Walking Lands End to John O'Groats 2025 for Alzheimer's Society

Knowing that Martin wouldn’t be able to arrive before around 15:00 at Kinlochleven and the walk would take me around 4 hours I had decided to have a lie-in! I was staggered when I didn’t wake until 8:30. I’d obviously found the roar of the stream in spate lulling! Or else I was just tired. But I was relieved that the midge bites hadn’t kept me awake. There hadn’t been as much rain as I expected over night but the tent was still wet so would need drying once I’d arrived at the lodge at Loch Laggan. I left at 9:50 with mixed emotion knowing that that was my last camp - and as a wild camp it really was one of the best. Rain started to sweep up Glen Coe as I started to walk up towards the Devil’s Staircase but the views back still had me stopping to watch - I’ve always been fascinated by mists moving across mountain tops and this was no exception. The Devil’s Staircase strictly refers to the zigzags which take you to the col. I became quite emotional reaching the cairn. I’d done it - I had...

I made the rookie mistake of assuming the midges wouldn’t be out at dark and went outside for a call of nature without bothering to put trousers and socks on - or of zipping up the tent. I thought I was quick. Clearly there was a swarm of them waiting for me. I realised my mistake as soon as I got back in the tent - my legs and face feeling prickly and when I put the torch on I had company. Hoping by wiping myself down and getting deep into my sleeping bag would solve it was a vain hope. When I got up in the morning it was clear the midges had done their worst - particularly on my feet and lower legs. Sigh. I read that wiping the bites with antiseptic helps to wipe off the midge “saliva” and then applying antihistamine cream helps. Fingers crossed but it would be the next couple of nights where I’d really know the outcome of my roomy mistake… I was keen to get ahead of heavy rain which was due around 11 so got moving as soon as the early morning rain eased at 6. I left shortly after 7 ...

I set off at 10:45 after chatting with the owner and waiting for worst of rain to pass. Apparently Strathfillan has the wettest weather in the UK - it rains 280 days of the year and has 4 times more rain than Edinburgh. The rain took a little while to pass through but was more of a drizzle so I risked not wearing my waterproof trousers. This was a good call in the end - apart from a very brief squall the rain passed over and a spent most of the day looking forward to sunshine, with heavy clouds behind me. The moss and ferns love it here - and so do the midges apparently but the breeze and my movement was enough to keep them at bey and they were no bother at all during the day. A grey wagtail was feeding by the Fillan and I passed many impressive cascades and a slightly un-nerving underpass to the A82 where it looked like the river had over-topped its banks during the night.  Passing through fields and the ruins of the Fillan Priory the vegetation changed to heather and I came to th...

This was a long and pretty tough day - one that I had been anticipating for a while.   There was heavy rain overnight and by the morning there was a small leak on one of the seams - one of the Swedish cloths was sufficient to absorb the small puddle forming but I’d have to watch that on subsequent nights. I packed everything bar the tent up before breakfast (continental/porridge) - the midges were delighted to greet me - before taking down a very wet tent!  I left the bunkhouse at 8:30. The walk down from the bunkhouse was enhanced by the drama of the Arklet Water in spate - as were all the burns and cascades on the walk today. The section between Inversnaid and Inveraran is notorious and guidebooks warn that although it is by the loch, it undulates over rocky ground. In itself I enjoyed it, but it was slow going and made harder by the persistent heavy rain which meant the path was now muddy, and the stones and tree roots potentially slippy. In the event, the rock was act...