TGO Challenge Day 13 - 24 May 2022

Walking 6am to 2pm

Distance walked 15 miles
Distance remaining 0 miles

I heard a couple of loud noises this morning whilst under the tarp. I thought a bird had collided with it but when starting to take the tarp down it appeared that one or more birds might have taken exception to me being under their tree. There was a lot of it but I was able to scrape it off and then wipe down with a wet cloth.

 

The woodland I had planned to camp in would have been fine; also around an electricity substation immediately before it. However, the exit of the path on to the road was totally blocked by a fallen tree but it would have been possible to exit just before the gate.

 

I road walked all the way into Brechin. There wasn't much traffic. I shopped for breakfast and lunch at the large Co-op.

All was well with my planned route until I reached a farm shown on the map as Caldcots. Here, I asked a lady walking dogs about my route as there were a couple of stretches with no right of way on the map. She wasn't sure but just then the farmer came along and I asked him. He said my route wasn't on rights of way but kindly gave me directions with advice to keep clear of cattle in a couple of places. Looking at my map, he pointed out a stretch further on where he wasn't sure there was a right of way. Sure enough, there wasn't. I went down a farm track marked private which, after a while, led to a grass track along a field margin (although shown as a white lane on the map). After this, I just trespassed along the route I wanted to go. There was no path at all and at one point I went through a hedge backwards to emerge on to a vehicle track.

Eventually, I reached a highway and road walked to Hillside and then on to Charleton Fruit Farm where there is an excellent cafe. Here, I stopped for a coffee and a substantial chocolate, pecan and caramel tray bake. 

Sustained, I walked the half mile across Kinnaber Links and on to the beach to complete my Challenge. 

Kinnaber Links

It was then a walk of something over a mile down the beach to Montrose where I booked into the campsite and then on to the Park Hotel to check into Challenge Control, collect my certificate and rather good Rab t-shirt.

TGO Challenge Day 12 - 23 May 2022



Walking 7am to 2.30pm
Distance walked 10 miles

Distance remaining 15 miles

As I was packing up, Peter and Rachel Cornish passed by. They had been camped a few hundred yards back. Had a nice chat and Rachel took a photo of the three of us which she'll post to the TGO Facebook page. 

Hunthill Lodge

It was easy walking down to the end of Glen Lethnot. My planned route had been over Ordies Hill and then following landrover tracks up and then down to a narrow lane at NO512707 but it was much easier to simply follow the tarmac lane around to meet at the same point. It was a lovely morning and Road walking doesn't get much nicer with fine scenery and I ascents. For some of the way I walked with Darren Smith from Northumberland until I stopped to make coffee and he went on. In fact, as I had time to spare, I stayed for over an hour reading and admiring the view. 

Coffee stop

Eventually moving on, I took the lane that passes between White and Brown Catarthuns, Iron Age hill forts. I had lunch by the small parking area. I asked some people coming down from White Catarthun whether it was worth going up to have a look but was told that it depends what you expect to see. Hmm.

Walking on, it rained hard. I had been planning to camp in some woodland before reaching Brechin but before then I came to the Tigerton National Grid Odourless Gas Installation. It's well fenced in but inside the hedge and tree perimeter it is grassed and ideal for pitching a tarp. There's been a couple of waves of torrential rain while I've been here. Tomorrow I'll have a look at the woodland where I intended to camp. There's been so much tree damage up here lately. 

Behind the gas installation

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TGO Challenge Day 11 - 22 May 2022

Walking 7am to 3.30pm

Distance walked 13 miles
Distance remaining 24.5 miles

A very overcast morning but not cold. I walked down past the Glen Doll car park; just one campervan their presumably having spent the night. A lovely location. I then road walked the three miles along the almost deserted lane to Clova. 

Deer

In the car park of the Glen Cova Hotel I picked up someone's recently dropped bag of cheese and onion crisps and made quick work of them.

