LEJOG blog

Day 108 of the End to End, that started at Carn Laith Broch, was somewhat perilous at times. We had spent considerable time researching the route. I did not want to spend all day walking along the verge beside the A9. The John O’Groats Trail is an option but its perils need to be considered. It’s not a fully marked Way so finding the route can be a challenge, but then we’ve managed poorly marked routes before. However, this one also has additional advertised perils like routes you can’t use at high tide, places where the route is squeezed between the railway and the edge of the cliff and other places where you need to be prepared to cross a 3 metre wide stream. Having considered all of this, we decided to use the John O’Groats Trail in the morning to Brora and after lunch along the Brora links. These proved perilous enough.

First, cattle can be perilous. They were big and mooed a bit. But that was all the cattle peril for today. There were other creatures, all less perilous: significant number of butterflies for example as have been reported inany places, taking advantage of a fine day and lots of flowering plants. There were also common seals lying on the beach in various places, a total of 20 altogether. Second, the tide was coming in, but Bob thought we had enough time to make it along the low route rather than the higher route for when the tide is in.

At Brora we had a picnic before I set off up the second part of the route north of the town. The path goes along the side of the golf course and was reasonably easy to follow and frequently placed benches were welcome. There were more butterflies in the dunes and even people swimming in the sea.

The most perilous part was being dive bombed by Arctic Terns near the dunes. There is a protected area here, but the Terns seem to take exception to any one coming along the path and I’d no wish to disturb them.
Bob had found the footpath off the golf course, which wasn’t easy. He met me in time to accompany me to the A9. Here the road peril started. I needed to do about 3 miles on the A9 because the Trail did not have many access points that fitted our requirements, and I didn’t want to ford the stream or get squeezed on the cliffs.
We have a high visibility vest for road walking and while the traffic is fast there’s not too much of it, and the verge is usually reasonable. Bob came to meet me and after three miles we stopped at the lay-by before Lothbeg. It’s a poignant spot as it includes the memorial to the last Wolf killed in Sutherland over 3 centuries ago. There are moves to reintroduce wolves to the Highlands. Maybe the remembered She wolf will not be the last to live in Sutherland after all.

Back at Helmsdale Hostel, an excellent place we’ve stayed before, we even got our old room back. Dropping a bottle of smoothie on my toe brought to an end a perilous day.

From Psalm 91
God will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge.

The cormorants hang their wings out to dry. A feather or two blows across the sand. The Arctic Terns spin in the air, clattering a noisy warning. These are the birds that God has counted and who’s feathered wings provide a refuge.

God grant a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 03.08.2019
Day 108 of the End to End, Carn Laith Broch to Lothbeg Lay-by.

Day 107 of the End to End was another very beautiful day. It started at the path to Creag Bheag from the A9. This was another of the A9 avoidance routes of the John O’Groats Trail. We went through a small piece of woodland and a couple of fields alongside the railway. Bob came with me and turned back at Kirkton level crossing. I continued down the track into Balblair Wood, which borders the North shore of Loch Fleet.

We first visited this wood on Bob’s walk in 2003. It was a bit earlier in the year and we were lucky to see the single flowered wintergreen, a rare plant of which this is one location. However, being later in the year, there were no wintergreen today, but there were creeping ladies tresses that also prefer older pine woods.

I met Bob on the road into Golspie, where we decided to have a fish and chip lunch, followed by local ice cream, made in Brora.
The afternoon walk from Golspie was along the coast, past Dunrobin Castle. It was a beautiful route, full of butterflies. Our second busiest day for Painted Ladies, totalling 105 and 36 small tortoiseshell. I identified 8 different species altogether, and I also saw two common seals.

The path was lined with Ragwort, thistles and Rose Bay Willowherb, all popular with the butterflies and very colourful. Bob met me on the path and we walked to Carn Laith Broch where today’s walk ended. It is an Iron Age structure under the care of Historic Scotland and has wonderful views of the coast.

From Psalm 77

Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were invisible.

Many folks are still waiting tonight for flood waters to subside or for routes cut by flood water to be restored. We think of them.

God grant a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 02.08.2019
Day 107 of the End to End from the A9 North of The Mound to Carn Laith Broch.

It’s day 106 of the End to End and rather than biblical interpretation I’m doing natural history.
The Common Seal is more common looking than the Grey Seal, who has the large nosed look, so it’s common seals we see today at Loch Fleet, an RSPB nature reserve.
To get there its three to four miles from Dornoch. On the outskirts of the town a small low building, now the local Chiropractor, used to be the station of the Dornoch Light Railway which, a century ago, bought passengers from The Mound via Embo. This contributed to Dornoch’s rise as a tourist destination. You can still see signs of the line of the route, which closed in 1960, as you walk round Loch Fleet.

