The original idea for this walk was to attempt Scotland end-to-end. Something I realized during my failed LEJOG attempt two years ago was that hiking in England really isn't my thing. I prefer Scotland, where the hiking infrastructure is better and where I feel more at home anyway. But as I began outlining a potential route through Scotland, I found some places calling more loudly to me than others. In particular, a couple of long-distance trails which I have only partially completed are demanding to be finished. And a few places I've never been, that have been on my list to visit for years, are insisting that the time is now.
And so, the plan is to hike Hadrian's Wall, the Rob Roy Way, the Speyside Way, the final stage of the Great Glen Way, and a chunk of the Hebridean Way over eight weeks. I'm also planning to climb Ben Lomond and possibly Ben Vrackie, and to cap everything off with a short section of the West Highland Way.
I walked about 25 miles of Hadrian's Wall in August 2017, with minimal planning. (Scroll back earlier in this blog for details.) I didn't have the planning or wherewithal to get across the Pennines at the time, but I enjoyed the parts I did complete and I left the north of England determined to go back and finish the whole thing at some point.
I walked 62 miles of the Rob Roy Way, from Drymen to the east end of Loch Tay, in late April 2015. I was kept from finishing it by a planned 19-mile day from the west end of Loch Tay to Aberfeldy, which proved to be a greater bite than I could chew. I enjoyed the parts I did before, so I'm planning to do the whole thing over again and finish it this time.
The Great Glen Way was the first long-distance path I ever attempted, in September 2012. I completed 55 miles, from Fort William to Drumnadrochit. The final day is an 18-mile walk from Drumnadrochit to Inverness, and my feet were simply not up to it at the time. I almost attempted the final day during my LEJOG attempt but ultimately chickened out. This time I am determined that there will be no chickening out! *shakes fist* Unlike Hadrian's Wall and the Rob Roy Way, I am NOT planning on walking the Great Glen Way in its entirety on this trip. The Great Glen Way is a great walk for first-timers (like I was at the time), but is ultimately very boring, and I don't feel the need to do what I've already done again.
The Speyside Way is new to me. So is the Hebridean Way. The Hebridean Way is a very new trail, and in many ways is still "unfinished," so I'm only planning to walk the Uist section. I've also given myself permission to use public transportation for the Hebridean Way, since scarcity of accommodation means that I've had to plan some uncomfortably long walking days. I'm saving a full-scale attempt at the Hebridean Way for sometime in the future, when it's more "finished."
As for the hills: I attempted Ben Lomond in May 2012, but had to turn around within sight of the summit because I was running out of time to meet my ride back to Edinburgh. (As it was, I ended up being an hour late getting off the hill - Jeffrey, if you're reading this, I'm still sorry!) I'm planning to use public transportation to get to and from the hill, since the only other way to get there without a car is a seven-mile hike from Balmaha along the West Highland Way. This means that I'm only going to have seven hours to get up and back down the hill. This might end up being a white-knuckle race to the finish, so stay tuned, y'all. Ben Vrackie is new to me, but is within walking distance of Pitlochry, where I'm planning to take a rest day between the Rob Roy Way and the Speyside Way. If I'm too tired then I won't do it, but the option is there.
My mother will be joining me for the final week of this trip, and we'll be walking a 20-mile section of the West Highland Way over three days. I've done the West Highland Way in its entirety (see the blog entry immediately before this one for details), but this will be my mom's first experience hiking in Scotland, and I'm excited to share it with her.
I leave April 22! Watch this space for walk diary transcriptions and photos sometime after that. :)
Cheers, y'all.
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