It was then a long, slow ascent to Loch Brandy but half way up found I had a 4G signal so made my last check in call to Challenge Control. I also phoned home. Shortly after, Paul from yesterday came up behind me. He and a couple of other Challengers had overnighted at the Glen Clova Hotel. He was following the same route as me today so we walked together. Up on the tops the mist was swirling and there was quite a wind. With his navigational gadget, a Garmin Fenix (I think), we got across some pretty featureless terrain. It was pretty boggy with stretches of black peat. His navigation brought us precisely to the landrover track which led us down to Shielin of Saughs bothy. This was to have been my planned overnight stop but it was far too early. Here, we took shelter from the wind although the mist had totally cleared. I made coffee and he went on to find a wild pitch as the day for both of us was to end in Glen Lethnot which we were about to enter. I stayed and my coffee stop morphed into lunch.

Walking down to Shielin of Saughs bothy

Glen Lethnot was quite lovely and the route followed a landrover track all the way until a marked footpath snaked down to the river. Along here I found what is possibly the best and flattest pitch so far and the river for water very close by. I haven't seen Paul so he must have gone further. I didn't want do as I have now walked nearly four miles into tomorrow's mileage.

TGO Challenge Day 10 - 21 May 2022

Walking 6.40am to 3.45pm

Distance walked 15.5 miles

Distance remaining 40.5 miles

Away early and a lovely morning. I took the single track road on the west of Clunie Water, past the golf course. 

The bridge at Auchcallater

At Auchcallater I took the signed landrover track to Glen Callater. My planned route had been to take the path on the north side of Loch Callater but, instead, I took the easier vehicle track on the south side. In retrospect, this was a bad decision as the track crossed the burn at the far end and I had to walk through it.

Coffee stop opposite Callater Lodge

Glen Callater

 

The path was indistinct on the approach to Knaps of Fafernie and boggy. About here I met another Challenger, Paul, and we walked together on and off for about three miles although he was faster than me and I later lost him (or he me).

My original route was through Glen Doll but Storm Arwen some months ago caused extensive damage to the forest there and we were advised to divert via Glittering Skellies and Bachnagairn. This route was good at first but then became boggy above Loch Esk. It came on to rain, was windy so I didn't stop for lunch. The descent to Bachnagairn was lovely as the glen to the east came into view.

 

It was then a couple of miles to where I'd planned to camp but it wasn't really suitable so I carried on walking towards the Glen Doll car park. A short way before the car park I saw a couple of tents up to the right and went to have a look. It's not a great location but as a tarp pitch it will do. Nice view. I'd assumed my two neighbours were Challengers but they are not. They are friends up from near Glasgow for a few days walking and one uses a drone.

Storm damage

TGO Challenge Day 9 - 20 May2022

Walking 6.50am to 12.30pm

Distance walked 11 miles
Distance remaining 56 miles

Up and on my way early. A bit overcast but no sign of rain. A level walk along landrover track and tarmac all the way. At 4km from Mar Lodge Stables was the first notice of several by the roadside that tea and coffee (and hopefully more) were on offer. 

In fact, there were biscuits as well, but no cake. At the Stables were Grant and Lindsay who I'd met yesterday, Michael (who'd been at Melgarve bothy) and a new face, Dougie Symes. A very pleasant time spent.

I road walked into Braemar, rather than taking the undulating woodland route, and the views were good. I went straight to Braemar Caravan site and pitched, showered and shaved, had lunch and phoned home, not forgetting (but almost) to phone in to Challenge Control.

I then walked back to the village to resupply for the last few days to the coast.

TGO Challenge Day 8 - 19 May 2022

Walking 7am to 5.30pm

Distance walked 17 miles
Distance remaining 67 miles (adjusted)

I woke to the early morning sun streaming into the open end of my tarp. It looked to be a fair weather day. I made my way towards Glen Feshie which must surely rank as the most beautiful glen. The extensive gorse being in flower added to the beauty.

The way down the glen was straightforward; I just had to make sure I crossed the river at the now only remaining bridge at NN850965. 