At Loch Fleet we sat on the same seat we’d sat on in 2003 and ate our picnic. It was about high tide so the Loch was quiet. There were a small number of Eider, Widgeon, Herons, Oystercatchers and a couple of Curlew. After a rest of about half an hour I walked on round the Loch. In total I saw 7 common seals; a couple doing a showing off balancing thing but most just bobbing in the still water.

As I approached the junction with the A9 I saw a small John O’Groats Trail sign on a fence post. I’d not been looking forward to the main road, so decided that the John O’Groats Trail was worth a try. We’d looked at the website and I got the map yesterday in Tain. In places it provides off road alternatives to the A9 route. However, they are not all well marked or maintained. I’d no idea what this part would be like. It turned out to be a section of the old Light Railway route now overgrown. In some places the bracken was chest high and it seemed more like swimming through foliage than walking, but mostly it was OK and certainly better than the A9. I emerged from the path at the southern end of The Mound. Bob met me and we walked back to the car on the north side. He’d been looking at a bit of tomorrow’s route, also on the John O’Groats Trail.

From Revelation chapter 8

When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Even in heaven silence is valued. To sit by Loch Fleet today in silence, the water like a still mirror, is to mirror the activities of heaven. We heard on the news of places in the North of England where recent flooding is causing problems and we think of them. Water can do a lot of damage. We pray for those trying to sort out the mess.

God grant a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 01.08.2019
Day 106 of the End to End, Dornoch to The Mound.

Day 105 of the End to End was a momentous day in many ways. First of all I went over 1000 miles walked since Land’s End and secondly I crossed the Dornoch Firth which definitely puts me in the North of Scotland. It was a day of signs telling us many things en route.
I started at Tain Airfield which had got a bit soggier since yesterday due to overnight rain. We waited for the rain to clear before I walked into Tain. We found a pleasant cafe for a bit of late 11s, next door to the Co op for a bit of shopping. Tain marked the 1000 miles since Land’s End.
On the way out of the town I stopped at St Duthac’s Chapel (or St Duthus if you prefer: seems he had two names) which has been a popular place of pilgrimage for several centuries. James IV is recorded as making 18 visits to the shrine. It was good to be able to give thanks for 1000 miles walked at this place that so many pilgrims have visited before, and which we first heard about when we visited Whithorn (which was several weeks ago now).
I walked out of Tain and into the A9 for the first time since my rather wet encounter with the Kessock bridge. There was a wide verge, so although it is a fast road, it wasn’t as bad as I feared it might be.

I met a local runner, and she asked me what I was doing. Once I’d explained LEJOG she said she’d seen another on the other side of the Dornoch bridge. We had a chat and she was very encouraging. Seems likely if you’re walking on the A9 at this point you’re a Lejogger as there’s nowhere else much to go.

Bob parked on the North side of the bridge and came back towards me, so we retraced his steps and walked across the Dornoch Firth together. After a break at the car for a sandwich and to change my wet boots, he showed me the path to the Dornoch Road.

That section of the walk was fairly quiet and I was soon arriving in Dornoch at the Cocoa Mountain cafe for the celebratory hot chocolate. We also bought some chocolate to eat later, of course.

Our accommodation for the next 3 nights are the sleeping cars at Rogart Station. Real trains still run through here a couple of times a day so we had a lovely time watching trains and eating chocolate.

From Isaiah 40

Those who wait upon the Lord for strength will mount up on wings like eagles. They will run and not be weary, walk on and not faint.

This is my favourite Bible verse. I saved it for today. 1000 miles and 12 days to go.

God grant us a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 31.07.2019
Day 105 of the End to End, Tain Airfield to Dornoch.

Here’s a song to sing on the Nigg ferry if you’re the only passenger:
I’m a walker,  I’m a walker,
Going John O’Groats way,
It may be day 104
But I’m looking forward to more!

It’s day 104 of the End to End, sponsored by Christine and Richard of LCSB, and I was first in the queue for the 10am ferry to Nigg. Actually I was the old passenger. The captain of the ferry obviously gets plenty of practice shuttling back and forth all summer. The crossing was flat calm and the low cloud was lifting.

