Today we left Lybster and headed for John o’Groats

Today we had Mike and Barath walking the whole day, Lynn joining us at Wick and the new CEO of Catering and Logistics, Elizabeth, doing her thing.

As per the last couple of days, we got in the car to be dropped at the point where we finished the day before. This strategy has been effective and means we haven’t had to walk 50 km plus on any single day of this adventure. Today we were dropped about 10 km outside Lybster, leaving us with approx 38 km to complete the journey to John o’Groats. From the weather forecast and radar images we knew we would get a bit of a soaking later on, but for the start the weather was fine and the morning sky provided its usual range of sunny, cloudy and moody images.

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As we walked into Wick the promised rain started – we did try to get coffee and scones but of the three options on the Main Street, one had a queue, one looked like an undertakers and the other only took cash – so on we walked. On the way out of town was a Tesco petrol station so we stocked up on lunch. The person behind the counter insisted Paul bought a chocolate bar (which he didn’t want) so he could benefit from the “meal deal” – so he gave the chocolate bar to the young lady in the queue behind us.

By now the storm was well and truly overhead as we trudged through the roadside puddles and passing car spray – luckily the wind was slightly behind us and not in our face – but it was very cold. We passed a field of swans just doing their thing and then then reached our penultimate milestone – 1,400 kms.

Past a couple of herds of Highland Cattle with the weather improving all the time and then back to within sight of the sea – past Keiss Castle (late 16th century) and Keiss House (1755) and then the final few kilometres into John o’Groats itself.

It was a fitting sign that there just happened to be a full rainbow over the town sign as we came down the road but still a couple of km away from the actual signpost.

Tired but happy we posed for our picture 35 days after posing at the other end of the country at the start of our journey. Incredible to think we have walked the length of the UK twice in two years – I’m fairly certain this is the last time though! As we walked into the bar for a well earned beer, the young lady from the Tesco station was serving – a free beer for Paul as a result!

The generosity shown by everyone who has donated, either directly via the website or of their time / expenses by joining us during the walk has been incredible. The company and support gave a huge boost in getting the journey done, and has helped in raising a good sum for two incredibly deserving hospices.

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And finally, a last map of our progress:

Today we left Brora and headed to Lybster

Today Barath and Mike (clearly something important on his phone lol) were walking with us and Lynn joining us later in the day. Newly promoted Director of Catering and Logistics, Elizabeth, was looking after us for the day.

As we drove to East Helmsdale, where we finished yesterday, the sun was breaking through into the sea in places giving some lovely views. There was some anxious looking at the weather forecast this morning but the current storm passed over very quickly just before we started walking. Then it was straight into a long hill, climbing about 150m – a nice way to warm up in the morning.

Walking to Berriedale there were plenty of nice views on both sides of the road – sea views and hills in the distance. Once we saw the escape lane sign we knew we had arrived at the steep up and down that we remembered well from last year. It was not as bad (although still tough) as we remembered, probably because we were on day 2 last year and the penultimate day this year. There was a coffee shop at the foot of the dip but we had no intention of carrying coffee / scone up the hill (another 150m) so we passed on this occasion.

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Nearly at Dunbeath we stopped for a while to watch a pair of sheepdogs herding a large number of sheep around a huge field. It is so impressive how the two dogs worked together with only whistling form the shepherd. Carrying on up the (inevitable) hill from Dunbeath we stopped at a delightful tearoom to get a coffee / scone to take away. Asking for a latte we were told we could only have a milky coffee – but it was delicious as were the scones.

We started to get views of the huge offshore wind farm and one off many isolated churches / graveyards that populate this area and then enjoyed two herds of young cows. In the picture above they spotted us and started jostling each other to get a better view as they all came to wall so see what was going on. Then, on the other side of the road, another herd of youngsters ran down the whole field to keep pace with us walking – there was a lot of bumping into each other as they raced down the field. We then said goodbye to the A9 at Latheron and continued up the A99 towards John o’Groats.

We passed Lybster (our home for the night) and continued on down the road for about 10 km to shorten tomorrow’s journey. The light and clouds were causing wonderful imagery as we spotted a lighthouse we hadn’t seen on this route last year. We stopped for the day at a location called Whaligoe which appears on google maps but doesn’t actually have a signpost!

Tomorrow is our last day as we head for John o’Groats.

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Today we left Tain and headed for Helmsdale (Brora)

Today Barath would start walking with us and Lynn and Mike would join later in the day and Elizabeth was helping with transport logistics.

We drove to Evelix, where we finished walking yesterday, to restart our progress to John O’Groats. It was pretty chilly this morning (I think about 5c) as we left but with the rising sun and the feisty traffic on the A9 we warmed up soon enough.

