Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 046 - Falkirk to Kirkintilloch

 

Day:	046
Date:	Thursday, 17 June 2010
Start:	Falkirk
Finish:	Kirkintilloch
Daily Kilometres:	30.0
Total Kilometres:	1468.2
Weather:	Sunny and warm with a light breeze
Accommodation:	Hotel B&B (£40)
Nutrition:	Scottish breakfast; beef pie, chips and peas for lunch; chicken tikka masala and sticky toffee pudding and custard for dinner
Aches:	Few sore spots on feet
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	After a 7:30am breakfast, I left the hotel around 8:15am and walked down the waking high street of Falkirk on what promised to be a beautiful day.  The sun was shining, but it was pleasantly cool and I was looking forward to a shorter day.  After a kilometre or two, I met the Forth & Clyde Canal and began following its towpath westwards.  The canal surrounds were park-like and there were many people out exercising or walking to work.  On the edge of town, I came to the Falkirk Wheel, which marked the intersection of the Union Canal, which I was following yesterday, and the Forth & Clyde Canal.  The former 25 metres higher than the latter.  When originally built, they were apparently connected by a stair of 11 locks which ceased to operate in 1963, when the canals fell into disuse.  In 2002, the canals were reopened for recreation use and National Lottery funding was used to build the unique wheel.  It was certainly an unusual piece of engineering and I was fortunate to see it in operation as they "warmed up" for the day's pleasure cruises.  I hung around watching for a while, but decided to get moving just as coach loads of tourists began to arrive for the cruises around 9:30am. I then ended up walking for a steady three hours along the Forth & Clyde canal without a stop in the warm sun, pleasantly tempered by a cool westerly breeze.  There were no boats at all along the Canal, but plenty of people using the towpath for recreation - walking, fishing, cycling, drinking - many of the men with their shirts off exposing very pallid Scottish skins.  I left the Canal at Kilsyth, where I had to walk about two kilometres into town before I found a pub where I could have some lunch and watch the inevitable World Cup game.  Kilsyth seemed a bit run down and socially deprived.  After lunch, I found a footpath that took me back to the Canal for my last 10km of the day to Kirkintilloch.  It was getting pretty warm, especially when sheltered from the breeze, and I was happy to finally get to the larger town, also looking a bit run down, around 3:30pm.  I could only find one hotel, which looked a little pricey, but the manager took pity on me and gave me a room for £40 instead of the listed £70, although I could only have a continental breakfast if I wanted it before 8:30am. I had a quick shower and then made more calls and online bookings to finalise my accommodation for the next five days.  Some places were fully-booked and I now have a very long day tomorrow of just under 50km, to reach the Rowardennan Youth Hostel.  To give myself a reasonable chance, I've decided to get a very early start and skip breakfast at the hotel.  I bought supplies for breakfast and lunch at the supermarket on my way back from The Wetherspoon's Pub where I had dinner tonight. This may well be my last night of good internet and phone coverage before John O'Groats in two and a half weeks, so daily reports may come out in batches, at best.  I'm heading into the Scottish Highlands tomorrow and am scheduled to finish on Sunday, 4 July.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 045 - East Calder to Falkirk

