The Constant Hiker

Sunday 18 October 2020

Return to the Cape Wrath Trail

Having had, as I assume did others, all of my hiking plans ruined for 2020 by Covid, and also having abandoned my LEJOG hike at Carlisle, I find that the pull of the trail is getting ever stronger as the months pass. Whenever I picture myself getting back on the trail, it is invariably to the Cape Wrath Trail that my attention turns.

Camping alongside the River Oykel

Since my superb 2015 hike along the Pennine Way and the continuation from Kirk Yetholm the following year to Strathcarron during which I followed the first half of the Cape Wrath Trail, I have encountered many problems while hiking.

Loch Ailsh

In 2017, I was forced to pull out of the following section of the hike from Strathcarron to the Cape with illness. Although, I successfully completed the Coast to Coast walk and the South Downs Way the same year after recovering, the start of my Land's End to John O'Groats hike in 2018 ended in Hay on Wye after a catalogue of unfortunate incidents. This bad luck carried over into 2019 when I re-started the hike from Hay on Wye and I eventually finished this section in Carlisle, having walked around 400 miles on each section.

Loch Ailsh

As I stated in a previous post, I have now decided that my LEJOG walk will become my 'England End to End' walk as I feel that the long delay and uncertainty surrounding the Covid virus, coupled with the many other delays, has compromised the integrity of the hike. Which brings me back to the Cape Wrath Trail.

Climbing above the Oykel River

I first encountered the hike in 1999 when Phil Hinchliffe, one of the authors of the first guidebook, 'North to the Cape' gave a talk for our local ramblers group. Having completed the first section across the tough, remote Knoydart peninsular, I pulled out of the hike feeling unwell. This retreat has always rankled with me and I looked forward to finally reaching the Cape in 2017 as the finale of my hike from Derbyshire to Cape Wrath but was thwarted yet again around sixty miles from the end with a virus.

Approaching Conival

With the current situation surrounding the Covid virus, firm plans are impossible to make but I am hoping to return to Fort William in Scotland in May 2021 to restart the Cape Wrath Trail from the beginning.

Looking down to Loch Assynt & Inchnadamph

My last encounter with the trail before retiring with illness in 2017 was a superb day of hiking from Oykel Bridge, having resumed the hike from Strathcarron. Thunderstorms were forecast for the afternoon so I set off from my campsite on the riverbank of the Oykel River opposite the hotel after a night disturbed by constant coughing where I had found sleep difficult. I set off at 5am and hiked in superb weather to Loch Ailsh where I was rewarded with a loch so flat and calm, the surrounding mountains and sky reflected a mirror image on the still water.

Looking back towards Conival

There then followed a long uphill, trackless hike, towards a pass below the peak of Conival where I had stunning views down towards Loch Assynt and Inchnadamph. I camped alongside the River Traligill at Inchnadamph after a stunning day of hiking through the mountains of the North-West highlands. Here, I spent a really uncomfortable night coughing and shivering and it was this that convinced me I needed to call a halt to the hike, which was particularly galling as I was only around 60 miles from the Cape. These photos were taken on this last day from Oykel Bridge to Inchnadamph.

Thursday 24 September 2020

The End of the 'End to End'

Setting off from Land's End

2020 has so far been a bit of a let down for many as far as hiking goes and my plans have certainly been disrupted. I started the year with good intentions, climbing some of the high mountains on the island LINK HERE as fitness training for my third, and hopefully final, section of my LEJOG hike that I started in the glorious summer of 2018. All of this was thrown into disarray however with the arrival of the pandemic as I was forced to abandon my plans.

Cape Cornwall

When I set off from Lands End on that glorious July morning in 2018, my plan was to walk to John O'Groats in a single trip but circumstances dictated otherwise and I broke the walk at Hay-on-Wye in south Wales, returning the following year to complete the hike.

Sugar Loaf, Black Mountains

However, I was again the victim of some bad luck when my leg became infected and after two hospital visits, I was forced to stop walking for around nine days while the leg healed as the antibiotics did their work.

Stoodley Pike on the Pennine Way

This meant that the walk was now split into three and my plans were in place to return to Carlisle, where I had finished section two, in the spring of this year. Then came Covid and all plans went out of the window.

Offa's Dyke

Having had a number of months to reflect on the situation, I have decided that the integrity of the walk is now compromised along with my enthusiasm for it, so my LEJOG hike will become my 'England End to End' walk. The energy and enthusiasm for the hike that I had when setting off in July 2018 has dissipated and I think that even if I completed the walk, it won't feel, to me at least, that I have walked the UK from End to End. I am however happy that I have walked England End to End in two hikes totalling 788 miles in less than one year.

Keswick from the Cumbria Way

Looking back on my hike, despite all of the problems I encountered along the way, I enjoyed some fantastic walking and saw some beautiful scenery. I have included in this post a few of my favourite photos taken along the way.

Tuesday 8 September 2020

Altra Olympus 3.0 - 6 Month Review.

A quick look at my thoughts on the Altra Olympus 3.0 after 6 months of use.

Sunday 9 August 2020

Decathlon Forclaz Trek 700 Air Mattress - 18 Month Update

A brief eighteen month update review of my Decathlon Forclaz 700 Air Mattress with my thoughts having now used it on a number of hiking trips. For a more detailed review, check my original video below.

https://youtu.be/-nVHp2TwhNQ

Berghaus Fasthike 45 Rucksack - 6 Month Review

A short video giving my opinion of the Berghaus Fast Hike 45 rucksack after using it for around six months. For a more detailed review - https://youtu.be/OtTnMRgkZqQ

Friday 15 May 2020

LEJOG Memories - Looking back from lockdown

One thing I'm finding difficult about being in 'lockdown' at the moment is the 'memory' posts that automatically flash up on my Facebook profile reminding me what I was doing last year or three years ago etc. This morning, a memory popped up from last year reminding me that a year ago I was hiking around Morecambe Bay to Ulverston on my Land's End to John O'Groats walk. This was part of a slightly convoluted section between the Pennines and the Lake District that took in a large variety of scenery. It was also where I broke one of my hiking 'rules' by taking the train. As I sat in a pub on the seafront in Arnside, looking at the railway viaduct crossing the bay, I studied the map and realised that by taking the train for a short, one station hop over the estuary, I could omit a large loop around to Ulverston saving a least a days walking, possibly two. Ulverston wasn't really on my route as it meant heading south for a while but I had decided I wanted to do the whole of the Cumbria Way, which meant I needed to divert to get to the start. After a six minute train ride, I found myself in Grange over Sands and carried on to Ulverston where I picked up the start of the Cumbria Way, which proved a fitting climax to this section of my hike from Hay on Wye.