The bigining...

Hi all.

I am in Horsham, 17 April Close, the flat where I lived for 3 months before starting my walk.

Back to reality and civilization felt great- seeing lots of frineds that I had not met in the whole summer, and seeing Horsham again, a place that I love.

However, back to civilization means back to reality too. I haven´t got a job, or a place to live (unless I pitch my tent in Horsham park, that is a big NO NO).

So, I need to think what to do with the rest of my life. Where do I want to live, and work?

I should say that I have been lucky enough (very lucky actually) to have been offered a job just on arrival, so I should not complain,... I don´t.

It is actually quite exciting: having nothing means that I can look for my life anywhewere I want, and that I can potencially do what i please. But, also, there is uncertanty, and sometimes feels a bit scary. But nothing serious to be honest.

Blisters, numb and sore back, wet, a bit cold sometimes, stiffness, tiredness. I did the walk, I took each step, and another one... But actually, it would not have been possible without the huge support from many of you. Weel. Actually, all of you.

I mean, I really enjoyed hearing and reading your feedback about my blog. You said you liked the pictures, and I think it made you laugh sometimes! Your comments on the blog really motivated me to make a small effort and do a good job of it. I am happy with the result.

That is one thing, one way of support, but there are others, other people that have always been there for me.

First of all my father, mother and sister. Got a call almost everyday!! Then those who joined me for a few days: Lyndon, Karen, Phil, Dyeison, Jez and Dan. Day family, Paco and Will, and that weekend in Ripon. My friends in Spain that called me regularly. Those who generously made some room at their places so that I could have a place to leave my stuff, Ian and Linda, Jeremi, Elena, Julien, Toni and Alicia. And then the people that I met... too many, but I should mention all of you that I met in Fort William (Manchester people, Gaemme and Lorraine family), Alex and its cricket ball, my West Highland Way mates... as I said too many to name everybody.

Thank you very much to everyone.

How many miles?, I was asked more than once.... here is the walk in numbers:

2 countries, 1 crazy walker with his rucksack, tent, matress and sleeping bag. 1 poncho, 2 T-shirts, 2 underpants (kept proplerly clean), 4 pairs of socks, 1 stove with its gas canister, 2 pair of boots, 3 deers, 45 OS maps, 60 cans of fish, 50 cans of creamy Anbrosia rice pudding, around 10 kgr of chocolate, 8 kgr of chocolate biscuits, 200 litres of beer, and some wine and whiskey and cider too, 15 blisters. 100 days, 1000 miles, 2000000 (that´s two million) steps.

And 125978345000 midges (that´s... a hell of a lot!)

That was all. Thank you very much for reading me. I have a fantastic time in your company.

All the best.

Carlos

;)

I've never been to John O'Groats...

Hi all.

It's Thursday and Karen and I are in Thurso. Yesterday, just after noon, we arrived to Dunnet head, the most northerly point in Britain.

I have finished the walk.

Phoebe's brother liked melting things. I like silage...

I left tongue on Sunday after having had a couple of well deserved rest days. Just after leaving Tongue, a couple of motorists stopped to give a donation, and then we had a coffe and a chocolate together in the shop a few yards down the road. They were riding the whole coast of Britain, also for charity.

David and Graemme, Riding Britain!

The walk to Bettyhill, a place where i already had been to update the blog, was not nothing special. Mainly cloudy day, I walked on a road that run parallel to the coast through a heather peaty desert.

Even a bleak scenery gives picture opportunities.

The walk was short, and after arriving a quickly pitching the tent i went for a swim in Bettyhill swimming pool. Had dinner, and yes, straight to the pub. The bar at Bettyhill hotel is not, I would say, the centre of the universe (that would be near Geneva, the CERN and the LHC), but interesting things and people happen everywhere.

There I met Graemme and Sarah. We spoke about many things, and solved some world problems. I also had some whiskey lessons. Interesting. Don, see below, joined for the philosophical and historical part of the chat. The guy, lucky bastard, was snogged, not long time ago, by Rosie Swale-Pope, the 62 years old Welsh woman that run around the world in five years. Legend!!

Graemme and Sarah.

Donald McLeod McKenzie. You don't get it much more Highlander than that!!