Day:	045
Date:	Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Start:	East Calder
Finish:	Falkirk
Daily Kilometres:	38.5
Total Kilometres:	1438.2
Weather:	Overcast, mild and humid
Accommodation:	Hotel B&B (£40)
Nutrition:	Scottish breakfast; macaroni cheese and chips for lunch; bangers and mash and caramel apple pie and custard for dinner.
Aches:	Feet sore with a few hot spots
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I slept reasonably well, despite seemingly being under the flightpath for Edinburgh Airport, and wasn't disturbed by any of the locals.  I got up at 7am and was walking by 7:45am, with the aim of reaching Broxburn for breakfast.  My route for the whole day pretty much involved walking on canal towpaths and I soon reached the Union Canal at Lin's Mill Aqueduct which carried the Canal high above the River Almond.  The engineering and vision for building this kind of infrastructure back in the 19th Century always impresses me.  The calculations and surveying they must have done to get all the levels right is mind-boggling. There are pros and cons of canal towpath walking.  On the positive side, the walking is flat and it's possible to maintain a good speed and cover log distances.  On the negative side, the footing is often hard and the scenery can be monotonous if the vegetation is high along the canal sides.  Having your foot fall exactly the same way every time on the even hard surface is a recipe for sore feet and mine became quite sore and tired during the day. Broxburn seemed to be a socially-deprived small town, with plenty of boarded up shops and people lounging in the main street.  I reached there about 9:15am and found a cafe where I ordered breakfast.  After considering my options for the day, I decided to walk to Linlithgow for lunch and Falkirk for the night, without really knowing how far each was.  I rejoined the canal towpath, which had no canal boats at all, and set myself to walk to Linlithgow.  A kilometre or so out of town, I passed a gypsy camp, a collection of caravans and motor-homes parked on an industrial vacant lot adjacent to the canal, and shortly after some huge old orange slag heaps.  There were a few other users of the narrow towpath, and I was surprised a few times by cyclists coming up behind me, but generally I had it to myself. It was humid and the temperatures mild and I felt pretty grubby after my night camping.  Looking forward to a shower.  I can get BBC4 on my radio again, after a few days out of range, and that gave me something to listen to on a day which was becoming quite arduous.  I plodded on, counting up the bridges over the canal which are all assigned numbers, but that didn't seem to make the miles go any quicker.  A lot of the time I was in a sort of green tunnel, but I also had periods where I could see out across the rural landscape to the many towns and villages, factories, construction sites and in the distance to the north, the Firth of Forth and the Highlands.  The canal was close to a rail line, the main Edinburgh-Glasgow link, I think, and trains were whizzing by regularly in both directions. It took longer than I hoped, but I eventually reached the busy tourist town of Linlithgow, where I had a quick look around the ruins of the Palace before finding a pub for lunch where I could watch some of the World Cup.  I left there about 1:45pm for the walk to Falkirk, reputedly a large town, where I hoped to arrive soon after 4pm and be easily able to find some accommodation.  The afternoon passed slowly, and my feet became sore and tired, but I trudged on, counting up the bridge numbers.  I have found the BBC radio station which broadcasts all World Cup games live, so I have been listening to that.  Not as good as on TV, but still interesting to me.  Another high aqueduct took the Canal over the Avon River before I eventually reached the outskirts of Falkirk around 4:30pm.  Before heading into the centre of town, I decided to complete the section which took the Union Canal through the 631 metre long Falkirk Tunnel.  It was quite an experience, with dim lighting, and water falling from the rocky roof in many places' making it dank and eerie.  At the other end I left the Canal and walked a kilometre into the centre of Falkirk, where it took me a little while to eventually find a hotel offering accommodation soon after 5pm. I spent time after dinner trying to book some of my nights for the next week, including my four days on the West Highland Way, which I hear is very busy at present.  I still have a few nights to sort out and may end up camping a few times.  I also finally managed to connect with friend, Ian, skipper of the yacht we used in the UK Three Peaks Race back in 2004, who lives near Glasgow.  He's going to come up and join me for the last two days of the West Highland Way, which will be fun. I'm a bit ahead of where I need to be and will, therefore, have a few easier days coming up which my feet will welcome.  Tomorrow is mostly canal walking again and the weather forecast to be more of the same.

 

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 044 - Peebles to East Calder

