Edinburgh Day 2 - LAST DAY!!

Well, this is it.  We are in Glasgow tonight, getting ready for bed, and thinking about our last two-plus weeks.  I can't believe it's over, but in some respects it already seems like weeks since we were walking.

This morning we did a Hop-On-Hop-Off tour around Edinburgh.  These types of tours had been highly recommended to me by a very well-travelled family friend, and we were not disappointed.  The ticket allowed us to use the bus as much as we wanted for 24 hours.  There were 15 stops on the route, and it was all live narrated.  First, we decided to take in the whole route without hopping off.  We were on the uncovered upper deck of the bus and it was a little chilly this morning, so when we completed the entire loop we hopped off and found some hot teas and a snack.  Once we warmed up we hopped back on and hopped off at the Royal Mile.

We did a little shopping, and eventually made our way back to the start on foot.  It was lunch time, so we found a pub.  Since we still had about four hours to catch our train, and since the weather had gotten sunny and warm, we decided to enjoy the tour one more time.  We had different tour guides each time so we learnt something new each trip.  We saw the Palace of Hollyroodhouse , Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh Castle (again), the Scottish Parliament, museums, historic pubs, and much more.  When we got back we sat in Princes Street Park and enjoyed the amazing scenery for an hour before we headed to the train station.

From the short time we were there, we both feel like Edinburgh is an amazing place.  If we had the chance, I think we would both like to come back and spend a little more time someday.

So, I think our adventure has come to an end.  It has been truly unforgettable for us.  It was a great opportunity to spend some serious quality time with my son, and for us to experience a truly amazing country and culture together.  I would highly recommend it to any outdoor lovers, as well as history enthusiasts.

Thanks again for all of the interest and support everybody has shown.  I hope I did an acceptable job of telling our story, and that you enjoyed it.

Good night everybody!

Edinburgh Day 1

We are in Edinburgh tonight after a very relaxed and easy day.

We caught the train from Pitlochry to Edinburgh this morning at 9:30.  I found it extremely relaxing sitting on the train watching the countryside go by for a couple of hours.  I could have sat on there all day.

We got to Edinburgh around lunchtime and made our way to the hotel.  It was too early to check in, so we left our packs and headed out.  Our first stop was the Oxford Bar.  This is a bar that is a regular stop for John Rebus, a recurring character in Scottish crime novel author Ian Rankin's books.  My dad turned me on to these books and I have enjoyed them very much.  We didn't stay for a drink as there was a minimum age of 18 to get in, but it was fun to have a quick look.

The Ox

After we grabbed some lunch we walked over to Edinburgh Castle for a couple of hours.  We got the audio tour and it was very interesting.  We saw Mons Meg - a medieval bombard built in 1449, St Margaret's Chapel - the oldest building in the castle, and much more.

It's so amazing to see and be in places that are hundreds of years old.  We walked down the royal mile on the way back to the hotel, and checked out some of the shops.

I think our bodies are in a bit of shock at not having to walk today, because we spent a few hours just laying around the hotel room.  It seemed like a shame to waste any time while we are here, but we just couldn't find the motivation to get up and get going.  After a good rest we went for dinner and walk.  The outside of Edinburgh Castle is unbelievable.  It is amazing that it is right in the middle of town.  The whole area is so beautiful, and I think it would be very cool to live or go to school here.

Edinburgh Castle

Our plan tomorrow is to do a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tour.  We'll hop off a couple of times, and maybe walk up to Arthur's Seat in Hollyrood Park.  After dinner we will be catching a train to Glasgow so that we can head home Wednesday morning.

It was a fun day, and we are looking forward to tomorrow.  That's it for now.  Good night!

Day 15 - Aberfeldy to Pitlochry

WE MADE IT!!!

After 15 days and about 350 km walking we arrived in Pitlochry early this afternoon to end our big adventure.

We Made It!!

The hiking gods were smiling on us once again as we had a dry pack-up, and cloudy with sunny breaks for the whole walk.  It was a very enjoyable last walk along the River Tay, over Dunfallandy Hill, and down into Pitlochry.

River Tay Snack

First View Towards Pitlochry

We checked into our swanky hotel, had showers, a little rest, and then went for a walk down Main Street.  We stopped at the Moulin Hotel, where my dad and I spent a few evenings the last time I was in Scotland. I think I am officially half Scottish now as I had deep fried haggis as an appetizer - I'm slowly working my way up to real full-blown haggis.

We are back at the hotel now, relaxing, and watching some TV.  Tomorrow morning we will be catching a train back to Edinburgh.  Tuesday night we head to Glasgow to catch our plane home on Wednesday morning.