I found Graemme a fascinating individual. He is the first only British person that I met. He is not Welsh, or Scottish or English, he feels British. Borned in Wales, grew up in Scotland, and married an English woman form Wigan, where they live now. They were cycling form LE to JOG.

On Monday I was supposed to meet Karen in Melvick. I had the best day in terms of weather since I am in Scotland. Sunny, with not much wind. I bought something for breakfast, and the newspaper, and decided to have a look at Bettyhill's beach. Nice one, crystal clear water, and freezing cold too, I assumed. Anyway, the day was too nice, and the water looked like too attractive to miss this one, so i put the swimming suit on, and there I go...

Me before getting in the water...

...and me after:

It was painfully cold indeed!

After recovering normal temperature, I had a short run on the sand and had breakfast and read the newspaper. I had a fantastic morning.

Bettyhill beach

I continued to walk on the same road. More bleak landscape, but it really looked much nicer: the sun makes a big difference. And then, suddenly, I could see Dunnet Head (and the Ockney Islands, Hoy?) in the distance. Exciting moment!

They are very faint in this image, but Dunnet Hd. and the Ockneys are in the background.

The sun lasted the whole day, but it became more windy. Melvick campsite was much better than the one in Bettyhill, and the pub next to it was good too. Worth mention the owner: massive 60 years old guy; when I ordered the first pint i thought he was giving half, his hands were massive!!

Bueno, habra que probarlo entonces. Pongame un forsale, bien hecho por favor...

Karen arrived to Melvick just before dusk, we pitched her tent (carefully, as the field was full of sheep shit) and had a nice dinner, and, a few drinks. Special mention to the lasagna I had.

On Tuesday we walked from Melvick to Thurso. More bleak landscape, but the heather moorland was slowly replaced by more and more fields. The weather was not great, and although we had some sunny spells in the beginning of the day, it eventually became quite gloomy and windy too.

Karen. She sees the funny side in a rest moment!

We walked by Dounreay dismantled nuclear power plant, and guessed, before getting to the top of each hill, that we would see Thurso from it. The road became increasingly busy as we approached the town, and became increasingly unxious about getting there and having a rest

Karen, arriving to Thurso

We had a bit of light rain before getting to the hostel. Cleaning duties, and pub time. Nice meal, special mention to the Caesar salad I had, drinks, and i beat Karen once playing pool, and then let her win a couple of times...

Thurso, in a nice morning.

Yesterday, Wednesday, we started walking just after 9. The sun was shining, but it was quite windy. The first of yesterday's walk was a bit of a pain: six miles of straight busy road to Castletown. After that, we walked on the sand of Dunnet Bay beach from where we could almost touch Dunnet Head at the other side of the water.

Karen and me. Dunnet Head in the background from Dunnet Bay sands.

We had a rest before taking the last bit of road that would take us through Brough, and all the way to the end of this long walk. Grey clouds began to appear, and looked like that the 2pm rain forecast was going to be spot on. "I think we'll see the light house from the next hill..., by the way, I really don't want to walk all the way back to Thurso..." We then began to count the cars going passing us to and from the light house.... "will we get a lift back?"

Karen Dunnet. She is at home!

Once into Dunnet Head Peninsula, more moorland, buzzers in the sky, and blue/grey freezing sea between mainland and the Ockneys.

Almost there!

I was looking forward to finish, specially the last few days. I did not know what to expect, what i was going to feel. Suddenly, top of the next hill, and there it is, the light house just 200 yards away.

Almost there!!!

I looked back, in more than one way. I remembered the south-west, in that country called England. I used to imagine, an eternity ago, how will it be?, what will I feel?

We made it!!!!

I felt very happy. As simple as that. No deep life defining emotions. Simple and sheer happiness.

Just when we arrived, it began raining. Just for ten minutes, the time that took to do the pictures and briefly celebrate (we shared some chocolate). We got a lift. Back in Thurso I got a call from the news channel of the Spanish national radio, and made and interview :)

Celebration time.

Shower, and very nice meal at and Indian. One if those times when you don't only fill the stomach, but the spirit too. We had the first drink in a sport cafe, where we saw Scotland beat Iceland, and England winning 4-1 to Croatia (impressed). Then we had the rest in another pub where they were playing live traditional Scottish music. nice!

And more celebration!