As we approached The Mound, we passed the 1,300 kilometre mark – definitely not long to goo now. The Mound is a causeway across the mouth of the River Fleet. A passenger ferry once crossed at Littleferry at the opposite end of Loch fleet but, in 1816, this new embankment and road were completed by noted engineer Thomas Telford(1757 – 1834) who constructed a stone-arched bridge over a narrow river channel at the northeastern end of The Mound, and modified this bridge seventeen years later in 1833.

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We picked up lunch (and swapped Barath for Lynn) in Golspie and then headed further along the A9 to Brora – this is where our hotel is for the night but with smoothing out the daily distances we still had quite a way to go (17 km).

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By now the traffic had eased from heavy to mildly heavy, gaps between batches of traffic but still plenty of HGVs, Camper Vans and Taxi Drivers not paying attention to deal with. The weather was nice and sunny without being too hot as we passed alongside Brora golf course and the beach (which looked very tempting even if the water is probably of arctic temperature).

As we approached Helmsdale, a brief shower provided a good rainbow just off the coast – the closer we got to it the more it moved away! A family of squabbling turkeys got our attention and then we made it into Helmsdale. Rather than stop there, we took in a little bit of the hill (saves doing straight after breakfast tomorrow) and finished the day in East Helmsdale.

Tomorrow we will head just past Lybster.

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And as you can see below, we are nearly there – just two more days to go

Today we left Dingwall and headed to Tain

Today we had Barat and Lynn walking from the start (Mike would join later) and Elizabeth (wearing her bunny ears) helping with travel logistics.

We actually started from somewhere close to Ardullie (about 6km outside Dingwall) as that was where we walked to last night – we will overshoot by about 5-6km per day today and tomorrow to reduce the lengthy last two days. The sun was rising above the Cromaty Firth and the sky was also filled with migrating geese – fascinating to watch the patterns they make as various “flights” join together and separate – the noise above us was incredible as well. Then we passed the most adorable little Shetland Pony – their average height is about 102 cm (40 inches; unlike other horses, Shetlands are not measured in hands) with a maximum height of about 117 cm.

As we continued down the road towards Tain, we passed through Evanton with further nice views of Cromaty Firth. In the distance, on top of Cnoc Fyrish (453m) we could just about see a building – this is the Fyrish Monument which was built in 1782 on the orders of Sir Hector Munro 8th of Novar, a native lord of the area who had served in India as a general. As the local population were being cleared off the land they had worked for centuries by the Lords of the Land, survival was a problem and so it was built to keep the locals in labour. It was said that Sir Hector rolled stones from the top of the hill to the bottom, thereby extending the amount of time worked and paying the labourers for additional hours. The monument represents the Gate of Negapatam, a port in Madras, India, which General Munro took for the British in 1781.

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As we passed by Invergordon in the distance we could see that the number of oil rigs / platforms being stored in the Firth looked to have increased from last year. At this stage we passed a team who were supporting a guy from Exeter who was skateboarding from John O’Groats to Land’s End – if you thought we were mad well this is another level! We then (finally) passed our 800 mile milestone, meaning less than 100 miles to go – quite a moment.

We passed Tain (our scheduled stop for the night) but due to our plan to overshoot each day we still had another 11 km to cover. We had some spectacular views of Dornoch Firth as we walked down towards, and then crossed, the Dornoch Firth Bridge. Dornoch Firth is designated as a national scenic area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland. The remainder of the day was spent on the busy A9 (due to be our companion now for Wednesday and Thursday) as we reached our stopping point for the day. On the way it was good to finally see John O’Groats represented on a mileage sign!

Tomorrow we will head for Helmsdale (about 15km past our hotel in Brora).

It’s strange to think that our adventure is nearly over (again).

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Today we left Drumnadrochit and headed to Dingwall

Today we had Mike and Ben (Ken) walking with us and Elizabeth and Lynn providing the logistical support.

It had been raining heavily all night and all the predictions were that this would continue for most of the day. We all arrived downstairs for breakfast at our agreed (by the hotel) time of 8am to discover nobody present – after several phone calls and no progress we left without breakfast as we couldn’t wait any longer. Elizabeth, Lynn and Dal were staying a bit later and I believe suitable reparations were made by the hotel. So after a coffee stop at the first petrol station we headed up a nasty hill in the pouring rain – to say there were rivers flowing down the road would be an understatement. The hill was about 160m climb in about 30 mins – so pretty steep. The rain didn’t abate at the top but at least we were walking on the flat.