Day:	044
Date:	Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Start:	Peebles
Finish:	East Calder
Daily Kilometres:	42.7
Total Kilometres:	1399.7
Weather:	Partly cloudy and mild
Accommodation:	Free camping
Nutrition:	Scottish breakfast; nachos for lunch; ham & cheese sandwich for dinner
Aches:	Right knee stiff and sore (3/10)
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	Had a better night's sleep and, after my Scottish breakfast, started walking around 8:30am down the main street of Peebles, which was getting ready for the new day.  There was bright sunshine and there were a lot of people out exercising on the first part of my walk which took me along the manicured parkland banks of the Tweed River.  One of my old blisters was hurting quite a lot and I stopped on a park bench and did some dressing.  It seemed to settle down after that.  When I reached the 13th Century Neidpath Castle, my route left the river and began climbing, first across a nice golf course, then through farmland, then forest, to reach moorland.  I wasn't following a long distance path today, but rather an intricate route described in my guidebook and I had to check it regularly.  In some places, there was no path at all, just some compass bearings across the heather-covered moors and the going was often difficult and slow, giving my bad knee a real work-out.  However, the views were, yet again, grand and I often had whole landscapes to myself (well, there were always sheep somewhere). Around 1pm, I descended from one set of hills and moors to a valley and, after a 4km road walk, reached the cute village of West Linton at 1:50pm, just in time to order lunch in the pub and see New Zealand's overtime equaliser against Slovakia.  I took my time over lunch, not really being sure of where I was going to stay tonight, and knowing I was ahead of schedule.  I knew I had another range of hills to cross before I reached some more villages, but I wasn't sure how long it would take me, or whether there was any accommodation available in those villages. I left the pub around 2:45pm and walked past many wealthy-looking houses on my way out of the village.  After 5km of farmland, I climbed into some more remote moors, but the ascent was gradual and the walking generally easy and quick after the slow stuff this morning.  I began to think I could make it to the village of East Calder where I believed there might be some B&Bs by 7pm, so made that my goal.  First, I had to climb over Corston Hill (348m), much of it slow cross-country again, from where I had views of the Firth of Forth Bridge and Edinburgh in the far distance.  I last visited Edinburgh in the couple of weeks before I retired back in 2003 and the visit sticks in my memory because, as a farewell gesture, one of my offsiders, Tom, who was on the trip with me, had my PA write to the hotel in advance of our stay saying that, following a recent kidney operation, I was suffering from incontinence problems and would they mind putting plastic underlays under my bedding and leaving plenty of tissues, etc., in the room.  I thought the receptionist took a long look at me when I checked in.  The boys told me about it the next day with much hilarity. Anyway, after my look at Edinburgh, I began a slow descent, again much of it cross-country, across moorland to a road and then walked into East Calder around 7:30pm.  It was in the lowlands, and a much more built-up area, such as I will be travelling through for the next couple of days.  I walked down the main street, but couldn't see anywhere with accommodation and resorted to Plan B, which was to head down to the River Almond and try and find somewhere to camp out of sight.  The path was in a regional park and there were some people out exercising.  Eventually, around 8pm, I found a corner out of sight and erected my tent, hoping I won't be disturbed by early morning dog-walkers.  I'm even further ahead of schedule now, but will just play it by ear tomorrow on how far I go.  It's supposed to be easy walking, mostly along canal towpaths, and will pass a lot of towns.

 

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 043 - Melrose to Peebles

 

