Category: Hiking

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Hiking Finland’s Karhunkierros Trail (Bear Trail)

*Last summer I hiked the Karhunkierros long distance hiking trail in northern Finland. It’s taken me forever to write about it!*

Me and Sara are in Ruka, a ski resort in northern Finland, and we’re about to walk the 82km-long Karhunkierros, or Bear Trail in English. We grab a not-very-detailed map from the tourist information centre. The worker assures us that this is all we will need. “It’s impossible to get lost!” she says.

Continue reading “Hiking Finland’s Karhunkierros Trail (Bear Trail)”
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Hiking the Scottish National Trail (part 6): the hardcore Cape Wrath trail

Last Autumn I hiked the length of Scotland on the Scottish National Trail. Read part 1, part 2,  part 3 , part 4 and part 5.

Day 29: Morvich → Maol-Bhuidhe bothy (23km)

The trail takes us up over a pass to the Falls of Glomach, a mighty 113m high waterfall. We follow a boggy, remote Landrover track to Maol-Bhuidhe bothy (section 30). We’re lucky today: there’s not much rain, so the river separating us from the bothy is an easy paddle. We’d been worried that this bothy would be closed for hunting season, but it’s thankfully open.

A weather warning tells us that 80km p/h winds are forecast the next day, so we have a day off in the recently refurbished bothy. The winds pick up to insane speeds and the river becomes uncrossable. We venture outside only to piss and to collect water from the raging river. Continue reading “Hiking the Scottish National Trail (part 6): the hardcore Cape Wrath trail”

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Hiking the Scottish National Trail (part 5): slogging through bogs on the Cape Wrath trail

Last Autumn I hiked the length of Scotland on the Scottish National Trail. Read part 1, part 2,  part 3 and part 4.

Day 24: Fort Augustus -> Mandally (18km)

It is, of course, pouring down when we begin the trail again. The SNT joins the Great Glen Way at section 26, following the Caledonian canal, before turning up into pine forestry at Loch Oich.

We find a lovely camping spot on a mossy track in some forestry, right by the tiny hamlet of Mandally. Here, section 27 of the SNT joins the infamous Cape Wrath Trail. We will now be following the CWT all the way to the top of Scotland. There is no indication that we’re now on the UK’s most difficult hike: the CWT is an unmarked trail, and is only for  experienced hikers. Continue reading “Hiking the Scottish National Trail (part 5): slogging through bogs on the Cape Wrath trail”

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Hiking the Scottish National Trail (part 4): bothy-hopping in the Cairngorms

Last Autumn I hiked the length of Scotland on the Scottish National Trail. Read part 1, part 2 and part 3.

Day 16: Pitlochry → Glen Tilt (15.5km)

Chris has joined me on the SNT, and I will no longer be hiking alone. He has picked the most beautiful area yet to begin his hike (section 20 of the official trail notes), a really lovely walk in the woods along the water’s edge, stopping for rest at the beautiful river bank. Continue reading “Hiking the Scottish National Trail (part 4): bothy-hopping in the Cairngorms”

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Scottish National Trail (part 3): racing against the storms from Glasgow to Pitlochry

Last Autumn I hiked the length of Scotland on the Scottish National Trail. Read part 1 and part 2.

Day 10 – Cadder -> oak tree between Milngavie & Drymen (16km)

“It was lovely weather before you came!” my Mum tells me again and again as I watch the rain from her window. I can’t imagine Scotland ever having lovely weather.

So it comes as no surprise to me that it’s shitting down when I rejoin the trail in Cadder after a couple of days’ break. Continue reading “Scottish National Trail (part 3): racing against the storms from Glasgow to Pitlochry”

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Scottish National Trail (part 2): canal walking from Edinburgh to Glasgow

Last Autumn I hiked the length of Scotland on the Scottish National Trail. See part 1 here.

I take a week off of hiking to go and help shut down an opencast coal mine in the north of England.  By the time I’m back in Scotland, my feet are finally no longer sore!

Day 7: Edinburgh -> near Philipstoun (12km)

I take a train out of the centre of Edinburgh and join the trail at Edinburgh Park station. This is because I want to go to Decathlon to pick up some gear. The irony isn’t lost on me, buying cheap petro-chemical gear to go and hike in nature.

Today marks the first of a few long days of canal walking, following the Union canal and then the Forth and Clyde canal. I’m a bit wary about walking along canals for days. “Where will I camp?” is my main concern, followed by, “it’s going to be so boring!” Continue reading “Scottish National Trail (part 2): canal walking from Edinburgh to Glasgow”

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The Scottish National Trail (part 1): the Lowlands

I hiked the length of Scotland last Autumn. These Scotland blog posts are dedicated to Old Alan, a Scottish family friend who died after my trip.

“I’m going to hike all of Scotland!” I say suddenly to Chris. “Do you want to come?”

“No…I’ve got lots of work to do…”

“Me too! But I’m going to do it anyway!”

Once I decide to do a hike, there’s no talking me out of it. Chris decides that he will join me “when it gets more exciting in the Highlands”. Continue reading “The Scottish National Trail (part 1): the Lowlands”

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Hiking in the Annapurna range, Nepal

I hiked in Nepal’s Annapurna range, combining three routes – Mohare Danda, Khopra Danda, and the Annapurna Base Camp – to make one two-week trek. Below I talk about my experiences & include information about costs and time taken for other hikers to make use of. I include information about whether there is phone signal/electricity so that hikers have peace of mind. I hiked in February/March 2018 (ooops – it took me a long while to publish this!!). Continue reading “Hiking in the Annapurna range, Nepal”

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Hiking the Cape to Cape Trail, Australia

The Cape to Cape is a week-long 135km hike on the south-west coast of Australia.

The trail is really stunning. We hike over cliff tops (take sun cream!) with spectacular views of the turquoise sea. We walk through native forest, up and down sand dunes and along beaches. We pass stunning rock formations and hop over terrifying blowholes. We walk past a memorial for dead surfers, and then watch surfers tackling massive waves.

The Cape to Cape is an exhausting slog. Although not a technically difficult trail in any way, every step is through sand. Even when you’re not walking on the beach, you’re walking on sand. A week of hiking on this terrain is difficult! I think, “this is more exhausting than the Larapinta Trail!” a number of times. Continue reading “Hiking the Cape to Cape Trail, Australia”

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Reflections on hiking the Larapinta Trail

Having completed the Larapinta Trail, I thought I would write about my opinion of it, and add something about the logistics of organising the hike. Read my day-by-day account of the trail here.

Wow! What a hike! The Larapinta Trail can’t be faulted in any way and is one of my favourite ever hikes. Everything about the trail is well organised, from the website, trail notes and really amazing maps (you buy the maps and trail notes as a package), to the campsites and water tanks. The trail is well waymarked, so it’s very difficult to get lost. Continue reading “Reflections on hiking the Larapinta Trail”