After an excellent ham, leek and chicken pie for dinner and a good nights sleep we prepared to continue our journey onwards to Carnforth

We left Shap – a linear town – and headed towards Carnforth. Although Shap is geographically a small village, it is legally a market town with a charter dating from the 17th century. At one time the granite works (which are situated about a mile outside the village) was in itself a separate community. Shap polished pink granite can be found in many buildings in the UK, including outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

A long walk from Shap, along the A6 – onwards and upwards towards Shap summit. The summit is about 1350 feet (408m) above sea level and in a small lay by is a memorial ‘to the drivers and crew of vehicles that made possible the social and commercial links between north and south on the old and the difficult route over Shap Fell’. The scenery was stunning as we walked up to the summit and then down the other side. A pity that the electricity pylons are so evident (we walked close by one pylon and the buzzing / crackling was unreal).

The direct sunshine made it feel hotter than it was and consequently walking was harder as well. We eventually walked into Kendal and stopped in the shade by the river for our packed lunch. Kendal is a market town and is known today mainly as a centre for tourism, the home of Kendal mint cake, and a producer of pipe tobacco and snuff. Its grey limestone buildings have earned it the nickname “Auld Grey Town”, in common with Dunfermline, Scotland. Kendal is a beautiful town and looked stunning in the sunshine – but we couldn’t delay any longer and headed back onto the road.

We passed through Natland, and its lovely village church and then we achieved a momentous milestone – half way! So now we can start to countdown the miles and days to the finish.

Just before reaching our hotel, we passed through Yealand Conyers which it notable for its early support of Quakerism. Richard Hubberthorne, one of the early Quaker preachers was from the Yealands. George Fox preached a sermon in the village in 1652 and the village’s Meeting House dates from 1692. The Quaker’s Old School is today used as a simple hostel and can host people visiting ‘1652 country’.

Thanks again to Louis for being good company, and suffering with us, during the last two days. Exciting times now that we are more than half way through the adventure.

After a very nice rest day in Carlisle, we packed up (agin) and prepared to head down towards the Peak District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks

We left Carlisle – a cathedral city and the country town of Cumbria. The early history of Carlisle is marked by its status as a Roman settlement, established to serve the forts on Hadrians Wall. During theMiddle Ages, because of its proximity to the Kingdom of Scotland, Carlisle became an important military stronghold. Carlisle Castle, still relatively intact, was built in 1092 by William Rufus, and once served as a prison for Mary, Queen of Scots.

We were joined today (and for tomorrow) by Louis, we really appreciate him coming up and giving of his time to walk with us.

Today’s route was the A6 all the way to Shap, so after a nice walk through the south of Carlisle we hit the A6 and headed for Penrith and a lunch stop.

Nice rolling countryside and, contrary to the weather forecast, the sun came out and fought with the wind to be the prominent weather.

Coming to Penrith we came through Unthank (an interesting name) that had a population of 39 in 1870. We also passed our 400 mile milestone which means the halfway point is coming ever closer.

Penrith is a lovely market town and civil parish in the county of Cumbria. Penrith was granted a market charter in 1223 by Henry III. In 1854 the market rights were leased by the Board of Health until they were eventually bought outright in 1878 for £4140.

Walking out of Penrith, we passed Eamont Bridge – named after the bridge on the River Eamont and there is a henge nearby known as King Arthur’s Round Table. We then passed Clifton at which Clifton Moor was the site, in 1745, of the final battle in England (and the last battle ever on English soil) between Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Duke of Cumberland.

Finally we finished walking into Shap, the wind had strengthened and looked like rain was threatening but we thankfully escaped. Time for some rest before we do it all again tomorrow.

Today (Saturday) is a very welcome and much needed rest day. Next blog entry will be when we arrive in Shap on Sunday

HSBC Branch in Bank Street, Carlisle

Today would see us leave Scotland after nearly 13 days of walking – a huge country!

We left Lockerbie (Scottish Gaelic: Locarbaidh) on our way down to Carlisle. Even though Lockerbie only came to prominence after the tragedy of Pan Am 103 it has existed since as early as 900 and the Viking influence on the area. Remains of Roman Camps close by suggest that Lockerbie could have existed even earlier.

It was great to be joined by Stuart and Ryan for today’s journey.

A slightLy earlier start than usual meant it was quite chilly as we left and we knew a big rainstorm was heading our way for the afternoon, but we headed down the road to much the same type of scenery that we had been “experiencing” for the last two days.

Finally – we walked into a village – Ecclefechan (Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais Fheichein – probably meaning “little church”). The village is famous as being the birthplace of Thomas Carlyle who was also buried there. Archibald Arnott, Napoleon’s doctor on St Helena, was also born in Ecclefechan in 1772 and returned to Ecclefechan in his retirement and he was also buried in the Ecclefechan churchyard.