After about a mile and a half, I reached Ruigh Aiteachain bothy, substantially improved since I last passed this way. A large school party was just leaving, having spent the night in the bothy. I was welcomed in by Lindsay, who looks after the bothy for the owner of the Glen Feshie estate and spends much of his time here. The estate recently spent £250,000 in rebuilding the bothy and replacing the original hole in the ground toilet with two new ones. A septic tank was put in many years ago but the toilets still have to be flushed with buckets of water as there is no piped water supply.

 

There is a gas burner in the bothy and Lindsay made real coffee in a cafetiere which was an unexpected treat. We were then joined by Rob, who had been at Melgarve bothy a couple of nights ago. After some interesting conversation, including the estate owner's rewilding plans, Rob and I left and walked together until lunchtime, he to walk some 500 metres upstream of the River Eidart to a bridge whilst I walked across the wide river. He didn't want to get his feet wet. At its deepest it came to just below my knees but was quite safe.

 

I stopped for a lunch break the other side and didn't see anything more of Rob. The path from there was pretty wet and boggy much of the way and indistinct at times until, eventually, a landrover track was reached. This then left about four miles to my pitch for the night at the confluence of Geldie Burn, which I'd been following for some way, and Bynack Burn.

TGO Challenge Day 7 - 18 May 2022

Walking 8am to 10am; 2pm to 6.30pm

Distance walked 11 miles
Distance remaining 88.5 miles

An interesting night. I'd pitched my tarp with the tail into the wind but during the night the wind and rain turned 180 degrees and I was woken by being rained on. Fortunately, I'd brought an umbrella with me so I blocked off the head end with it.

Barbara and I walked in to Newtonmore and called in at the hostel which is Challenge Control until very shortly when it will relocate to the Park Hotel, Montrose as usual. There were hot drinks and cake on offer for Challengers and good conversation. Unfortunately, my Amazon delivery of lithium batteries for my Spot tracker hadn't arrived but was due between 2-4pm so I decided to wait and had more tea and cake. I also walked down the road to resupply at the Co-op.

Was good to put some faces to names - Sue and Pauline at Control and Ali who also runs the hostel, had been doing the Challenge but had dropped out, Louise Evans who is very active on the Challenge forum and some others. About sixty Challengers have dropped out for various reasons, blisters and some having lost fitness during Covid and not realised how much. Mountain Rescue were called out to three Challengers but they are OK.

My batteries were delivered and I got away at 2pm. I shortened my planned route between Newtonmore and Kingussie by taking the cycle way alongside the main road which was fine. Kingussie didn't detain means a little on the other side I met an old acquaintance, Gordon Green, coming the other way, heading for a booked room in Kingussie. I knew him from the Backpackers Club but he's no longer a member.

Ruthven barracks

Inshriach Forest

Shortly before reaching my planned wild camp at Baileguish, I met a Dutch hiker coming the other way. He'd checked the place out and rejected it for camping. I went on though. The bothy at Baileguish was closed but the camping around it is alright. There was quite a strong wind so I pitched at the lee end of the bothy although the wind has dropped now. I look out towards Glen Feshie which I'll walk down in the morning.

Bailleguish bothy

My view

TGO Challenge Day 6 - 17 May 2022

Walking 8.25am to 6pm

Distance walked 15.5 miles

Distance remaining 99.5 miles

Had such a good night's sleep on the bothy floor but the upstairs floorboards were very creaky, although I was only aware of this after 5.15am when I surfaced and heard the others moving about.

I was the last to leave the bothy and gave it a good sweep out, being rewarded for my effort by finding a wrapped Snickers bar on the floor, only recently dropped.

Looking back to melgarve bothy

 

Most of the day was easy walking on good vehicle tracks and all low level. After nearly four miles I passed by Garva Bridge which had been my overnight stop on my planned route. 

Today's coffee stop

 At Laggan the store was still operating (I think it had been for sale) but today was its weekly closing day. I'd planned to buy tomorrow's breakfast there. My intended path out of Laggan at NH615945 led just to some properties with a sign saying no public right of way so I road walked along the quiet A86 for a little over a mile to go through the open gates leading to Cluny Castle (site?) and went through the grounds and behind a very nice large house to reach a bridge at the back. I think there may have been another access to this from the road.

