Raising money for Abaana on the TGO Challenge

[Scribble]

Sorry to hear that but I wish you a speedy recovery ,

[MikeD]

bad luck dude, my Kerry trip was also a total bummer. ......  drove all the way down, set off walking, about 3 hours later I had a serious dental emergency and thought best to return rather then wander on ( i still had at least another 5 days walking ahead) ......  I was also a bit concerned that the dog would keel over with heat exhaustion, as it was really really warm !

but I learned from it, I learned next time I get a little despondent, i'm not going to 'quit', i'm just gonna muster on...  and i think its easy to say that, but experiencing a total 'failure' is an experience that stays with you - and motivates you - i think...

[surfnscenic]

Sorry to learn of your mishap.  It'll make you more determined to get there next year.  At least you were there.  Hopefull you'll qualify for some TLC?

[RedLeader]

Toothache is a nightmare, I'd imagine it would totally ruin any trip.

bad luck dude, my Kerry trip was also a total bummer. ......  drove all the way down, set off walking, about 3 hours later I had a serious dental emergency and thought best to return rather then wander on ( i still had at least another 5 days walking ahead) ......  I was also a bit concerned that the dog would keel over with heat exhaustion, as it was really really warm !

but I learned from it, I learned next time I get a little despondent, i'm not going to 'quit', i'm just gonna muster on...  and i think its easy to say that, but experiencing a total 'failure' is an experience that stays with you - and motivates you - i think...

[MikeD]

dont want to hijack suspects thread or steal any of his sympathy !! 

but basically that walking holiday consisted of walking and eating, and with eating looking problematic, it wasn't gonna be too much fun!

[RedLeader]

I think doing an endurance event is different to a walking holiday. Basically if I'm taking some of my well earned hols for some outdoors fun I want to be enjoying myself and if I was carrying an injury that made me pretty uncomfortable it would ruin it - I'd be looking for some sofa / movie recuperation time instead.

dont want to hijack suspects thread or steal any of his sympathy !! 

but basically that walking holiday consisted of walking and eating, and with eating looking problematic, it wasn't gonna be too much fun!

[suspectmonkey]

Was that the Kerry Way you were planning on walking Mike?  I'd love to give it a go sometime as I got a book in the Cicerone sale called "Irish Coast to Coast Walk".  It links up the Wicklow Way, South Leinster Way, Munster Way, Avondhy Way and the Kerry Way to form a 370 mile jaunt!  Mind you my record on coast to coast walks are now CTC 1 - Nil Jon

Cheers for all the messages guys, really appreciate it.  On a positive note I really enjoyed the two days of walking that I had (bar the slight discomfort on day 2!) and it definitely showed me that I should be heading to Scotland a lot more often!  I was able to get from Belfast to Glasgow for £25 and from Glasgow to Mallaig for £14.  You are then spoilt with excellent walking routes through some amazing areas, and if you finish somewhere like Glenfinnan can be back on the train to Fort William and headed for home the following day.  Perfect for a Bank Holiday weekend!  On top of that I passed four bothys, all of which were excellent, so you wouldn't even need to take a tent if you didn't want to.

Oh, and I spent 5 hours on the train between Glasgow and Mallaig chatting with Mr. Ronald Turnbull!  I did mention he had developed a slightly cult following of bivvy fanatics and custard cream munchers in Northern Ireland

[RedLeader]

Oh, and I spent 5 hours on the train between Glasgow and Mallaig chatting with Mr. Ronald Turnbull!  I did mention he had developed a slightly cult following of bivvy fanatics and custard cream munchers in Northern Ireland

Name dropper

it definitely showed me that I should be heading to Scotland a lot more often!  I was able to get from Belfast to Glasgow for £25 and from Glasgow to Mallaig for £14.  You are then spoilt with excellent walking routes through some amazing areas, and if you finish somewhere like Glenfinnan can be back on the train to Fort William and headed for home the following day.  Perfect for a Bank Holiday weekend!  On top of that I passed four bothys, all of which were excellent, so you wouldn't even need to take a tent if you didn't want to.

Interesting. A few Qs - How long in total to get to Mallaig from Belfast and do you have to pre-organise bothies in any way?

[suspectmonkey]

Name dropper

It's sad, most people idolise football players etc. and I'm more interested in meeting Mr. Book of the Bivvy

Interesting. A few Qs - How long in total to get to Mallaig from Belfast and do you have to pre-organise bothies in any way?

I took the 11.45am boat from Belfast to Stranraer.  Arrived in Glasgow at 4.30pm before taking 6.20pm train to Mallaig which had me there for 11.30pm.  Obviously a pretty long day of travelling, but to be honest I don't mind travelling on the boat or train as you can chill out and chat to people, read book, listen to iPod, dander about.  Also the West Highland line is a spectacular railway to travel on!  Of course you could travel a much shorter journey and still get decent walking, for example the train passes through Corrour on the way to Rannoch which has a superb youth hostel and sits at 1350ft above sea level!

No need to pre-book bothies or anything like that, just need to follow the Bothy Code.  Only downside is that if you arrive and the bothy is full then you are a bit stuck, so it would be sensible to have some kind of alternative shelter with you such as a bivvy bag.  Most bothies have good areas outside to pitch which is handy, as you can socialise/cook etc. inside bothy before retiring to your tent.

[suspectmonkey]

I added Day 1 of my trip report to the blog, along with a few photos if anyone is interested.  Obviously it's going to be a fairly short write up given that I didn't get any further than Day 2

http://www.jonpatterson.co.uk/2011/tgoc-day1/