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We made our way into Beauly by crossing the River Beauly and buying some lunch in a very nice delicatessen opposite the Boer War memorial. While lunch was packed away for later in the afternoon we did avail of coffee and some awesome scones.

After leaving Beauly we spotted a group of Alpacas who, while being very curious, look so funny with their hair styles. There were also a couple of Highland Cows that were doing their best not to be photographed but with a bit of patience the mugshots were taken. Highland Cattle are a Scottish breed of rustic cattle. They originated in the Scottish Highlands and the Outer Hebrides islands of Scotland and have long horns and a long shaggy coat. They are a hardy breed, bred to withstand the intemperate conditions in the region. The first herd-book dates from 1885 and there are two types – a smaller island type, usually black, and a larger mainland type, usually dun – both were registered as a single breed.

We saw Ben Wyvis in the distance (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Uais, meaning “hill of terror”). The mountain (1046m) stands on the northern edge of historic lands of Clan Munro. By tradition, the Munros held their land from the Crown. The king declared that they held their lands on condition of furnishing a snowball at midsummer if required. This condition they could easily fulfil, as snow was to be found in some of the mountain corries of their property all year round.

We passed some fly fishermen in the River Conon on our way into Dingwall (home of Ross County Football Club) and our accommodation for the night. The rain had stopped shortly after Beauly so we were mostly dried out by the time we finished walking.

Tomorrow we head to Tain.

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Today we had Ben (Ken) and Dal walking with us with Mike and Lynn both walking and taking care of transport logistics. Dal decided to up his game today by wearing his wife’s trousers – he looked very fetching in them!

The day started with rain as we watched from the breakfast room. Mercifully it stopped by the time we left and would not reappear for the whole day. We started out by doing a bit of a route march down the A82 for the first couple of miles (rather than climbing up into the hills straight after breakfast). It was early Sunday morning and the (normally very busy) road was very quiet – never the less we made a good pace to get off the road as quickly as possible. We had some nice views of Loch Oich (every autumn the Atlantic Salmon migrate from the sea using Loch Oich, Loch Lochy and Loch Ness as their spawning nests) and turned off the A82 at the Bridge of Oich (last picture).

We then walked along the Caledonian Canal footpath as far as Fort Augustus and its multiple locks. We were treated to sunshine and some beautiful reflections on the very still canal waters and passed our 1,200 kilometre milestone today. The canal itself was very quiet until we reached Fort Augustus where the main lock had 7-8 boats in it all ready to make the journey downstream. Time for a coffee and scone stop and then we were off again.

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From Fort Augustus we thought we might try another sneaky walk along the A82 and avoid a bit of a climb, but one look at the coaches that went along the road convinced us otherwise. So up we went and along the Great Glen Way, with some enticing views of Loch Ness through the trees until the inevitable descent down into Invermoriston. We picked up our lunch (for later in the day) from Mike who then walked with us for the next while – and we dropped Lynn off as she had walked from Fort Augustus.

We remembered (and not with any fondness) the descent into Invermoriston from last year and, sure enough, it was still there except that it was now a lung busting 150m plus climb in a relatively short period of time. Once at the top we had a choice of high or low route alongside Loch Ness. As we had done the high route last year the low route became the route of choice. Some absolutely spectacular views of the Loch and some lovely weather hinted towards a smooth passage. Then we hit an almighty climb up a never-ending steep hill – so much for the “low” route. Anyway, once conquered it was time to sit down, recoup for a small bit and have lunch.

We then continued on and, once out of the forest, the landscape changed completely and (after getting a bit off track) we stopped at a cafe (seemed more like someone’s house to be honest) for a tea and coffee before heading down a steep incline and into Drumnadrochit.

Maybe not our hardest day (we’ll reserve Loch Lomond for that) but certainly a tough one.

Tomorrow we head to Dingwall.

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Today we left Fort William and headed for Invergarry

Today Ben (Ken) was walking with us and Mike and Lynn were walking and taking care of transport logistics.

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As we left Fort William the weather forecast was cloudy, warm and mainly dry for the day. We crossed the River Nevis and then the River Lochy, which flows southwest along the Great Glen from Loch Lochy to Loch Linnhe at Fort William. We then got to the Caledonian Canal at the start of Neptune’s Staircase and followed the footpath right up to the start of Loch Lochy.

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As we walked along, Ben Nevis was doing its best to peek out from the clouds (but not really succeeding). The tow path was very quiet, we only had a handful of runners and cyclists coming towards us all morning. A large family of ducks were enjoying the peace and quiet. We are then passed the Moy Bridge (a two part small traffic swing bridge) and then came to the Gairlochy Swing Bridge (last year we had to wait while it was in operation).

