I’d walked occasionally in Scotland when young, but never made a habit of it. That all changed in 2007 when I embarked on a south-to-north trip across the nation that would not complete until I reached Cape Wrath in 2014.
The bug had now well and truly bitten. The Southern Upland Way followed, and then a couple of partial west-to-east crossings. Confident now about my skills, I gained entry to the 2019 running of The Great Outdoors Challenge, Britain’s premier backpacking event, on which I had the time of my life – so much so that I returned in 2022, with the Speyside Way as a warm-up.
I was back in 2023 for the Great Glen Way and the Lairig Ghru – Glen Tilt traverse. Plans for 2024 already in hand!
Carousel photographs: the col above Gleann Lichd, with Sgurr nan Ceathramhnan, NW Highlands; bluebells in Glen Trool, Galloway; wild camp in Glen Feshie, Cairngorms; Edinburgh from Arthur’s Seat; Brattleburn bothy, Dumfries-shire; the Pools of Dee in the Lairig Ghru, Cairngorms; sunset over Kearvaig bothy, Sutherland
