Day 3: Dunbeath to Loth

Distance: 19.4 miles
Time: 6 hrs 10 mins
Weather: Cloudy
Cumulative distance: 57.2 miles

A quiet, uneventful, lonely Sunday in northern Scotland. Today was a hard slog down the A9. Pleasant scenery comprising sea views, gorse covered moorland and a single red deer, but again my only conversations (if exchange of 'Hi' classes as such) was with three cyclists and two dog walkers.
I had an unplanned deviation from the route when I joined a pedestrian and cycle track, only to find that it did not rejoin the A9 immediately but sent me on a very scenic detour which added half a mile to my distance! I'd read that the A9 would be busy and even dangerous, but it was reasonably quiet today and at times you would never guess that it is an A road (see photo below).
The toughest part of the route was in Berriedale, where the road drops steeply to cross a river, then climbs steeply for a longer distance. Even the cyclists struggled!
I experienced some blisters for the first time on the journey, but I'm used to dealing with them, so hopefully this should not be a problem.
My B&B tonight is very comfortable - it's a restored Victorian farmhouse overlooking the sea. It was a pleasure to soak my feet in a hot bath for the first time - to avoid any doubt, I've had showers until now! Catriona served a delicious 3 course home cooked meal.
It struck me today that this is the furthest I've ever walked in 3 days, so it's new territory from now on. Tomorrow's walk to Dornoch is one of the longest of my entire journey.

Day 2: Wick to Dunbeath

Distance: 20.3 miles
Time: 5 hrs 55 mins
Weather: Cloudy, sunny later
Cumulative distance: 37.8 miles

Lynne from the B&B kindly drove me to the town centre again, where I re-joined my route. Today's walk was more challenging than yesterday's, with more miles to be completed and a heavier rucksack to be carried. The entire route was on the main A road and the scenery was not as impressive as the previous day's.
Although there is usually a grass verge at the side of the road, I've discovered that the most efficient way to walk is by following the white line on the road itself. This is because the grass verge tends to be uneven and prone to subtly camouflaged holes, but also results in the walking leg being raised higher, which consumes greater energy. So for the walker, the road is a better option, so long as vigilance for approaching vehicles is adopted.
I experienced the loneliness of the long distance walker for the first time today. During six hours I only spoke to six people  - four passing cyclists and a couple at a roadside house who kindly refilled my water bottle. It was a relief to be able to have a chat with the owner of my B&B in Dunbeath. I'm hoping that this is just a temporary phase and that I'll have more conversations when I reach the long distance footpaths far Inverness. Of course I may miss this tranquility when friends and family join me for future stages!
After eating at the Italian in Wick last night, I strolled a short distance down the road to a restaurant with magnificent views across the bay.

Day 1: John O' Groats to Wick

Distance: 17.5 miles
Time: 4 hrs 45 mins
Weather: Sunny

After yesterday's holiday atmosphere, the serious business of walking started today. After the second of many full English, Scottish and Welsh breakfasts to be consumed on my JOGLE journey (the first was on the plane yesterday!), Lynne from the Impala B&B kindly drove me to the station to catch the bus to John O' Groats. As I was returning to the same accommodation, I left some of my kit behind to lighten my load.

At John O' Groats I signed the official End to Enders book, had my photo taken by the infamous direction signpost and took a few personal photos. At 10.45am, some six months after conceiving the idea, I took my first steps in the direction of Land's End.

Weather conditions were absolutely perfect, bright and sunny with a pleasant breeze. This just wasn't what I'd anticipated when I was planning this part of the journey, expecting rain and grey skies. Although today's walk was entirely on the main road, the sea and moorland views were inspiring and the traffic was not an inconvenience. I passed by the base for the Deloitte's cycle ride which starts on Saturday - it was quite an impressive operation, with rows and rows of green tents erected and hundreds of bikes waiting to be reunited with their owners.

Not such a good day for roadside charity donations as I hardly saw a soul during the entire walk. All told, an ideal start to the journey, but to follow the famous sporting adage, I'll take each day at a time! :-)
 

Day 0: Wraysbury to Wick

The original plan was to catch the 6am bus from the end of the road to Heathrow terminal 5, but the children then decided that they wanted to go with me in the car. Even Daniel, who normally struggles to get out of bed for school, managed to spring downstairs. My rucksack was wrapped in bubble wrap for the flight, so carrying to the bag drop was a challenge!

The flight from Edinburgh to Wick was delayed by an hour, which was apparently something to do with the crew having the wrong security passes. The flight was busy, with most people flying up for the Deloitte's cycle ride from John O'Groats to Land's End which starts on Saturday.My seat on the plane was double booked, but more worrying was being informed that I would have to open the cabin doors if there was an emergency! With the skies clear, there were fantastic views of the Forth Bridge and snow capped peaks.
The sun was shining in Wick and, as I had an hour or so to wait before I could check in to my B&B, I sat by the sea to read my many good luck messages. The B&B hosts were very welcoming and this will be a good base for the next couple of days.
Decided to eat at Wetherspoons in the town, where service was remarkably efficient compared to the ones down south. By coincidence, bumped into Harry there, one of the JOGLE cyclists who I'd sat with on the plane. We had a few beers and mulled over our respective journeys. So now the adventure begins for real.