At the Nigg Pier a bus was waiting for passengers. There were none as I was walking.
I walked up to Nigg Old Church, a simple 17th century building that houses the Nigg Stone. This 8th century Pictish stone is wonderfully decorated and very well preserved given the adventures it has had over the centuries. It is said to show the earliest representation of the Eucharist in British Religious Art. The detailed carvings include a central cross and surrounding decorations on both sides of the stone. It was broken several centuries ago, but recent restoration has tried to give an indication of its original dimensions.

From the church, I took the Bishops Path back to Nigg Bay. Walking along the road I came to the RSPB reserve which has a small bird hide. The volunteers were having their lunch and we had a conversation about the masses of painted lady butterflies we had all seen.
I saw far fewer today, around 20 compared to over a hundred more yesterday, but that would usually be a high tally.
I met Bob further up the road and we had our picnic lunch by Arabella bridge. We then walked into Fearn Station together. It was quite hot by this time and so I was pleased to sit down for a while when we hot there.
The last 3 miles were via Loch Eye and the road was sheltered by trees most of the way. The days walk ended at Tain Airfield, one of several WW2 airfields in the area, which closed in 1947.
We had quite a long drive back. We went over to the coast at Shandwick to see another of the Pictish stones. Also damaged over centuries, this one is of similar age to the Nigg Stone but bigger and similarly decorated. It stands in a barley field in a glass box for protection.

As of tonight I am 4 miles away from 1000 miles walked.

From Psalm 118

The stone rejected by the builders became the cornerstone: we were amazed at how God caused this to happen.

To see these old stones now, they are amazing. They have been telling the Christian gospel for centuries. At times they have been well cared for and valued, at other times less so. They have been broken and buried but they are not silent now.

God grant a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 30.07.2019
Day 104 of the End to End, Nigg Ferry to Tain Airfield.

Day 103 of the End to End was a beautiful day, the sort of day the makes End to Ending so uplifting. Quite different from yesterday when I was battling a sore throat and feeling grotty. We had stopped in Fortrose and bought some donuts for 11s. These were the most excellent donuts and led to me thinking we should add donuts to the list of important End to End foodstuffs.
The walk started at the Red Rock Trails car park and the path went up through the woodland. Tasty wild raspberries and blueberries filled the holes left between the donuts.
I was soon back on the road and walking towards Cromarty, meeting Bob about half way. Coming round the corner at Eathie Mains Farm I walked into a cloud of Painted Lady butterflies, which completely amazed me. From then on, all the way down to the village, there were almost more Painted Ladies that we could count.
Yesterday I saw 8 and thought that a lot. Today it was 126 at least. I did read yesterday that several thousand had been seen on the Isle of May, which is about 120 miles south of us.

It wasn’t just Painted Ladies though. I also saw 26 small tortoiseshell which surprised me. Among the 7 different species seen altogether there were also Red Admiral and Speckled Wood. The large thistles seemed particularly popular plants for them all. All of which made this peak butterfly day so far.

We had a brief walk round Cromarty which is the departure point of the ferry I shall take tomorrow. There were good views across the Cromarty Firth.

A warm sunny evening meant we got all our washing dry back at the hostel. The fresh farm produce they sell, fruit and vegetables, means we ate well, of course.

From Psalm 50

God says ‘I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine’.

Tonight, I write to the background drone of many bees. The countryside is alive with insects, so many butterflies I was struggling to count them! Later a couple got disorientated in the the poly tunnels at the farm. I cupped my hands around them and guided them outside. One sat on my finger for a few heartbeats before flying off towards the lsetting sun.

God grant a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 29.07.2019
Day 103 of the End to End, Red Rock Trails car park to Cromarty.

Martha had many dragons to slay,
She would do it everyday.
Walk right up and push them down:
She was the best dragon slayer in town.

Dragons come in many sizes
And wear a lot of different disguises.
They start off small and then they grow
And often have other dragons in tow.

You may think a lie is very clever
Being found out, you think you’ll weather,
But make a lie as big as a bus
And you ain’t fooling none of us!

You may think people can be manipulated
In many ways not yet stipulated.
But dragons like these we call them out:
Each one gets a hearty shout.

Shoo, shoo you dragons all be gone,
We will slay you one by one!
Dragons will not here survive,
But equally we want humans to thrive!

JAL 29.07.2019
Feast of St Martha, dragon slayer.

