Today is the final day of the first stage of the challenge, and the literature says it will be the hardest. It is due to be a 20 mile slog with climbs to 1,500 feet, and the weather forecast looks dire for today. The walk starts from Drumladrochit. We drove past the village to get to a good vantage point for a picture of Urquart Castle from Loch Ness, and saw that I would have to walk 2 miles along the road at the start, with my sore feet! Karen tried to persuade me to be dropped off at the start of the path, to avoid the road. However, dear reader, you can rest assured I walked from the very point I left the night before, and not an inch of this trek has been skipped, even the boring and nasty bits.
Below is the a view of Urquart Castle on Loch Ness.
The route today was mostly in those damn pine forests with few views of Loch Ness, and as I mentioned, a horrid climb right from the start. I was so tuned into the fact I would have to climb as soon as I hit the path proper, that I kept my head down and just climbed. Unfortunately, this meant I missed the turn off for the Great Glen Way!! I just kept on climbing up to 600 feet until I came to a very nice cottage perched on the side of the mountain, but not where I was supposed to be. I blame Rufus of course, as I have come to expect him to follow the signs and not me. Due to this grave error by my faithful friend, I had to walk all the way back to the bottom to start again. I knew today was going to be grim, but not this bad!
Eventually, I came upon some Scottish friends doing the same walk. They always seemed to like Rufus a lot, and now curiosity got the better of them. They asked, in their beautiful Scottish accent, " Now what is with Rufus' Whwee coot?" (translation - little coat). to which I said, "Oh, it's just for carrying over styles", which I thought was clear, as it had a handle on it, which I demonstrated to them, but didn't realise you don't have styles in Scotland, so they said, "Och, well I think Rufus carries off his whwee coot with marvelous style!". To which I said, "No, I meant it is to carry......., Oh never mind, yes, it is very stylish isn't it!"
Off I went ahead, but knew something was not right in my boots, which seemed to be getting more and more painful as I climbed. Then the weather hit, and boy, now I know what a typical Scottish day can be like. It started as a sharp shower, followed by a deluge. I put on my waterproof coat, and then decided I needed to get on my waterproof trousers, or I would never be able to walk with the legs sticking to my thighs. Only thing was, I found it hard to pull the trousers over my bloody boots, so fell over, just as a nice American couple were passing! OMG, why did I have to fall over then? Anyway, I felt like an invalid by now, so the fact I was lying on my back with a pair of trousers round my ankles may have looked odd, but it was kinda the way I felt to be honest. I managed to get my pants up, and brushed myself down in time for the nice couple to take a photo of me and Rufus at the highest point of the walk:
I felt it was now time to eat my lunch, so as not to burden the poor couple anymore with any more antics. On I went after a while, and out came the sun, then down came the rain, and then out came the sun, and then down came the hailstones and then the rain, and then the sun.... Oh sod it, I'm keeping my coat on, I can't be arsed to get it out of my rucksack again.
My feet are more than sore now, so I think it is time to take a peek. Oops! Huston, I think we have a problem. I take off my left boot, and see that tell tale sign you know is there and hope is not. A big red splodge at the bottom. If only I had some vodka with me, I could have squeezed out a nice bloody mary! It looks like the new boots have squashed all my toes into one big bloody mush! The right foot fairs not much better. A massive blood blister on my big toe. I do some emergency chiropody treatment, and look at my sat nav. OMG, I still have 9 miles left to go! I walk on until I come to a 4 mile road stretch, and in desperation ring Karen. "Hi babes, are you having a good time in Inverness?". Yes, it is lovely, why?". "Umh, it's just my feet are a little bit buggered, and I wonder if you could drive 9 miles out to the middle of nowhere and bring my shoes? Anything has got to be better than wearing these bloody things." Where are you? Oh, somewhere bleak and inaccessible".
Karen set off, and at this point the wind picked up, and then a hurricane started to blow, and then the hailstones came with avengence, horizontally!! I was chewing on ice, and I do not exaggerate! I was fine in my "whwee stylish coot", but poor Rufus was squinting at me as if to say "What the .... is all this about? You never told me about this hard rain stuff daddy!".
Karen arrived 30 minutes later, and a swift change in footwear later, off I went, feeling a little more positive. Eventually I came round a bend to see the North sea and Inverness for the first time. My goal is in sight at last!
I start to feel more optimistic, and then see a helpful sign saying, Inverness Castle, your end point, is only 4 miles away. 4 miles!! Oh not another 4 miles! At this point, some lovely women come along, just when I thought I couldn't go another step, and offer me some chocolate and moral support. They looked like they were just out for a little jaunt, but had done the same route as me! They offered me the moral support I needed to make it to the end.
I made it at last!! Here I am along with Rufus, who enjoyed all but the hard rain stuff, and was a good companion along the way. Oh, and thanks to Karen for her support, and for ferrying boots out to me in the middle of nowhere.
Now it is roll on for the English Coast to Coast, and lessons learnt are I am going to have to be a damn site more fit than I am at the moment if I am to stand a chance of making it!
Bye for now dear reader, and thanks for putting up with me, and of course, thanks for your support, which was what this was all about.