Anyway, a track took me northwards skirting Sliabh Bàn and into a wide valley with level walking for a couple of miles. 

Just past a small bothy the path crossed a river very easily and then followed the river east for a mile. The path was indistinct at times and quite wet and boggy. One stream crossing had to be waded but my feet were already wet anyway. 

Bothy at Dalballoch (ruin)

I've pitched at NN673988 next to part of a broken wall. Also here when I arrived was Barbara who I met on Day 1. It's now raining quite hard.

TGO Challenge Day 5 - 16 May 2022

Distance remaining 115 miles

A crazy day today. For the last week, I've been taking antibiotics for a cut on my shin which had become infected. I had just one day's capsules left and didn't feel that they had cleared up the infection and I was about to be in the wilds for a couple of days before coming back to civilisation. In the very early hours I woke and started worrying about the wound turning septic and all sorts of things. At the bothy I had no phone signal or Wi-Fi and decided to head back down to Fort Augustus with a view to catching the first bus to Fort William and get to the hospital A&E and assumed the first bus might be around 7am.

I packed up in the dark and was away by 3.15am. I was thinking I might have to bail out of the Challenge. On the way down I got a 4G signal and found that the first bus was at 10am so stopped to make tea. I had more than enough time. On reaching the village I found that there is a pharmacy and a medical centre. I was at the centre when it opened at 9am and managed to bypass the now usual rule of a prior phone consultation but was told to come back at 11am when a doctor would be there.

I went off to while away the time. I had a somewhat lacklustre full Scottish breakfast at the canalside centre but chatted to a young couple who had been at the bothy.

The doctor was very helpful. The likely reason my leg hadn't healed was that I hadn't rested it and kept it elevated. Far from it! He gave me a prescription for the same antibiotics but double the dose. We discussed whether it would be sensible to continue walking. Basically, the decision was mine. I got the capsules from the pharmacy and texted Challenge Control to say that I was back in the game.

It was five miles down to the village and another five back to the bothy which I reached at 2pm and had lunch there. I left at 2.45pm to see how far I could get. It was a long, long ascent up to the summit of the Corrieyairack Pass, the weather closed in and it rained for much of the afternoon. The wind, coming straight at me, was horrendous. It seemed to go on for ever and I have rarely encountered worse anywhere. At the summit I stopped to talk to a cyclist coming the other way. He looked a little battered.

There then followed a long descent and the rain stopped and the wind died down. I thought about finding a place to pitch but there wasn't much. I picked up water from a stream and in the end decided to head for Melgarve bothy, right on my route. I scoffed jelly babies which really helped. From bothy to bothy was 12.5 miles so altogether I've done 22.5 miles today. I arrived here at 6.30pm.

The bothy is lovely and three Challengers, Rob, Michael and Andrew had a fire going. I decided to sleep there. There are several rooms and I have a room downstairs to myself with my sleeping mat on the floor. What a day. No photos, the weather was so awful.

                                                                    My accommodation

 

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TGO Challenge Day 4 - 15 May 2022

Walking 8.00am to 5.00pm
Distance walked 14 miles
Distance remaining 123 miles

It wasn't capercaillie I saw last night, it was black grouse, identified on an information board I saw later. They (I assume it was them) have a very unusual call which actually got on my nerves this morning as I was lying abed willing myself to get up. It was a beautiful morning, the early sun streaming into my tarp and a cloud inversion down below.

My pitch last night was OK but there was a much better and larger grassed area further on towards Torgyle Bridge at NH305141.

Taking the logging road up through the forest, I stopped to replenish water at Allt Phocaichain and along came the first Challengers I'd seen since the day before yesterday, Dave & Julie Skipp and their two team members. I was following a new road parallel to the pylons which isn't on the OS map yet. Much of the forest shown on the map has been felled.



Eventually I started on the muddy at times path that wound its way down to Fort Augustus, teeming with day trippers. I phoned in to Challenge Control, resupplied at the Londis shop and downed fish and chips. I was also able to refill my water from a tap at the side of Londis.