Day:	043
Date:	Monday, 14 June 2010
Start:	Melrose
Finish:	Peebles
Daily Kilometres:	41.4
Total Kilometres:	1357.0
Weather:	Mostly overcast with a cool wind
Accommodation:	Hotel B&B (£40)
Nutrition:	Scottish breakfast; cheese and pickles sandwich for lunch; tuna nicoise and banana fritters and ice-cream for dinner
Aches:	Right knee sore (3/10)
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I had a bad night, waking a number of times with pain deep inside my bad right knee.  I must have given it a hard time descending from Eildon Hills yesterday.  Paradoxically, it continues to be more painful when I'm in bed than when I'm walking.  I got up at 6:45am and left the hostel at 7:15am with the goal of walking to Galashiels, about 8km away, and finding something for breakfast and buying food and drink for the remainder of the day.  Rather than follow the rather fiddly guide-book suggested path, I chose a route that was a mixture of roads and a bike path on a disused rail line, and reached Galashiels around 8:45am.  On my way into the centre of the town, I passed a Super Tesco store which boasted a cafe and decided to get my breakfast and supplies there.  I felt quite alien wandering around the aisles of the large brightly-lit store with my backpack and more than a little out of place in the very quiet mezzanine cafe where I got a "Scottish" breakfast at a reasonable price. From Galashiels, my route followed the Southern Upland Way which climbed westward over a range of mountains on pleasant pathways passing through conifer forests and along treeless ridges, much of the latter over 400m with just fantastic views in all directions.  There were also some well-marked mountain bike trails which looked enticing.  The climbs weren't too steep and I made reasonable time and decided to stick with my plan of making it a long day and aiming for Peebles where I would have more accommodation options and, hopefully, mobile and internet coverage. I left the Southern Upland Way at Traquair, where I passed Traquair House, supposedly the longest continuously inhabited house in Scotland (more than 1000 years and visited by 27 kings and queens).  The guide-book now suggested some complicated off-road options for getting to Peebles but, since they didn't visit anything special and were longer and harder than the road option, I decided on the latter.  There was a bit of traffic on the road, which made it a bit unpleasant at times, and walking on tarmac for 12km can be tiring for the feet, but there were views and things to see and I made good time. I arrived in the attractive Tweed River-side town of Peebles soon after 5pm and, after walking up and down the main street, picked the cheapest-looking hotel with accommodation I could see and got a room.  I had dinner at a nearby pub, bought some food and drink for tomorrow (no resupply options along the way), and returned to my room to watch the Italy v Paraguay match while updating my diary.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 042 - Jedburgh to Melrose

 

Day:	042
Date:	Sunday, 13 June 2010
Start:	Jedburgh
Finish:	Melrose
Daily Kilometres:	28.6
Total Kilometres:	1315.6
Weather:	Mostly overcast with intermittent light drizzle
Accommodation:	Youth Hostel (£16)
Nutrition:	Scottish breakfast (I mistakenly asked for English!); potato and leek soup for lunch; chilli con carne and ice-cream for dinner.
Aches:	Right knee sore (3/10), sore spots on bottom on left foot
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I went down for breakfast and mistakenly asked for an English breakfast.  I was corrected (in good humour) and enjoyed my first Scottish breakfast of the trip, which was indistinguishable from most of the English breakfasts to date. I was walking by 9am and expected a relatively easy day to Melrose, my target.  Early on, I took a shorter country lane along Jed Water rather than the guidebook footpath which didn't seem to have anything particular to recommend it.  It was rural, undulating and pretty, rather than spectacular.  There was a low overcast, and rain was forecast, though it was still dry.  Soon I joined the guidebook path which was to follow St Cuthbert's Way, a long distance walking path across the country, for the remainder of the day. The path now wended its way through some woods and along field edges adjacent to the River Teviot before crossing the river on a long shaky suspension bridge.  Then it was back into the woods, which I really enjoyed.  A soft path, lots of big old trees, and scatterings of wildflowers.  Very pretty.  A couple of runners passed me going in the opposite direction on their Sunday morning run.  St Cuthbert's Way then rejoined Dere Street, the old Roman road, and for a while it was straight line walking along a fairly overgrown and rutted path between green fields.  It began to drizzle a little and I put my raincover on my pack, but resisted putting on my raincoat yet.  I was stung by a few nettles and found some ticks crawling up my legs when I stopped for a break, but generally the walking was easy and I was making good time.  It was going to be a short day. I reached the village of St Boswell's in steady light drizzle around 1pm, still raincoatless, and spotted some signs that looked like they had been put out for a running race.  Later, I walked past the St Boswell's Gala Day set up on the village common.  On the schedule of events was a running race at 4pm.  I felt sorry for the Gala Day volunteers in the steady but light drizzle, as they started to get a smattering of kids sorted out for the obstacle race. In half an hour I was in the neighbouring village of Newtown St Boswells and found a pub to get some soup for lunch.  While eating, I chatted to a mother and daughter who were on a week's walk in the opposite direction along St Cuthbert's Way.  They had lived in Australia at one point. After lunch, my path followed Bowden Burn before crossing it and beginning the steady ascent to a saddle between the Eildon Hills which had been prominent on the horizon for much of the day.  The ascent was pleasant, passing through more woods and then some heather covered slopes providing excellent views across the rural Scottish borders countryside.  The drizzle had stopped and the sun even came out briefly.  The forecast for the next few days is good. I descended from the Eildon Hills into the small town of Melrose and soon found the Youth Hostel where I had booked a room.  It's big and old and I don't think there are going to be many people staying.  After showering and washing my stuff out, I walked the few hundred metres into town and got my dinner at a pub.  I was finished in time to get back to the hostel, which had a TV room to watch the Australia v Germany World Cup game.  I was joined by a German, who knew nothing about soccer (football), and a Dutchman who knew a lot.  Australia got killed.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 041 - Byrness to Jedburgh