After the rain started it was a reasonably long slog to reach the village of Gretna Green. For those who don’t know (or need to be reminded) Gretna Green is most famous for weddings, following the 1754 Marriage Act, which prevented couples under the age of 21 marrying in England or Wales without their parents’ consent. As it was still legal in Scotland to marry, couples began crossing the border in to Scotland and their first stop was the Famous Blacksmiths Shop, Gretna Green.

Despite the driving rain, we just had to stop and take a picture at the Welcome to England sign. We have had 600km of walking in the most amazing scenery from the top to bottom of Scotland and have been left with a hugely positive impression. (I’m glad I’ll be back up to the Highlands for some Scottish Winter Climbing in January).

Having crossed the border we were now walking alongside the M6 – it was raining heavily and the wind was driving it into us from the right (almost horizontally). It was a huge relief when the rain stopped just as we reached Carlisle. After crossing the River Eden we finally arrived at our city centre hotel and could look forward to tomorrow’s day of rest.

The sponsorship we have received so far now stands at over £41,000 which is going to be a huge benefit to Haven House. If you have donated already then thank you so mUch – if not then you know what you should do 🙂

Thanks to Stuart and Ryan for taking time out to join us today – we hope the blisters heal quickly!

Today was always going to be a challenge getting straight back on the road and heading towards Lockerbie after yesterday’s huge effort.

We left Abington Services where the M74 becomes the A74(M) (they were awarded the five star Loo of the year award in 2008). Abington village is said to be over 2000 years old and was of strategic importance to the Romans.

The road runs along the A74(M) and the London to Glasgow railway, so is relatively uninspiring in terms of scenery, especially after what we have seen for the last couple of weeks.

We passed into Dumfries & Galloway and although the scenery didn’t improve markedly it did improve slowly with a few more things to look at. Was also nice to see a sign pointing out our destination for the day.

We crossed the River Annan at Johnstone Bridge, only notable as it is named after the prominent local landowning family, the Johnstones, who caused a bridge to be built there over the river.

We finally reached our hotel on the “outskirts” of Lockerbie – passing a windmill fin being transported (it’s huge) – at the end of a quite tough day.

Before settling down for the night we took the opportunity to pay our respects at the Garden of Remembrance for the Lockerbie Air Disaster. Such a dreadful tragedy.

Tomorrow we continue heading south and leave Scotland – but more of that tomorrow

Today we were ready to walk the 70km to Abington, so it was an early breakfast and then hit the road.

We left Milngavie (Scottish Gaelic: Muileann-Gaidh – David’s Mill) and headed into Glasgow itself. Milngavie is pronounced “mulguye” and this difference stems from the way the original Gaelic name was adapted into English.

It felt very strange, after 10 days in remote areas, to be back in a bustling city and its traffic. But the scenery, whilst very different, was good to see and gave us lots of talking points – including passing Patrick Thistle’s ground in Maryhill.

Walking into the city centre we passed the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, which is a centre of performance based higher education for dance, drama, music, production and film. Right opposite is the National Piping Centre, an institution dedicated to the playing of the bagpipes, including not only the Great Highland Bagpipes, but also the Scottish smallpipes and Irish uileann pipes, as well as other traditional musical instruments. We also took time out to pose in front of the HSBC branch on Buchanan Street.

A lovely walk through the centre of Glasgow in the sunshine and passing within photographic range of Celtic Park.

Heading out of Glasgow now, we passed through Dalmarnock, Blantyre and Hamilton (where we passed the 300 mile marker) before heading to Larkhill and a lunch break.

Larkhill (Scottish Gaelic: Taigh na h-Uiseig) is a popular commuter town for Glasgow and is the home of the 2006 Snooker World Champion Graham Dott. As we passed the turning for Lesmahagow we passed the 500 km milestone.

Heading further south now towards Abington, the scenery became much less varied and the main focus of the day was now completing our 70k. As mentioned before, when there are interesting / varied things to look at, time and distance passes much more quickly – when it‘s not so varied then time does pass very slowly.

As we walked the final stretch, the sun was setting over the hills and wind farms to our right and then the light went completely and we finished our walk in the dark – hopefully this will be the only occasion for head torches.

A mammoth day – 70km, 13 hours 25 minutes walking and a foot-numbing 84,000 steps. So the day ended with us very tired but proud of ourselves for the effort.

Two massive days on the West Highland Way took it’s toll of our knees so we decided that rather than face another section of the lakeside “walk” we would take the road east and then down towards Glasgow

We left Inversnaid (Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Snàthaid) and headed down an unnamed road to meet up with the B829 and then eventually the A81 down to Glasgow

The first hour of the journey was alongside Loch Arklet – a reservoir supplying water to some of Glasgow. Corrie Arklet Farm is on the shore – notable for being where Rob Roy was married. It was a lovely start to the walk with next to no traffic and some great views of the lake and the highlands we had just come from.

As we walked through Loch Ard Forest we passed alongside Loch Chon and Loch Ard – absolutely beautiful – before reaching Aberfoyle (Scottish Gaelic: Obar Phuill). Robert Roy MacGregor was born at the head of nearby Loch Katrine, and his well-known cattle stealing exploits took him all around the area surrounding Aberfoyle.  Along the banks of Loch Ard were various small hamlets – all with immaculate houses and gardens. It is amazing that, when the scenery is this nice, walking seems to take no time at all.

