Category: Long distance walking
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Home Again – 8th May
The Southern Upland Way has been one of my favourite long distance paths. I absolutley loved it. It was difficult at times and I wish I’d trained a little harder and got a lot fitter but I managed it without major incident. Also, at 69, maybe I should pick challenges that are more appropriate to my…
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Day 20 – 5th May
Even though I only walked 10 miles today it feels like 20. I think my whole body is tired. Sleeping on the cliffs with the sea birds at St Abbs wildlife sanctuary was a treat as were the views today. It makes me realise what I missed yesterday due to the mist. I found a quiet cove…
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Day 19 – May 4th
I’ve done it! If you prefer you can click on the link below it will take you to google maps to see the whole journey. I have walked the Southern Upland Way from Port Patrick on the Atlantic coast to Cockburnspath on the North Sea. I got up this morning and walked the 3 miles…
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Day 18 – 3rd May
It was a mirky and somewhat surreal start to the day as I wandered into the village of Longformarcus and met two huge turkeys in the road. They were quite friendly – it was just a bit weird. It wasn’t raining. It just looked as it was about to start and gave the air an ethereal…
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Day 17 – 2nd May
Pitching in a caravan park doesn’t have the ambiance of a wild pitch by a loch or a burn but it does have something else which is very important – showers and tumble driers. Its good to have clean dry clothing on my body and in my backpack. Lauder is a nice town. I liked it and…
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Day 16th – 1st May
I had a most interesting visitor yesterday evening. A chap turned up and announced he was from the estate. The conversation went something like this: Me: Oh I am sorry do you own this land? Him: Er no, not exactly but we have the fishing rights. Me: I’m not fishing. Him: Mr X who owns the…
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Day 15 – 30th April
It rained overnight so the tent was wet. That is always a bad start to the day. But I was camped adjacent to a rather special dog memorial area where people have hung slate memorial plaques on the old dry stone walls. I’d love to know the history of this, how it started, and if anyone…
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Day 14 – 29th April Two Weeks In
Its Raining! I thought I’d wait for the rain to stop and for the wind to dry out the tent but it just wasn’t going to happen. I enjoyed the lie in but by 10 o’clock l decided to adopt the wet weather strategy, i.e., pack my backpack inside the tent, take the inner tent down…
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Day 13 – 28th April
I was sad to leave my cosy bothy this morning. It was warm and snug inside and the weather outside was bloody freezing. But at least the sun was out for much of the morning. There was a little bit of hail as I crossed over the tops but as I dropped down to St Mary’s Loch…
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Day 12 – 27th April
Well, I was a little worried about being so close to the railway line last night and my fears were well founded. I felt the rumble, heard the roar, and felt the ground shake too late to be bothered moving. The trains stopped around 11pm so it wasn’t too bad. In the end I actually…
Graham's Long Walk 