We were very tired, early to bed.

Today, Karen is nicely giving me a lift to the airport. And I hope to see as many of you in the pub later on today.

There will be one last update in a few days.

End of transition time. Life begins today.

Thank you for reading me.

All the best

Carlos

The North Coast. And the Universe...

Hi all.

I am in Tongue, just in the North coast of Scotland. From here, just four days more of easy walking to Dunnet Head.

It is great to have arrived up here. I feel like almost finished, which not being too optimistic as I have actually crossed the whole Britain walking now :)

Loch Achall

From Ullapool I was thinking that I would make it to Tongue in 4 days, walking through an area where there is.... nothing. That was a bit worrying, or to be more accurate, I was feeling I did not want to go through it, because that would mean doing wild camping, and I did not want more of it, no more bloody midges, no more damp wet, no more branch or pebble right under my back.
It actually took 3 days.

Boat House at Loch Achall

From Ullapool I took the track that went East by Loch Achall and Glen Achall. Nice place surrounded by low hills. I met a few fishermen. It was a calm day and I could some reflection pics by the loch.

The track would eventually became a path Northeast bound, and back to another track a bit later. After leaving the path, I continued walking through more heather moorland, crossed a few streams, and got temporally trapped in bog; I washed my boots a legs in the next atream.

I was IN the stream, getting my boots and legs clean!

I noticed that the landscape is slightly different up here. Still boggy hills, but there are less conifer woods, and some of the woods are non-conifer type of trees.

I went down the track towards Oykel Bridge without knowing if I would find a place to stay, call it camp site, B&B,... you name it, something non wild camping! A few Tornados fly passed me.

Once in Oykel bridge I was lucky enough to meet River and his daughter and son , David and Song. The told me there was a B&B 6 miles away and that they could give a lift there. The place was in Rosehall. Just a few houses and a small hotel. The B&B, Woodlands, was just 20 minutes walk from the village, and was nice a cheap. After shower I went to the hotel for a pint and a meal. I walked back to the B&B in complete darkness, as I had forgotten my torch.

The next day I was supposed to walk right back to Oykel Bridge (west), or get a lift, and continue my walk form there. But, having a look a t the map, I discovered a small road, starting just form Rosehall, that would take me North, towards I wanted to go. So I took that road.

Wet spider webs everywhere!

It was a fresh misty morning and it looked like the fog would disappear later and I would get some sun. I follow the narrow road by river Cassley. The sun came out, but briefly, and eventually I had some drizzle in the day.

Fisherman in River Cassley

Glen Cassley is once again a wide shallow valley. Fishermen, highland cows and a hot spot for deers as well. I saw a herd of at least 30 or 40 of them, too far for making any good picture.
The narrow road eventually became a track, still following the same river, and later reached a power station, where I stopped for lunch.

Glen Cassley; I really like this pic.

I have found lots of small power station in the last couple of weeks, using the never ending water resource up here in Scotland; there are streams everywhere.


After lunch, I continue to walk in the same track, but in a Northeast direction looking for Loch Shin. In a drizzle, I reached a ridge that overlooked Loch Shin and a green valley with Ben Klibreck at the back of it. It was a special sight because of the clouds that make shadows and light patches in the distant landscape.

There are dozens of "PASSING PLACE" signs in the narrow roads I am walking

I could also see the road that was supposed to be Wednesday destination, at the other side of Loch Shin where I was hopping to find a place to sleep. The way to the road felt much longer than it looked like. Once in the road I knocked in the first door I found to ask about accommodation. They mentioned the Overscaig hotel, and said that they used to have a bunk house; that meant cheap.

Loch Shin Valley. Impressive sky, with Ben Klibreck as background

However, in Ullapool, I had checked how my Premium Bonds were doing, and knew that in August I won..... £50!!!! So, if I had to have a luxury for a night, not a problem. And that is what happened. No Bunk house but beautiful single room at Overscaig hotel.

Ben Hope under the cloud, in a rather decent day.

I was two days away from Tongue, where I had a bed booked for Friday and Saturday night. looking at the maps, I learned that doing the distance to Tongue in one day was kind of "doable".
So I decided to try.

Gobernuisbach state was surrounded by a forest and nice mountains.