Happy Feet

Thinking back on this trip I realize that I owe a big thank you to many people for making it possible:

First off, doing this alone would have been much more trying than it was, and somewhat meaningless.  Ben was stronger than I ever thought he could be.  When I felt like stopping he kept me going.  He kept me distracted when the days were getting long with in-depth discussions about Tanki, games of Would You Rather, or just contemplating life in general.  Thank you Ben for being such a great walking partner, and for not getting too mad at me when I was lost, or when I was being short with you.

Secondly, this trip would not have happened if Mandy hadn't encouraged me to do it.  I probably would have spent a lot of time thinking about it, but not doing anything about it.  Thanks, cheeky monkey, for encouraging me to do it.  And thanks for calling us exactly when we needed a little boost - when we were trapped by a about a billion midges outside of our tent after a long day walking.  I hope that if I ever get to come back here that you will be with me, as I am sure you will find it as beautiful as I do, and enjoy the people as much as I do.  Love you.

Next, the people of Scotland have been amazing.  Whether it was filling up water bottles, giving us Mars bars, or providing timely directions, it was all very much appreciated.  Above all, your kind and curious nature made for some very enjoyable and entertaining conversation.

Finally, to everybody who has been reading our blog.  There were some pretty long and trying days, but knowing that there were people reading our posts every day made us feel like we weren't alone.  Without a doubt this gave us some extra energy and motivation to keep going.  I hope was able to tell an interesting story, and I hope you all enjoyed the trip as much as we did.

I think that's it for tonight.  As mentioned,  I will be posting from Edinburgh tomorrow, and Glasgow the next day.  It will be nice to tour around a bit, but I'm looking forward to getting home to see Amanda and the boys, and the Friday Night Dice Crew - Mark (a.k.a. pal), Jenni-with-an-I, Gerry Pepito May, and Farmer Audrey!!

Nighty night!!

Day 14 - Loch Freuchie to Aberfeldy

We are almost at the finish line!  Today's walk was quick and relatively quiet.  I think Ben and I are both focused on finishing now.  There was not too much discussion during the walk today.  It seemed like we were both reflecting on the past two weeks.

Hitting The Trail - Only Two Days To Go...

Last night's wild camp was beautiful, as I have already mentioned.  The wind came in gusts, and at times hit the side of our tent so hard that the roof would collapse to within inches of our face.  When the gusts relaxed the tent would spring back into its normal form.  It took a real beating, but the only damage we found this morning was a slightly bent pole segment along the roof line.  Pretty impressive in my opinion.  A tent pole break in the middle of the night would have been a little frantic for sure.

We had an easy, and dry pack up this morning, and were on the road by 9:00.  We were a little surprised when a flock of about 30 sheep came tearing around the corner towards us and we didn't waste any time heading up the steep bank on the side of the road.  A few seconds later we saw what was causing the stampede when a farmer and 4 hearding dogs on an ATV also came around the corner chasing them back to the farm we had just passed.

Sheep Stampede

Loch Freuchie was very beautiful to look back on as we headed up the side of Meall a Choire Chreagaich (don't ask me to pronounce that).

Once we were done climbing, we had a very pleasant walk across open moorland.  The scenery was reminiscent for me, of my first trip to Scotland with my father, which makes sense as we are now only 15 km from the same town.  The area we are in is called Perthshire and I find it very beautiful.

As we walked down into Aberfoyle we went through a park called the Birks of Aberfeldy, which supposedly inspired one of Robert Burns famous poems.

Birks Of Aberfeldy

The town itself is very nice, and we had several options for dinner.  We saw the sign below on one of the restaurants we considered - I'm not sure if the guys at work will appreciate the Scots stealing our great idea, or if they will be happy that the good word is spreading...

Tomorrow will be bitter-sweet, but mostly sweet.  We are both looking forward to crossing the finish line at Pitlochry, and having a nice relaxing evening of celebration.  At the same time, I will be a little sad that this walking adventure is coming to an end.

That's it for tonight.  I'm off to sleep.  Thanks for reading everybody!!

Day 13 - Comrie to Loch Freuchie

I'm laying back in the tent in what is probably our best wild camp spot of the trip. This is the type of backdrop I imagined when planning this trip to Scotland.

There are no bugs, which is a bonus, but that's because the wind is gusting at about 100 km per hour, without exaggerating.

I wasn't so sure the day would end this well. We had a decent stay at the campground in Comrie, and a delicious breakfast at a cafe in town to get us started properly.  Ben had the Wee Scottish Breakfast, and I had the Veggie Scottish Breakfast.  Most of the day was cloudy and misty.  Unfortunately, I think we missed a lot of beautiful scenery as a result.  We walked the banks of Ben Chronzie (elevation 941m) at about 650 m of elevation, but couldn't see a thing.  As we came over the pass the trail petered out and we ended up having to bushwhack through several kilometres of Scottish bog all the way down to the River Almond.  Our feet were so wet at that point that we didn't even bother hiking back upstream to look for the crossing, we just waked right through.  Good thing we have dry socks and backup shoes in our bags for tomorrow!