Day 102 of the End to End across part of the Black Isle was somewhat heavy going. The sore throat I’ve had for a couple of days was a pain in the neck and in the morning I was very tired.
Thankfully it was mostly easy walking and I had Bob’s help. I started at Munlochy and as I walked on, Bob set off to see if a path we wanted to use in the afternoon was viable. Our various maps offered conflicting inconclusive information.
I was walking on the road to Killen which was mostly quiet. I met Bob there and we paused to decide what to do. The outcome, although it involved a bit of coming and going, did work. We drove to the Red Rock car park which is used by those doing the mountain bike trails in the area. I had a sleep there, trying to shake off the virus, while Bob sought out some of the paths to see if they were usable. When I woke up, I took the car back to pick him up. We then had a sandwich lunch in a lay-by. He dropped me at Killen to continue the route.
I was feeling a bit better and by the time I met him on the path near Blackstand we were on the last section of the day (although by now Bob had done this section of path three times).
There were a lot of painted lady butterflies about. I later saw reports that many had come up from the south with the last blast of warm weather.
We came back via Fortrose where I made a brief visit to the ruins of the medieval cathedral.

From Psalm 139

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

The human body is amazing. I’m constantly amazed by mine. After walking 102 days, we’ve now about 2 weeks of walking left. So I hope to get up on the morning and walk a bit further.

God grant me a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 28.07.2019
Day 102 of the End to End from Munlochy to Red Rock Trails car park.

Day 101 of the End to End led onto the Black Isle. It was grey and overcast when we left Drumnadrochit, which had been our base since the beginning of the week. Rain was promised.
I started walking at the Coastguard HQ in heavy drizzle. By the time I made it onto the Kessock bridge that had turned to heavy rain. There was zero visibility. The amount of water lying on the road meant lorries and buses created a wave each time they passed me. The rain got heavier. By the middle of the bridge, when I saw 2 Joglers coming towards me on heavily laden bikes, I was drenched.

Thankfully Bob had parked at the first lay-by after the bridge. A change of clothes, a toasted sandwich and hot chocolate and I was good to go again.
I walked down the steps to North Kessock, the village at the slip way across the Moray Firth. Ferries do not run since the bridge was built, and the old ticket office is currently being transformed into a local heritage project. There was a warm welcome there and I had a look round. Outside there’s a new garden with lovely coastal views.
I walked on towards Munlochy, stopping first at the now closed Black Isle Wild Life Park. Hannah and I had visited this attraction 16 years ago when Bob was walking LEJOG. Nevertheless we had our sandwich there for old times sake.
There were plenty of slugs on the prowl and also fungi under the fine lines of beech trees that lined the road.

At Munlochy there was a small weather station by the old mill which suggests they take meteorological conditions seriously in these parts.
On the way to our new accommodation, the Ryefield Farm Bunk House, we stopped at the Munlochy Cloutie Well. I have seen examples of this old Celtic Tradition before but this was probably the most extensive. Originally based around a small spring, there are numerous objects hanging from the trees there for some distance. It is also obviously the focus of frequent visits.

From Psalm 100

Know that the God is Creator! God made us and we belong to God as sheep belong to the Shepherd.

I don’t choose to put my trust in stuff that rots and decays like musty washing left out too long on a line. I trust the Living One, who attends me constantly; beside me, within me.

God grant a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 27.07.2019
Day 101 of the End to End, Inverness to Munlochy.

Consider the notion of walking for 100 Days. What would that be like. I’d no idea!
Day 100 of the End to End began at Wester Altourie on the Great Glen Way. By the end of today’s walk I would complete that route.

After the first mile on the road, the path went up through the forest. This mixed woodland included Old Caledonian Pine Forest and I saw creeping ladies tresses there, a small orchid, difficult to photograph due to low light. It was also a fungus superhighway, with many different species lining the path.

The descent to the Caledonian Canal was through a community woodland area. There were wild raspberries and blueberries to sample along the path. Bob met me in the houses on the edge of Inverness. We walked along the canal and admired the swing bridge in operation. Lunch was in the Whin Island car park and included ice cream.

The walk into the city was via the Ness Islands. At the war memorial, there’s a Stone in memory of Edith Cavell. The Great Glen Way finishes at the Castle, where Flora MacDonald stands guard. But there was little by way of recognition for the effort!

I walked on beside the river to the Coastguard HQ near the Kessock bridge I will cross tomorrow.
Our last night at the Loch Ness Backpackers coincided with the first night of the Loch Ness film festival in the bar, although Bob said he didn’t understand them all.
From Psalm 65

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
At sunrise or sunset, joyful songs are sung.

I add my voice to those songs now!

God grant a quiet night and a peaceful end.

JAL 26.07.2019
Day 100 of the End to End from Wester Altourie to Inverness.