We walked along the A81 down towards Milngavie, on the outskirts of Glasgow. It was interesting to see how in the space of a few miles the scenery could change so much. We passed the entrance to Gartmore House, a country house and estate built in the 18th century. It was requisitioned by the army in 1940 and became a barracks until 1950 when it was sold off.

Nearing our destination we passed Glengoyne Distillery. This has been in continuous operation since 1833 and has the unique distinction of producing Highland single malt whisky that is matured in the Lowlands. Finally we arrived at the Premier Inn in Milngavie and hopefully a good sleep in their much vaunted beds. Tomorrow see us head further south towards Abington.

We were feeling quite good considering yesterday’s mammoth effort – probably all the “training” we did last week – as we set off the the second leg of the West Highland Way

The weather forecast for today was rain all day and it proved to be correct for once. We headed off from the Bridge of Orchy into the rain. Bridge of Orchy ( Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Urchaidh) dates from 1751 and is located at the head of the Glen Orchy. The bridge itself was constructed by Government forces as part of a programme of pacification of the Highland Clans following the Battle of Culloden, which involved the construction of military roads from the Lowlands into the much wilder upland areas of Scotland. It crosses the River Orchy, one of the finest white-water rivers in the United Kingdom.

Walking onwards, the scenery was still spectacular but in a very different way – the rain didn’t really spoil the views at all. The path ran alongside the railway and the River Orchy for quite some time – some puddles but nothing unmanageable.

We passed through Tyndrum (Scottish Gaelic: Taigh an Droma meaning “the house on the ridge”) and started up into the forest path that would occupy the next few hours. It seemed to go up and up forever and then it was time to start descending to cross the A82 and pick up our lunch. From this point the path was a nightmare with multiple streams to ford, long puddles and large areas of mud. This was difficult but only a foretaste of what was to come.

We continued on the path, heading towards Loch Lomond and a “nice“ lakeside walk onto Inversnaid. Part of the walk involved a detour down a muddy field as one of the bridges was “out” and some great views of the River Falloch in full flow.

Finally we reached the shore of Loch Lomond (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Laomainn – ‘Lake of the Elms‘). It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area and second only to Loch Ness in water volume. We had been warned that the path was “not the best” along the shore but we were very unprepared for what we came across. It would be safe to say that some of the sections were borderline “rock climbing” and it seemed to go on for ever. We did achieve another milestone of 400km walked to date. After a long 11 hours walking 48k we arrived in Inversnaid – tired but undefeated!

Tomorrow is heading down to Glasgow (Milngavie)

Feeling somewhat refreshed after our rest day, we were ready for 3 days of the West Highland Way. Graeme has now joined us until the end of the week.

We left Fort William (Scottish Gaelic: An Gearasdan meaning “The Garrison”). and headed for the West Highland Way. Fort William was originally a settlement and the town grew in size when the fort was constructed to control the population after Oliver Cromwell’s invasion during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and then to suppress the Jacobite uprisings of the 18th century.

We started out on the Old Military Road. This is part of a network of military roads, sometimes called General Wade’s Military Roads, that were constructed in the Scottish Highlands during the middle part of the 18th century as part of an attempt by the British Government to bring order to a part of the country which had risen up in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. Ben Nevis decided to come out from the clouds and show itself and we were blessed with such a lovely day to enjoy the views.

More spectacular scenery as we headed towards Kinlochleven (Scottldi Gaelic: Ceann Loch Lìobhann). We also passed another milestone (we love a good milestone) – 200 Miles completed. The descent down into Kinlochleven was very steep and a rough path so not as enjoyable as the previous few hours.

Steep climbs up through the forest above Kinlochleven and then a short bit of level walking before the climb up towards the summit of the Devil’s Staircase (550m). This was given its name by the soldiers who were part of the Military Road building program, because of the difficulties of carrying building materials up that stretch of the road. Later, however, the road lived up to its name when workers building the Blackwater Dam chose to travel to the Kingshouse Hotel after they had been paid, rather than walking down to Kinlochleven. The journey to the pub often proved to be more difficult than they realised and on the return trip, after a few drinks on a cold winter’s night, the devil often “claimed his own.”. The descent down the Devil’s Staircase was steep, uneven and very long!

On the last leg of our days journey we walked across Rannoch Moor (about 50 square miles of boggy wetland) before finally getting to our hotel in Bridge of Orchy.

Today was a very tough day – we walked 55km, ascended approx. 1,400m and (the hardest bit) descended the same amount on often steep and uneven surfaces. But the views and the weather made up for it in the most part. Tomorrow is forecast to be rain all day so day 2 of the West Highland Way will be a different experience.

Thank you to Chigwell Construction for kindly sponsoring todays leg

Today is a day of rest and recovery in advance of next weeks efforts that will take us down to Carlisle.