My Kit

My rucksack is now packed. Here's the evidence! Total weight (including food and drink) is 14.5 kg (32 lbs)

My Itinerary

Day	Date		Day		Start	Finish	Path
0	06/06/2013		Thur		Home	Wick
1	07/06/2013		Fri		John O' Groats	Wick
2	08/06/2013		Sat		Wick	Dunbeath
3	09/06/2013		Sun		Dunbeath	Loth
4	10/06/2013		Mon		Loth	Dornoch	Brora to Golspie
5	11/06/2013		Tues		Dornoch	Alness
6	12/06/2013		Wed		Alness	Inverness
7	13/06/2013		Thur		Inverness	Inverness
8	14/06/2013		Fri		Inverness	Drumnadrochit	Great Glen Way
9	15/06/2013		Sat		Drumnadrochit	Invermoriston	Great Glen Way
10	16/06/2013		Sun		Invermoriston	South Laggan	Great Glen Way
11	17/06/2013		Mon		South Laggan	Fort William	Great Glen Way
12	18/06/2013		Tues		Fort William	Kinlochleven	West Highland Way
13	19/06/2013		Wed		Kinlochleven	Inveroran	West Highland Way
14	20/06/2013		Thur		Inveroran	Crianlarich	West Highland Way
15	21/06/2013		Fri		Crianlarich	Rowardennan	West Highland Way
16	22/06/2013		Sat		Rowardennan	Drymen	West Highland Way
17	23/06/2013		Sun		Drymen	Glasgow	West Highland Way
18	24/06/2013		Mon		Glasgow	Glasgow
19	25/06/2013		Tues		Glasgow	Larkhall
20	26/06/2013		Wed		Larkhall	Abington
21	27/06/2013		Thur		Abington	Beattock
22	28/06/2013		Fri		Beattock	Ecclefechan
23	29/06/2013		Sat		Ecclefechan	Carlisle
24	30/06/2013		Sun		Carlisle	Carlisle
25	01/07/2013		Mon		Carlisle	Penrith
26	02/07/2013		Tues		Penrith	Kendal
27	03/07/2013		Wed		Kendal	Carnforth	Lancaster Canal
28	04/07/2013		Thur		Carnforth	Garstang	Lancaster Canal
29	05/07/2013		Fri		Garstang	Preston	Lancaster Canal
30	06/07/2013		Sat		Preston	Aughton	Leeds & Liverpool canal
31	07/07/2013		Sun		Aughton	Liverpool	Leeds & Liverpool canal
32	08/07/2013		Mon		Liverpool	Liverpool
33	09/07/2013		Tues		Liverpool	Buckley	Dee Marshes Path
34	10/07/2013		Wed		Buckley	Chirk	Offa's Dyke Path
35	11/07/2013		Thur		Chirk	Llanymynech	Offa's Dyke Path
36	12/07/2013		Fri		Llanymynech	Montgomery	Offa's Dyke Path
37	13/07/2013		Sat		Montgomery	Knighton	Offa's Dyke Path
38	14/07/2013		Sun		Knighton	Kington	Offa's Dyke Path
39	15/07/2013		Mon		Kington	Hay-on-Wye	Offa's Dyke Path
40	16/07/2013		Tues		Hay-on-Wye	Llanthony	Offa's Dyke Path
41	17/07/2013		Wed		Llanthony	Monmouth	Offa's Dyke Path
42	18/07/2013		Thur		Monmouth	Chepstow	Offa's Dyke Path
43	19/07/2013		Fri		Chepstow	Gordano	Severn Way
44	20/07/2013		Sat		Gordano	Stone Allerton	Strawberry Line Trail
45	21/07/2013		Sun		Stone Allerton	Stone Allerton
46	22/07/2013		Mon		Stone Allerton	Taunton
47	23/07/2013		Tues		Taunton	Sampford Peverell	GW Canal, W Deane Way
48	24/07/2013		Wed		Sampford Peverell	Black Dog	Grand Western Canal
49	25/07/2013		Thur		Black Dog	Okehampton
50	26/07/2013		Fri		Okehampton	Lewdown	Two Castles' Trail
51	27/07/2013		Sat		Lewdown	Launceston	Two Castles' Trail
52	28/07/2013		Sun		Launceston	Mount
53	29/07/2013		Mon		Mount	Roche
54	30/07/2013		Tues		Roche	Truro
55	31/07/2013		Wed		Truro	Porthleven
56	01/08/2013		Thur		Porthleven	Mousehole	South West Coast path
57	02/08/2013		Fri		Mousehole	Land's End	South West Coast path

3 DAYS TO GO!

I arrived safely back from Turkey, managing to avoid the demonstrations in Istanbul. I had planned to go for a couple of long walks while we were out there, but I was confronted by numerous packs of dogs wandering the roads, so I returned to the sanctuary of my sun lounger. No time left for any more training now!
I'm working my way through a lengthy 'to do' list which includes last minute purchases, sending final emails, packing my rucksack and, more generally, making arrangements for not being at home for two months.
So I've two days to finalise everything, then on Thursday I fly up to Wick for the start of the walk from John O' Groats on Friday.