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. […]
Torridon to Aberdeen – TGOC 2022 part 3 Read More »
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
Torridon to Aberdeen – TGOC 2022 part 2 Read More »
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
TGOC 2022 Torridon to Aberdeen – part 1 Read More »
running at 40, 50, 60 ,70 years old! What is training about? A proportion of training for everyone should concern ‘establishing a base’. Just like a house, a running practice needs a firm foundation to help limit future problems. By ‘problems’ we mean injury. You are most likely to get injured when you are fatigued
Coming to Running: Building the Base Read More »
(for vets @40,50,60,70!) This is an occasional series of blogs about running as a ‘Vet’. Vet means old. Old in the running establishment is more than 40. This wisdom is really for people older than that. Depending on your condition running may continue to get easier and better even in your 50s. At a certain
Coming to Running: Training – The Knowledge Read More »
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 »
This post currently make use of the free Meow Gallery plugin for WordPress and the (not-free) WP/LR plugin which links pictures from an Adobe Lightroom repository to WordPress. Are these tools good? Well, difficult to say! This is a first attempt, and has left me with a few questions! In 2006 we sat after-hours in
A prize trip to Bhutan Read More »
The Lakeland 50 is for walkers as well as runners. I entered in 2019 for a walking challenge. But I soon realised that I wanted to run at least part of the course if possible and decided to check out my general capability. It seemed there were no obstacles, so I started running regularly. Preparation
Coming to running: the Lakeland 50, post-event reflections 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 »