Leaving the village, I followed signs for the Corrieyairack Pass. It involved a steady ascent over about 1.5 miles, followed by a gradual descent to my pitch outside Blackburn of Corrieyairack bothy. There are five overnighting in the bothy, including two Challengers, Kevin Parisi from the USA and Noam Gal from Israel, walking as a team.

 

Blackburn of Corrieyairack bothy

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TGO Challenge Day 3 - 14 May 2022

Walking 7.30am to 5.30pm

Distance walked 13 miles (plus a couple faffing about)
Distance remaining 137 miles

A peaceful night and the forecast for today was good. After a short distance was a sign and steps up to a viewpoint giving a great view across the forest and loch with the mountains beyond and, fortunately, a 4G signal so I was able to call Amanda who was mightily relieved to hear from me. There'd been no signal at all yesterday.

                                                         Viewpoint Loch Beinn a' Meadhoin
 
I overshot the path I was to take at NH299278. I went back and at first I didn't see it but inside the forest I made out a strip of green and made my way to it. It was very poor underfoot and eventually petered out so I returned to the forest road. This was to have been my shorter route to Tomich. As I progressed, I could see the parallel road I wanted down below but how to get to it? The forest road would lead me to it but only a mile further on. I tried cutting through a belt of forest but was met with a barbed wire-topped fence so returned again to the forest road and plodded on. I eventually reached the road leading back towards Tomich. I had thoughts of stopping at the hotel there for coffee. I stopped there on my Lands End to John o'Groats walk in 2009.

However, I espied a bridge that didn't appear on the map at NH289257 and this took me over the river sooner than the bridge in Tomich. In the field the other side of the bridge, I turned left to climb over a locked gate fifty yards away into another field. I was then able to reach the vehicle track also leading to Tomich. Here, there was a steep bank up to the track with a fence at the top, just too difficult to get over but then just a few yards away was an overgrown tree stump at the top of the bank which enabled me to get over the fence. Phew!

A little way along the track was Sue's Cake Shed with an honesty box. I needed cheering up with cake.

 

I reached the forest tracks which took me up to enter Guisachan Forest (probably many years since it was aforested) which is a vast open moorland. The track was clear and I followed it for the rest of the day, wide ranging views all the way. 

Two cyclists went by during my leisurely lunch stop but I saw no-one else. After rejecting several possible camp spots, I eventually settled at NH298151, right next to the track. A farmer went by earlier on a quad bike and waved but all is quiet apart from the odd sheep and I saw and heard some capercaillie a while ago.

TGO Challenge Day 1 - 12 May 2020

Walking 8.30am to 4.30pm

Distance walked 11 miles
Distance remaining 164 miles

I packed up quickly as rain threatened and was spitting but it then held off. The forecast for the day was much rain, tomorrow as well.

 
I walked a mile down the road to the Kintail Lodge Hotel where Challengers starting from Shiel Bridge are required to sign out so Challenge Control know who's started their walk. Here I met Ellie, a lady of around my age who was waiting for her friend, Barbara. I went on and after a couple of miles joined the start of the Affric Kintail Way. It was a level stony track for three miles along Glen Lichd and the rain started.

Sheep on an island - not sure how it got there

Gleann Lichd

At Glenlicht House, a private locked bothy, I stopped as, fortunately, the lean-to store was open. There wasn't much room but I brewed coffee and was then joined by Barbara (not with Ellie) and Esther, who had just met. They managed to squeeze inside as well. Coffee finished, I went on my way, across a couple of wooden bridges and a winding ascent, past some waterfalls with numerous streams either under or across the path. Some were more than just a step across. Before starting, I'd decided that if any stepping stones seemed too precarious then I'd just walk through the water. After a while I wasn't bothered about wet feet. They warmed up quickly.

 

Waterfalls - Allt Grannda

My next stop was for a late lunch at Camban bothy which was occupied by quite a few Challengers who had decided to stop for the night in view of the weather. I had lunch and then braved the rain again, stopping to pitch on a nice grassy area about a half mile from Alltbeithe Youth Hostel. It's still raging and blustery but I think I'll have a better night's sleep here than in the bothy, not that there was really any room.