Back on the trail things seemed to get better from there.  When we stopped for dinner - ham and cheese buns, and potato-leak soup, the sun poked out for the first time.  Also, the owner of the cottage we stopped near for dinner, just about the only cottage we passed all day, allowed us to fill our water bottles, which means we are home free for tomorrow.

After dinner we walked another 4 km to find our current spot.  I would be surprised if, other than the cottage owner, there is anybody within a 20 km radius of us.

We are definitely on the home stretch now.  Twenty-two kilometers to Aberfeldy tomorrow, and then a quick 15 km to Pitlochry the next day.  We decided it doesn't make any sense to walk through Pitlochry, to Blair Atholl, only to take a taxi back to Pitlochry.  Getting to Pitlochry early will allow us to clean up and have a proper celebration!

That's it for tonight.

Things we learned today:

It is good to have a compass when you're lost in the clouds in the middle of nowhere.

Your feet can only get so wet, and then it makes no difference.

McVities vanilla cheesecake digestive cookies are yummy after a long day of walking!

Day 12 - Callander to Comrie

Day 12 provided some of the best scenery of the trip.  We walked from Callander to Comrie via the hills and pretty much saw nobody all day.  We had the whole place to ourselves. The weather cooperated giving us a cool, cloudy day, with frequent sunny breaks - no threat of rain, and no prolonged sun exposure.  I couldn't have asked for better.

We had a pretty good climb up Callander Craig right off the bat that gave us some beautiful views back over Callander and over to Loch Venacher.

View Of Loch Venacher From Callander Craig

Soon after that we were walking down Glen Artney on the flanks of Meall Odhar, and Tom Odhar.  It was very peaceful and relaxing walking along here, and it was a good opportunity to reflect on how far we have come.  I am very proud of what we've accomplished, and particularly how well Ben has dealt with so many challenging days in a row.  Though I think we have really enjoyed it, a recurring topic of discussion lately has been how many days are left, and what we are really looking forward to at home.  Of course family and friends first, but after that for me it is my slippers, and for Ben it is sleeping in late, in his own bed!!

First View Of Glen Artney

Final Stretch Into Comrie

Around 5:15 we rolled into Comrie for dinner.  Comrie is twin city to Carleton Place, Ontario, where I think there might be one or two readers from.  It is also next door to Perth, Ontario, where Ben's grandparents are all reading from.  I thought it was a neat coincidence.

The campground we are in tonight is nice.  The guy who showed us our spot warned us that the horse, Polly, in the field directly behind us,"has a woman's sense of humour, if you know what I mean, and she bites!!!"  I'm not sure I know exactly what he means, but I won't be petting Polly tonight!

We have 50 km to cover in the next two days between here and Aberfeldy.  There are no services between the two, so I am a little nervous about drinking water...  Last time we weren't able to find much when we needed it.  We will also be carrying more food than we usually do.  I will post an update when we come out the other side.  After that we will only have one more day of walking left.  It's hard to believe!

Good night everybody, and thanks again for reading.

Almost forgot, thing we learned today:

When you put your tent away wet and covered with a million midges, and don't open it for two days, it smells disgusting when you set it up next time.  Oh well, I guess we don't smell so hot ourselves.  Good night!

Day 11 - Drymen to Callander

This morning was very challenging.  We woke up to about a million Midges all waiting for us to get out of the tent.  It was not a nice way to wake up and seemed to set the tone for the day.

Thousands Of Midges Waiting To Welcome Us Back Outside...

We managed to get packed up relatively unscathed, and the cool breezy weather actually made for good walking.  We continued through the Loch Ard Forest and into Queen Elizabeth Forest Park.  I think we are now officially in the Scottish Highlands. We made it to Aberfoyle and stopped for breakfast around 10:30.  Ben and I made a new friend who came from across the street when we called.  She was very cuddly and spent quite a bit of time with us.

We Called Her Pumpkin Pie

Before finishing the hike we decided to bus the second half of the day for a couple of reasons.  Our feet were wet, mine has a recurring blister under the crease of my big toe and could use a little rest, and the next few days are going to be challenging with some very remote walking.  Not to mention we are tired.  Getting to Callander a little early also allowed us to dry some gear, do some laundry, and rest up.  All in all I think it was another good decision.

Callander is a beautiful little town.  The main street is full of shops, hotels, pubs, and the church - all of the buildings are made from stone.  The town is nestled up against the Callander Crags, which is quite stunning.  I got the feeling that it is a bit of a tourist town as there was lots of activity.

We are definitely on the home stretch now, with only 4 days of walking left.  If we are not able to post tomorrow, the next post will not be until Saturday night.  When we leave on Friday morning we will not see a town until we arrive Saturday night in Aberfeldy.  It will be a beautiful but isolated part of the walk.  Please keep sending us good vibes, as I know they have been helping.

Time for bed now.  As always, thanks for reading our posts!!!