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We were passed by a troop of commandos out on a training run – one of them managed to gasp that they had to run 6.7 miles (10.72 km) uphill in an hour, wearing boots and carrying a 36 lb (16.3 kg) pack. They all looked completely shot as they passed us!

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We met Mike at the Laggan Lochs (between Loch Lochy and Loch Oich) to collect our lunch and then he joined for another spell before heading back to the car to meet us in Invergarry. Our path then took us up into the forests above Loch Oich and keeping us away from the A82. A few surprise hills awaited us in the forest before long descent down to Invergarry.

The rain mostly kept away for the day, every time it started and we put coats on – it stopped! Overall an enjoyable day, the views from the paths high above the lochs are wonderful (more of those tomorrow over Loch Ness).

Tomorrow we head to Drumnadrochit on the banks of Loch Ness.

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Here is this week’s map of how far we have come – only 6 more walking days

Today we left Kinlochleven and headed to Fort William

Today Mike Z, Ben (Ken) were walking with us and Mike P was reprising walking and providing transport logistics

Kinlochleven was formed from two previously separate small communities – Kinlochmore to the north of the River Leven in Inverness-shire and Kinlochbeg to the south of the Leven in Argyll – following the construction of an aluminium smelter and associated housing for its employees. The processing plant was powered by a hydroelectric scheme situated in the mountains above, and made Kinlochleven the first village in the world to have every house connected to electricity, coining the phrase “The Electric Village”

The weather looked promising today as we crossed the River Leven (in full flow from the hydro plant) and then started the climb out of the village. Ascending 240 metres in 30 minutes after breakfast is not for the faint-hearted – we were all puffing a bit at the top as the climb levelled out.

Mike P did his usual trick of walking up the climb with us and then turning round and walking back down to collect the car before heading to Fort William.

Despite the overcast weather the views were simply wonderful and the streams / waterfalls were in full flow from all the recent rain. The noise of very fast water should be heard well in advance of actually crossing it. The path varied in surface texture meaning some easy walking and some hard walking but overall not as bad as Telford’s Road of yesterday.

As we moved along past Stob Ban (999m) with its head in the clouds and a couple of 900m plus peaks the sun attempted a brief appearance on the other side of the valley, even causing a brief rainbow to appear. We also had some quite windy periods where the low lying cloud was thrown at us – probably not actual rain but it sure felt like it.

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The scenery changed somewhat as we moved into the Nevis Forest the scenery (obviously!) changed a lot and then we had our first glimpse of the Fort William area in the distance. Halfway down the long descent, and this time is was actually raining, we passed our 700 mile milestone. Arriving in Fort William we had covered 24 km (15 miles) today, so relatively short compared to other days. Considering the effort to get from Inversnaid to Fort William in 3 days this year (102km / 64 miles and 2,321 metres of ascent) it seems insane that we did that in just two days last year!

Tomorrow we head for Invergarry on the Great Glen Way

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Today we left Bridge of Orchy and headed to Kinlochleven

Today we had Mike Z walking with us today and Mike P part walking and providing transport logistics.

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As we left Bridge of Orchy it was raining and pretty windy. Overnight the wind was strong enough to wake us up and the forecast was for winds in the morning of up to 50 mph. So we were looking forward to another “weather” day. We crossed the River Orchy, one of the finest white water rivers in the UK, and headed towards the Inveronan Hotel (last accommodation on the west highland way until Kingshouse. Moody weather made for great scenery and then we saw a family of red deer wandering across in front of us.

The drove road mentioned in the photo was actually built by Thomas Telford in the early 19th century. Cattle were shod (like horses) for their journey down this road.

As we walked across Rannoch Moor (along Telford’s Road!) we were lucky that the wind mainly dropped and the rain only made sporadic appearances. The path itself was particularly hard to walk on for large stretches, no wonder the cattle were shod!

We made it to the car park of the Kingshouse Hotel in good time where Mike P was waiting with our lunch – which was then safely stored in our backpacks for the top of the Devil’s Staircase.

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After Kingshouse the path wound upwards (when does it ever not) and then back down to the start of the Devil’s Staircase. A bit of a slog to get to the top at c557m but we made it in good spirits and found somewhere out of the wind to sit down and have lunch. Having just climbed up, Mike P then went all the way back down to get the car and meet us in Kinlochleven.

The walk down towards Kinlochleven was quite long but a constant descent, getting quite steep in places. We passed our 1,100 kilometre milestone on the way down and walked into town via the operating hydro plant.

A tough day (not as tough as yesterday) but enjoyable and with some spectacular scenery.

Tomorrow we head for Fort William.

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