It is rare to escape foot injury on a multiday walk. Some soreness on the top of my toes made me reach for the moleskin which, secured by leucatape, was all I needed. There’s a ridge that begins near Milton and over about 18km rises up to the top of Cairngorm – this was my …
A couple of days earlier I was with the famous TGOer Andrew Walker who quoted an even more famous (now deceased) TGOer Andy Howell regarding my day 5 plan as ‘the armpit of all TGO routes’ or some similar discouraging remark. I’d planned a line towards Drumnadrochit with pathless stretches joining one or two tracks. …
Martha and Andrew were heading for Cannich, whereas I wanted to get up high now the weather was improving. My route took me alongside the loch to Monar Lodge; then north on a made track, before veering off to the right up onto the ridge. It is pathless here but the line is easy to …
TGOC – The Great Outdoor Challenge – is a common theme on these pages. Originally described as ‘The Ultimate Challenge’ in the pages of an outdoor magazine in 1980, it involves a self-supported and individually planned multi-day walk from the West Coast of Scotland to the the East. Of course there’s a website where you …
An early start got me to the Mar Lodge estate for breakfast at 9:30, and to Braemar soon after 11. And not a TGOer in sight! Many places were closed on this Monday morning. Braemar Sports provided the main hub of activity with a busy café now attached to the mountain gear shop. Having bought …
Acharacle to Montrose The TGOC 2021 notes: days 10-14 Read More »
The Duke of Gordon Hotel is not an obvious choice for an overnight stay. My original plan was to pick up a resupply parcel and camp; but I needed gas too. TGOC management were able to arrange delivery of a canister to the hotel. So this worked well for me. As I approached the hotel …
Acharacle to Montrose The TGOC 2021 notes: days 7-10 Read More »
[Viewing the blog – in case you hadn’t noticed pictures are zoomable if you click on them. Maps can be pulled and pushed to follow the route in blue. Maps can also be zoomed in and out and viewed full-screen.] The Macdonald hotel makes a pleasant stop. It is on the edge of town, exactly …
Acharacle to Montrose the TGOC 2021 notes: days 4-6 Read More »
[Viewing the blog – in case you hadn’t noticed pictures are zoomable if you click on them. Maps can be pulled and pushed to follow the route in blue. Maps can also be zoomed in and out and viewed full-screen.] 14 Different start places on the west coast of Scotland. How to decide? And then …
Acharacle to Montrose the TGOC 2021 notes: days 1-3 Read More »
Here we Go – TGOC 2021! The Great Outdoors Challenge Scotland coast-to-coast backpacking In 2016 I ‘walked’ through the jumble of rocks that make up Dirc Mhor, this time I will be definitely walking around! Planned for May 2020, postponed to 2021, and now shifted a month or so into the midge season! Here’s the …
It’s October. Daylight appears at 7am and lasts until about 6 pm. This makes for a relaxed backpacking plan:- a core of 7 hours walking, topped and tailed by 2 hours for breaking and making camp. [route map at end of post] Arriving late on a Tuesday evening, I had the campsite to myself – …