I started walking at 9:30 after booking Thursday night in Tongue hostel. Two hours to west Merkland, walking in sandals, no problem. Then I put the boots on for the walk in the track, that took me up the hill following Allt a' Chraois, a valley that took me to Allnabad, through Gobernuisbach state, a group of hoouses that I might have had a look to buy, if I had been a bit luckier with my premium bonds...



I stopped for lunch, and swapped the boots for the sandals, as I had to walk on a narrow road again. I was just half way, and I had been 6 hours walking. I knew it was going to be tough, but I just kept thinking in how nice and soft my bed would be that night...
I follow the road North, passing by Ben Hope and his impressive pillars, and then walked along Loch hope to reach the A838, just at the North Coast of Scotland. I stopped again for some food and water. My right food was feeling very sore, and I was thinking I had a big blister on its sole. 8 miles to go. It was more than 8 pm. I was going to walk in the dark, but the really bad thing that made me rush the last bit of walk was thinking on a closed hostel, so that I would have to pitch my tent in front of the main door... what a joke after almost 60 Km walk.

The bad part is underneath...

I walked the last 8 miles in 130 minutes. Back, arse, feet, hips and legs in pain, specially my right foot, but I made it to the hostel, and it was not closed. PLeasure shower, pleasure meal and pleasure sleep, after 12 hours and almost 60 km walk.

Tongue hostel

Tongue hostel is just great: for just £13 you get a very tidy and clean place to stay. And Hanne was very nice and invited me for an extra piece of home made banana and chocolate chips cake as I had done such a long walk in one day!!. Hostle grounds finishes just in the cliff that overlooks Tongue Bay and the Rabbit Islands.

On Friday, yesterday, I had one of the most lazy days of my life. I got up and after breakfast I went for walked, very slowly (las muniecas de famosa se dirigen al portal....) to tongue village. Bought a couple of newspapers and a magazine, had a beer (at noon... worrying...) and went back to the hostel for a bit of reading, made some pictures, some more reading, first siesta of the day, lunch, more reading, second siesta.... back on my bed, some more people arrived to the bunk room: Ross, who had just begun cycling from John O'Groats towards Land's End, and George, a local that was in the hostel for the weekend to hike some of the surrounding Bens with his cousin Lorraine.

Ben Loyal (left) and Ben Hope (right). And fields around Kyle of Tongue.

Today, Lorraine and George kindly gave me a lift to Bettyhill, where I will be walking tomorrow (is in the way to Dunnet head). I came here looking for a place with Internet, and I found it. The place I should say, is gorgeous, hills and sandy beaches. I should not leave this place without a swim in the sea.... if I have the guts, the water must be freezing.

Nice George and Lorraine

Next time you hear from me I will be done, I will have finished the walk. I will be in Thurso, with Karen.

Me. Kyle of Tongue and Rabbit Islands at the background.


And now, a brief note about something very important that is about to happen. On Wednesday the tenth, August 2008, I finish my walk. Also, England plays Croatia (yes, Croatia is the new Germany).

But more, actually, much more importantly, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is switched on.
This is a 27 Km long machine, the most expensive and most complicated one ever built by mankind, by far. No company or country could have undertaken the vast challenge of building this machine alone. So 111 countries united efforts to make it a reality.

The LHC is basically a long tunnel where sub-atomic (protons) particles are accelerated to speeds very, very, very close to speed of light (99.9999999% of speed of light on this one). Then, you smash them in a head to head crash, and "see" what the resulting debris are. They are expecting to find things like the Higgs Bossom or "Good particle" thought to have existed sometime within the first second of the universe almost 14.000 million years ago. This particle is thought to give mass to everything in the universe.
Apart from the Higgs particle, they might find baby black holes, and parallel dimensions... some think one of those black holes will shallow Geneva, or the whole earth; some serious Physicists said otherwise...

Anyway, this could be the most exciting scientific experiment of all time. It could lead to a "theory of everything", to a total and overall understanding to everything that happens in the universe, including where the hell is the 90% invisible matter that forms the universe!

The "Big Switch On" this Wednesday (broad casted live in radio 4 and eurovision) will not lead to a discovery on that very day. They need to fine tune the machine, and after interpreting the vast amount of data that each collision will create, we might begin to have some results in the beginning of 2009.

