… Read More »Tow paths, viaducts & old railways.
Day 24: Strathfillan Wigwams Campsite to Beinglas Farm Campsite ? 15.94km ?397m It was raining when my first alarm went off at 0600. It was raining when my second alarm went off at 0630. It was raining every 10 minutes that I snoozed the alarm for an hour. Eventually, at 0730, it wasn’t raining and we decided it was probably… Read More »“You’re going the wrong way”
Day 21: Fort William to Kinlochleven ? 22km ?167m Today we started the West Highland Way going southbound. Established in 1980, it starts in Milgavie, north west of Glasgow, and finishes in Fort William and is 96 miles long. It is a well established route and very popular, but we would be walking against the crowds. We woke early and… Read More »“Oh you’re one of those”
A slightly different post with a few more details of the reality of doing a thru hike. Bugs: Ticks were our first nightmare when it came to bugs, these blood sucking creatures are so small you could probably get 50 on your thumb nail. We have had a couple of bad evenings when it felt like they were everywhere and… Read More »The nitty gritty