 

Day:	041
Date:	Saturday, 12 June 2010
Start:	Byrness
Finish:	Jedburgh
Daily Kilometres:	32.6
Total Kilometres:	1287.0
Weather:	Partly sunny with cold wind
Accommodation:	Hotel B&B (£44)
Nutrition:	Snacks during the morning; pastie for lunch; pizza and ice-cream for dinner
Aches:	Right knee periodically sore (3/10) and blister on fourth tow of right foot.
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I woke early because of the early light and because all the Pennine Way hikers were getting ready for their long last day.  Mike and Fraser had already gone by the time Andy and I grabbed a quick cup of coffee in the hostel kitchen at 5:30am, and the family of five were having breakfast before also setting out.  Andy left about 5:45am and I followed about 10 minutes later.  It was nice to be hiking so early, especially on such a great morning - cool, sun rising behind the hills, and little wind. Leaving Byrness, the Pennine Way climbed steeply through conifer forest, which was strangely, and pleasantly, reminiscent of hiking in New England.  Eventually I emerged from the forest onto the bare grass fell and immediately had fabulous views across Northumberland behind and, shortly, the Cheviots ahead.  I caught Andy near the top of Byrness Hill and we walked together for a while.  He was already suffering with his feet, despite scoffing a couple of painkillers.  We both knew he was in for a long day in terms of distance and time but at least he had the motivation of finishing his journey tonight.  Having said that, I was not at all envious of the Pennine Way hikers whose journey was ending today.  Sure, my feet have seen enough of my boots and I'm tired of washing out hiking gear in the shower each night, but my body has adapted well to this life now and I will enjoy my remaining 3+ weeks. Once we had reached the high point of Ravens Knowe (527m) it was easy walking, despite a few treacherous bogs, with fabulous views in all directions in perfectly clear conditions, perhaps due to the cold wind that had sprung up. The Pennine Way dropped to cross Chew Green, which had once been a Roman camp, and it felt quite atmospheric there on my own in that remote place, imagining the life they must have led.  After another couple of kilometres, I reached the point where the Pennine Way diverged from Dere Street, the old Roman Road it had been following since Chew Green.  This was the point where I would also leave the Pennine Way, and I took my first break for the morning at 8:40am and waited for Andy to catch up while I had a Mars Bar and can of Diet Pepsi.  He arrived 10 minutes later and soon I was ready to head off on my road.  As I was about to leave, the family of five arrived (I think they had taken a minor short-cut that missed Chew Green), and I felt sorry for Andy who would now be the last of the Byrness Hostel group on the Pennine Way to Kirk Yetholme with still many kilometres to go, and all day to think about it.  I left England and moved into Scotland. My route now followed Dere Street down from the Cheviots into, and across, the Scottish Borders farmland.  The paddocks seemed to be larger, and there was extensive use of electric fences, but not too different to England so far.  From my path, I still had good views for long distances over the multi-coloured landscape, mottled with patches of sunshine and cloud into the far distance.  Parts of the path were deeply rutted, making walking difficult, but generally I maintained a good pace and realised I had every chance of making it to Jedburgh by 2pm, which would be good. Around 1pm, I left Dere Street (I'll be rejoining it tomorrow) and took a minor country road in the direction of Jedburgh, arriving just before 2pm.  My walk into town passed the ruins of the very substantial Jedburgh Abbey.  I fairly quickly found a hotel in the centre of town that didn't look too posh and offered accommodation, and got a room.  I showered and then found a newsagent where I could top up my pre-paid phone, which had expired yesterday, and a bakery where I got a pastie for a late lunch and returned to my room where I spent the afternoon and evening updating my diary and route-planning for the next few weeks, with World Cup games on TV going in the background.  I went out and got pizza and ice-cream to eat in my room for dinner between games.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 040 - Bellingham to Byrness