It might happen that this highly energetic collisions does not lead to any discovery, no Higgs particle, no dark matter..... which would mean that the Physics theory developed in the last decades, is all wrong, and we would have the best minds of our times, lost, and with no other chance but looking for a completely new point of view, to basically everything!!

The LHC, is not only a tunnel. The way you "look" at the debris you create, requires detectors. But the word detector takes a new definition here. They are massive!! Each one weight a few hundred tons, and a few hundred scientists work in each one. Can you imagine the complexity? There are six of them, placed in different places of the 27 km ring, and each of them look at different things happening in the collisions.

For building the machine they had to freeze some underground rivers, and took 8 years to build the magnet that will keep the ionized particles travelling at the speed of light on their track to a collision that will reproduce almost Big Bang conditions. The filaments that form the magnet, that has to be cooled down to -272C (1C above absolute zero), could stretch from here to the sun.

etc, etc, etc....

Wars, famine....
Well, I think the LHC is a good reason to be proud of being part of mankind. Unbelievable what we can achieve together!!

All the best, and if you see a baby black hole, it's not worth running, it will swallow you... :)


Carlos

From Craig to Ullapool

Hi all.


It is Monday, and I am having my first blue sky day since.... I don't remember when. I am taking a day off; I needed it and I have time more than enough to meet Karen in Melvick next Monday 8th.



This picture is for Maria, from Vigo. Cx

After leaving the post office in Strathcarron I walked a couple hours more to Craig's independent hostel: Gerry's hostel. I was planning to walk it on the road, but I found an un-mapped path that ran by the river.

On my way to Craig

Gerry's hostel is a peculiar one. In the middle of no-where, run by Gerry, simple, cosy, with all you need, including a "luxury Harrods self service shop"!. There I met John and Rachael; They are married from London. He is a musician and she is a civil servant. We spoke a bit about our journeys and decided to walk together on the next day.

Thanks to have agreed walking with them I got up earlier than usual. We were walking at 8:30 am. It was, another, cloudy day, but at least, it was not raining. We had to walk 15 minutes on the road, and then we would take an old Pony trail through the Coullin pass. From there up the hill through small conifer woods and more heather moorland. Once at the top of the ridge we would descend to Coullin which is in a valley where we had a rest.

Loch Dughail and Loch Carron form the top of the ridge

From there we took a track that took us up the hill again, and not much later, and after a bit of tricky path navigation (not that it was a problem for this orienteering champ!), we reached a point from we could see Kinlochewe. It was really close and we agreed that it would not take more than two hours to get there.

John and Rachael in Coullin valley.

We stopped for lunch and continued down the hill. We went into a forest that had been cut down completely, and there things got bit complicated as the path was impossible to follow, lost under the dry dead trees. We opted to go straight down the hill, west instead of north, to look for a possible easy track close to the bottom of the valley. We were lucky and found it, but further on things got tricky again the path became a boggy hell, up and down to cross streams and through small woods with low annoying branches. All this within touching distance of Kinlochewe.

It was a pleasure to reach the road. We had a drink and said good bye. It was pleasure to walk with you guys.

Kinlochewe bunk house was simple but very cheap: £10 a night. I had dinner and a shower and met Aiden and Jaimee, both English. We had a drink in the pub next door. Soon bed time, I was very tired.

Seriously... some people have such a boring life...

On Saturday, more clouds, ready for probably the hardest walking day so far: there was a gap between the paths I was going to walk, and i had to cross a river, no bridge.... so anything could happen. I could even could find my self stuck in the middle of nowhere

Loch Maree from the A832

First I walk west on the A832, up the valley with nice views of Loch Maree. At the top I had a glance of Loch Chroigs, and saw that it was in complete calmness, there was no wind. in this conditions it was reflecting the sky and the hills around it which was making a perfect opportunity for photography. I got closed to the Loch and i did picture like the first one of this update or the one below, from the very shore of it.

Loch Chroigs mirror

Just after finishing doing my pics i realize how lucky I had been as a light wind fill the Loch with ripples, killing any reflection.

