Corrieyairack Pass: Laggan to Blackburn bothy - 17 miles
I follow General Wade's military road into Corrie Yairack where I have to climb 732m across the Monadhliath mountains to arrive at Blackburn of Corrieyairack bothy where I stay for the night. On the way through I visit General Wade's office where I collect supplies for the journey. 17 miles, 732m ascent.
The Scottish National Trail - Kingussie to Laggan / 19 miles
I walk the next 14 miles of the trail to Laggan, with an extra 6 miles added on (between bothy and next camping spot). I pass through Glen Banchor where I stop for a late lunch at the bothy before descending to Laggan to find a place to camp.
The second half of the evening sees me following the River Spey to find an excellent camping spot by the Spey dam. It stays dry and I'm able to make a small campfire so I can have my Hot Chocolate.
The next stage of the Scottish National Trail sees me heading towards the small town of Kingussie. I
carry on up the Feshie and take a detour into the village of Kincraig,
visiting Loch Insh and the Watersports Centre before taking another
detour to a secret bothy hidden on the hill. A long day covering approx
20 miles.
I continue to walk the next 13 miles of the trail from Bynack ruin to the stunning Glen Feshie, where I look back on some past memories. I set up camp beside a popular bothy, which unfortunately was closed for renovation.
The Scottish National Trail is a 536 mile/864 km-long long distance
walking route running the length of Scotland from Kirk Yetholm to Cape
Wrath.
The Trail offers very varied walking, following
long-established footpaths for much of the distance but becoming
progressively more difficult as it heads north, finishing with a tough
stretch of backpacking - with some pathless and demanding terrain - on
the final stretch of the Cape Wrath Trail.
In Summer 2017 I spent several weeks completing sections of the Scottish National Trail.
My
original plan for 2017 was to backpack the whole of the trail but due
to lack of funding I could only manage sections where wild camping was
an option.
I ventured out on three separate occasions and completed the route over the course of 15 days, as follows:
Trip 1 - Blair Atholl to Fort Augustus (6 days, 5 nights) Trip 2 - Milngavie to Pitlochry (6 days, 5 nights) Trip 3 - Fort Augustus to Morvich (5 days, 5 nights)
Along the way I made a video diary/vblog which you can view here on my blog.
16 MILES / 8 HOURS
I continue my walk on the Scottish National Trail, after catching a train to Blair Atholl.
I spend the first evening camping in Glen Tilt.
The next day I follow the river Tilt through Glen Tilt, deep into the Cairngorms National Park to eventually reach Bynack Lodge ruin where I set up my next camp.
The Southern Upland Way is Scotland's first and only official
coast-to-coast long distance route, running across the country from the
Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea. From Portpatrick on the west coast the
route runs 341 kilometres to Cove and Cockburnspath on the east coast.
Date walked: 12/05/2017 Time taken: 14 hours Distance: 45 km Ascent: 574m
I walked the last 20 miles to Cocksburnpath and finally completed the Southern Upland Way, spending the final night camping on the edge of a Graveyard.
The following day I had to walk an extra 10 miles along the coast to reach Dunbar (John Muir link) where I could catch a train to Edinburgh.
The Southern Upland Way is Scotland's first and only official coast-to-coast long distance route, running across the country from the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea. From Portpatrick on the west coast the route runs 341 kilometres to Cove and Cockburnspath on the east coast.
Date walked: 11/05/2017 Time taken: 10 hours Distance: 24.25 km Ascent: 534m
I walk the next 15 miles from my wild camping spot near Lauder to the
next wild camping spot overlooking Watch Water reservoir, a couple of
miles before Longformacus. On the way I pass through Lauder and stop at
the store for supplies.
