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.

We were certainly feeling the effects of yesterdays mammoth effort as we got ready for Day 7 of our journey.

We left Invergarry –  it’s name comes from the River Garry which flows into Loch Oich – by crossing the river and onto an undulating forest track in the North Lagan Plantation.

Sticking to the forest track and then a short road section, we continued plodding along The Great Glen Way (Slighe a’ Ghlinne Mhòir). This is a long distance path that follows the Great Glen between Inverness and Fort William. It is generally walked from southwest to northeast to follow the direction of the prevailing wind but we are walking in the other direction so have the wind in our faces most of the time. It follows a geological fault known as the Great Glen Fault that bisects the Scottish Highlands into the Grampian Mountains to the southeast and the Northwest Highlands to the northwest. The Great Glen Fault is mostly inactive today, but occasional moderate tremors have been recorded over the past 150 years which has meant that seismic buffers are built into the Kessock Bridge carrying the A9 out of Inverness.

As we passed another section of the Caledonian Canal below us, we saw numerous small rivers and waterfalls and headed into Kilfinnan Wood on the shores of the wonderfully named Loch Lochy. This isn’t a Boaty McBoatface type name, the River Lochy runs into the Loch, hence its name.

We started to get glimpses of some large mountains as we continued through the forest – as best I can tell from the map, the mountain in the first picture is Meall an Teanga (918m) (meaning ‘Hill of the Tongue’) which qualifies as a Munro by only 4 metres. The tree in the 5th photo is a Scots Pine (the national tree of Scotland) which typically grows to about 35m in height (see Mike and Paul in the photo for scale).

Finishing up the forest track, and avoiding the wild chickens, we stopped for a lunch break at the swing bridge at Gairlochy on the Caledonian Canal. The Canal was constructed in the early 19th century by Thomas Telford. It finally opened in 1822, having taken 19 years to complete, and cost £910,000. Over 3,000 local people had been employed in its construction. Then it was a long slog along the canal path to reach Fort William.

Another milestone – 300km walked – just as we finished passing by a series of locks called Neptune’s Staircase. This is a staircase of 8 locks that lifts (or drops) boats by 20m. And, of course, an ice-cream stop. Finally we left the canal path and walked the last few kms into Fort William and our hotel.

39.3km walked and another 52,000 steps and 7 days of walking completed. after the efforts of yesterday this was a tough one, but with a rest day on Saturday we should be somewhat refreshed for the start of the West Highland Way on Sunday.

Mike Z leaves us today and we do appreciate him taking the time out to join us and walk for Haven House.

For our journey from Drumnadrochit to Invergarry we were also joined by Mike Zehetmayr, so there were 7 of setting out on what would prove to be a challenging day.

The weather forecast would probably be as reliable as ever but it was quite nice as we set out from Drumnadrochit (Scottish Gaelic Druim na Drochaid meaning ‘Ridge of the Bridge’ as the original settlement grew up around a bridge over the River Enrick).

The day’s walking then started as it meant to go on – within 2km we had climbed 200m – the consolation for this effort was some beautiful scenery and a huge rainbow.

Thereafter we started on a well defined route through the Creag nan Eun forest which runs along the shore of Loch Ness towards Invermoriston. Following the path and attempting to keep to the lower of the two paths we came to a dead end.

Rather than backtrack, and add unnecessary mileage to our day, we saw a hint of a path that would see us scrambling, often on all fours, up a steep mossy bank and through sopping wet ferns to reach the correct path up above us. The second photo shows Stef escaping from the forest with Paul right behind. This little deviation was named a Magical Mystery Tour – general consensus, looking back, was that this was a bit of fun, although obviously not so much at the time. Our reward though was to start seeing glimpses of the famous Loch Ness through the trees.

The views – mountain streams, heather, far away hills and the Loch itself were simply stunning. At 56 km² (22 sq mi), Loch Ness is the second-largest Scottish loch by surface area after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth, it is the largest by volume in the British Isles. Its deepest point is 230 metres (126 fathoms; 755 feet), making it the second deepest loch in Scotland after Loch Morar. It contains more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined.

Enjoying the scenery we carried on walking and then started the descent down to our half way point.

Halfway point was Invermoriston which contains the Thomas Telford bridge, built in 1813, which crosses the spectacular River Moriston falls. This bridge used to form part of the main road between Drumnadrochit and Fort Augustus but was replaced in the 1930s with the new bridge used today.

We continued along the path through the woods of Druim an Garbh Leachtrach (‘Rough slope of the ridge“) until we reached the start of the Caledonian Canal and Fort Augustus (called Kiliwhimin until the Jacobite Uprising of 1715 when it was renamed).

We walked along the, thankfully flat, canal path as far as the swing bridge at the Bridge of Oich where we said goodbye to Tom, Stef and Mehdi. We really appreciate them taking the time off work to fly up and walk these two days with us in support of Haven House.

We then walked the last few (it felt like a lot more) kms through Fassie Wood, Drynachan Wood and Nursery wood before a very steep descent into Invergarry and the finish of the days journey.

Today was, literally the Longest Day – we walked 48.3km, some 59,500 steps and climbed 1,177m (higher than the highest mountain in Wales) – the whole event took over 10 hours.

For our journey today down to Dromnadrochit we were joined by Jeremy, Mehdi, Stef and Tom – we really do appreciate folks making the effort to take time out to join us for this walk.

The weather forecast was no rain today so the rain as we left Dingwall was no surprise – it didn’t last long though but would make a few reappearances during the day. Dingwall (Gaelic Inbhir Pheofharain meaning “mouth of the Peffery” or alternatively Baile Chail meaning “Cabbage Town”) was created as a Royal Burgh by King Alexander II in 1226.

We walked past the war memorial and a beautiful church and crossed the River Conon which eventually flows to the North Sea via the Cromarty and Moray Firths.

Walking toward Beauly we passed a lodge house , beautifully kept as usual, that was possibly part of ConOn House grounds originally. Then past a farm with this wonderful Highland Cow and a few Alpacas to keep him company.

Beauly is named so because, as local tradition has it, Mary, Queen of Scots once visited Beauly and had exclaimed: “Ç’est un beau lieu”, whereby came the name Beauly. The town is also known for the Beauly Shinty Club, its shinty  team, who have won the Camanachd Cup  three times and have been World Champions once. The memorial commemorates the members of the Lovat Scouts who gave their lives in the Anglo-Boer War (or South African War) (1899-1902). Anyway enough of history – it was also time for an ice-cream and a very short rest. As we crossed the Beauly River we could see fly fisherman hard at work.

As we closed in on Ardendrain, passing by yet another well kept gate lodge, we passed another milestone of 200km done so far. After this there is nothing of any historical significance to report just some more fabulous scenery to admire.

Keeping going, into some often quite strong headwinds, we continued to enjoy the scenery as we neared the end of todays journey.

The lake is called Loch na Ba Ruidhe, meaning the Reddest Lake, and looked very calm as we approached the descent down into Drumnadrochit – we had been warned it was steep! The long 15% gradient was really tough, especially at the end of a long day.

Finally we reached Drumnadrochit after 37.3km and some 44,500 steps. Tomorrow sees us join the Great Glen Way. A huge sense of achievement at having done 5 back-to-back days, it feels as each day gets harder and the aches and pains don’t subside. Two more days and we get a day off in Fort William which will provide some much needed rest and recuperation.

Total donations continue to rise, £33,808 at the time of writing. Please donate if you haven’t yet done so (or donate again – it is allowed) and encourage friends and family to do the same.

Thank you to The Media People for kindly sponsoring today’s leg