I continued a bit more on the road, and turned north, off road. I changed to the long lens as i was entering an isolated area and I might see some deers. Literally two minutes after that, I began seeing them on my right hand side, just at the edge of the forest. They saw me too. if you want to have a chance of getting close to them you need to see them before they see you. So I continue to walk out of their sight. Left my rucksack out of the track and i climbed the short hill into the forest. If they are still in the clear, they will find difficult to see me in the relative darkness of the wood, i thought.

I spent 2 hours stalking. I saw lots of them, females and stags too. No closer than 50 metres. A waste of time. The ran to the deer pub, and had a laugh at me....

Scottish moorland

I continued up the hill. From the top it was very desolate moorland, with impressive mountains in the distance. Down the hill again to reach a water pipeline that I followed on a easy walking track almost all the way to Loch Fannich. There i turned west to the end of the commented loch, where I left the track and had to cross the river.

Following the pipeline

The "no path gap", and crossing of the river, was luckily easy. The terrain was very boggy but walkable. And i did not have to go up the river to find a crossing point as it was running very low in water. I had a breath, and had something to eat. There was some breeze, so the midges stayed low and left me alone during my late lunch. Actually really late lunch: it was almost 7 pm, and so i was not sure if i would get to the road before dark. I rush my way up the hill, again.

I did not like the idea of finding myself in a place where there would be no space to pitch the tent, and dark. I went as quickly as i could, and descended towards the north branch of the A832 very quickly too. Nice scenery but difficult to appreciate with the increasing darkness.

Loch Fannich

I got to the road just on time. I did not need to use the head torch to walk on the road towards Braemore Junction, but I had ready just in case a car came.

Me in the bog. Loch Fannich at the bottom.

I had some strange ideas about keepping on walking until dawn....

I found a place to pith my tent. A bloody swamp by the road, not too wet for a swamp, full of midges. They left the midges pub to welcome me. I pitch the tent without light (that would have been suicide), without stopping moving (the bastards find more difficult to find you if you walk) and went into it as quick as I could.

It was not a good night sleep, and I swore that that was the last wild camping night of the walk; we'll see.

The bloody midges, they wanted to eat me alive!!!!

In the morning it was raining slightly, i could hear from the inside of the tent.... no, wait a minute, it was not rain, it was thousands of midges, hitting the tent, trying to get in, and eat me alive!

I left the tent with everything packed in the rucksack, and i put it on the road. Removed the tent pegs, and dismantled it on the road, as far as possible from the hell buggers.

It was a misty morning. I did not need to walk to Braemore junction as i found a shortcut to the tracks that ran parallel to the A835, the led to Ullapool. I crossed a wrecked bridge while humming the Indiana Jones main soundtrack music, and it began to drizzle.

On my way to Ullapool.

The walk was easy, on the tracks, as well as on the A835, but my feet were really hurting me. These boots don't like walking on roads or easy tracks. The walk to Ullapool, although easy, felt long and never ending. it was great to arrive to the hostel, have a shower and eat. My feet were a bit sore and slightly swollen. but this is not a big problem as they are ok the next morning.

Another one on the feet series. Swollen, but not too bad at all.

I really liked Ullapool. Small, in a little peninsula, surrounded by Loch Broom and mountains; quiet, but with good atmosphere. The hostel it really is like a home. I had dinner and went for a few drinks in the Arch Inn, a not very enchanting and modern place, but with good atmosphere. i saw Barcelona losing to Numancia.

Today, Monday, here I am updating my blog. The sun is gone, and the sky is completely covered now. In the evening, I will plan the rest of the walk in high detail, including walking distance, i will decided if i have time to stay another day in this nice place. I will go for a swim too.

Me in Ullapool. Sunny Monday morning.

A bit of humour: yesterday I bought the Sunday Times. In one of its magazines there was an interview to Robert Downey Jr., the actor that got back to life and acting after drugs and crime and spending a few months, if not years, in an LA jail. He recently starred in Iron Man; recommended. So, he speaks about his pass and mistakes and lessons and his new life. And here is R. Downey Jr. on mistakes from the past, how to keep them under control and learn form them: (it's a bit rude...)

"...One must always be mindful, just like you might forget that old girlfriend who tried to slit your throat, but she is really still hot"

"If you remember the stitches more than you remember the pussy, you are going to be just fine..."

What a genius!

That was all. Next time you hear from me I might be in the north coast.

All the best

Carlos