 

Day:	040
Date:	Friday, 11 June 2010
Start:	Bellingham
Finish:	Byrness
Daily Kilometres:	27.4
Total Kilometres:	1254.4
Weather:	Partly sunny and cool
Accommodation:	Youth Hostel (£18)
Nutrition:	English breakfast; ham, cheese & coleslaw sandwich for lunch; chilli con carne and rice and cheesecake for dinner
Aches:	Right knee sore (3/10)
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	At breakfast, I met Mike, another resident who was also hiking the Pennine Way.  He, like Andy and me, is aiming for Byrness today and he told us that there were a number of other hikers in town aiming for the same Hostel (where I didn't have a booking), meaning it would be quite full.  There were few other accommodation options there, so I knew I should call them as soon as I had mobile phone coverage. Fortunately, as I climbed out of Bellingham through pastureland, I got a signal and called the Hostel who called me back several minutes later to say that they could squeeze me in if I was willing to sleep on a fold-up bed in a small alcove, which I accepted.  They also said I could get dinner there and buy food for the next day, which was good to know since there weren't going to be any other resupply options that I was aware of.  While I had phone reception, I took the opportunity to make a few other phone calls and ended up spending more than 30 minutes sitting on top of the hill enjoying the sweeping views and chatting to people in Australia. It was a perfect day for hiking, cool, overcast and just a light wind.  Humidity must have been low because it was possible to see over the rolling hills far into the distance.  After crossing a few rural properties, the Pennine Way moved onto moorland covered with tussock grass and heather, with quite a few boggy patches.  Again, I was aware how fortunate I was that it had been a dry winter and spring, and it was possible to avoid getting my feet wet at all with some judicious path selection, use of the trekking pole, and the occasional large step.  While I took a morning break on top of Whitley Pike (356m) I enjoyed watching a military jet going through its paces low overhead, with some sharp turns, rolls and steep climbs.  In the distance, I could hear explosions which may have been artillery or perhaps bombing.  Andy caught me and we spent some time working on his feet, some parts of which looked a bit grim.  I gave him my last big blister patch. After following the high ridges of the moors, the path then followed the edges of Redesdale Forest, part of a giant conifer plantation, for some time.  There were some steep boggy difficult parts, but generally the walking was reasonable and further along the path went through the forest itself on forestry roads.  It makes a nice change and I enjoy the smell of the pines.  My iPod has finally dried out and has begun working again, and I spent the last hour or so into Byrness, on what had turned out to be a pretty easy day, singing along to the iPod as I walked through the forest. I arrived at the Hostel, which is privately owned, at 4pm and was able to check in immediately.  Fraser, a five-time Pennine Way hiker who I had met during the day was already there, as was Mike, from the B&B this morning.  The hostel is full, with some cyclists and a family of five, also walking the Pennine Way.  There's a bit of excitement amongst the Pennine Way hikers as tomorrow is their last day.  But it is a long one of about 48km.  They are all planning to get up early and reach the final town, Kirk Yetholm, in time to check into their B&Bs, have a shower and get down to the pub for England's first World Cup match against the USA at 7:30pm. My route leaves the Pennine Way after only about 8km tomorrow and my goal will be the largish town of Jedburgh, which is only 31km away.  However, I think I'll get up with the Pennine Way hikers and leave soon after 6am in the hope of reaching Jedburgh in time for a late lunch and a lazy afternoon, before also watching the World Cup.  Jedburgh is in Scotland, so I'm not sure who the locals will be supporting.  Crossing into Scotland and leaving the Pennine Way marks the next milestone of my trip.