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Monthly Archives: December 2016

Escape to the Edge: Christmas on the Isle of Oronsay

The calm before the storm. A walk with Oscar on the beach at sunset, the last calm day before storm Barbara rolled in from the west and a week of gales set-in. Its certainly been while since I last blogged and not surprising really as the last couple of months have not exactly inspired me…

December 25, 2016 in Thoughts on Hiking.
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Practice at pitching my Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo with the help of a curious Jack Russell. Got this shelter back in the winter and have had numerous attempts at getting a good pitch, which also raises the sides of the bath tub floor...but it's quite tricky to get right. Update: needed to raise the pole much higher, finally got it :) #hiking #tents #tarptents #wildcamping #solotents
My boy, Oscar. #jackrussell #jackrussellterrier
One the few good things about returning from a hike is being re-united with ones Jack Russell 😍 A big thank-you to our friends Barry and Madders for looking after him so well. #hikinglife #jackrussellterrier #jackrussell
Heb Way: The most perfect evening of the hike was at Horgabost on Harris, paddling through the rippling light of translucent water, reading on the dunes in the warmth of lingering sun.
The quiet and mysterious stones of Callanish, Isle of Lewis. #hebrides #stonecircles #prehistoricsites #outerhebrides
Heb Way Finish: Yesterday we reached the official end of the Hebridean Way in Stornoway, 155 miles from our start on Vatersay 12 days before. The town was a jolt to the senses and an inauspicious end to a trail of such ruggedness and beauty. Our original plan was to extend the hike for two more days to the Butt of Lewis, but problems with feet might prevent that. To ensure we finish on a high note, we took a trip to the 4000 year old stone circle of Callanish. With visions of all those miles behind us, being among the stones had a sense of finality, like we had reached the heart of the Hebrides. The last 12 days have been unforgettable and it will be a heartache to leave. #hebrideanway #hebrides #callanish #outerhebrides #hikinglife #longdistancewalking
Heb Way Day 12: The final miles of the Hebridean Way to Stornoway were along an endless, but peaceful road through the peatlands. In the heat of the day the air shimmered across the heather, distant windmills turned slowly and our feet hurt...a lot....there was plenty of time to reflect on the mysterious, painful and joyful art of long distance walking :) #hebrideanway #thruhiking #hebrideswalks #hikinglife
Heb Way Day 12: After yesterday's fatigue, we had a spring back in our step today and the vast moorlands of Lewis rolled away beneath our feet. It was a magnificent morning, crossing some of the wildest land of the trip, and we're thankful for the trail for getting us right out there amongst it all. Much of the walking was on raised peat paths, specially built for walkers, and we could cruise along absorbing the atmosphere and scale of land and sky. #hebrideanway
Heb Way Day 12: Out in the big sky country of Lewis. Complicated knot of feelings about the trail coming to an end. Trying not to hold on too tightly to these final miles, just relax and be thankful that we were here. #hebrideanway
Heb Way Day 11: Last wild camp before we get to Stornoway and a perfect evening to lay back on the luxury of my NeoAir and watch the sun go down. #hikinglife #hebrideanway
Heb Way Day 12: T-shirt weather by 7:30am today as we climb above the Lewis peatlands, another scorching Hebridean day ahead! I was woken at 3:30 this morning by a red grouse chuckling outside our tent, it was already daylight. I lay for the next 2 hours until the alarm listening to the ominous hum of hundreds of midges inside the flysheet. After a snappy pack up we hit the trail for the final 14 miles into Stornoway. #hebrideanway #outerhebrides #hiking #hebrideanwalks
Heb Way Day 11: Total solitude in the big landscapes of Lewis, nothing but the sound of the wind, lark-song and scrunch of dry heather under our feet. Seen nobody on the trail for days. Trying to hold on to these last moments of wildness now as our hike along the Hebridean Way draws to an end. #hebrideanway
Heb Way Day 11: It's one of those days today, I think the trail is catching up with me, keep needing to stop for snacks and take power naps! Nice steady going across rolling moors though, with skylark song from high up in the blue.
Heb Way Day 11: This morning began by waiting for the sunrise so the midges would disperse outside the tent, then out came the tweezers to twist all the tiny ticks out of our skin....once done, a cup of Earl Grey set us right, as did the flickering display flight of a dunlin overhead. We soon descended to the rolling moorlands of Lewis. Initially the trail followed the carriageway of the old road, which made for pleasant walking and allowed our eyes to wander the outlines of distant peaks.
Heb Way Day 10: I think the Hubba is becoming my muse :) Wild camp above Loch Seaforth, great view but the ticks were a nightmare and then the midges came out.... #hebrideanway #wildcamping #msrhubbahubba
Heb Way Day 10: In the heat of the afternoon, and looking like weird trail ninjas, we finally cross onto Lewis, the 10th and final island on the Hebridean Way. It's been a good few days on well maintained trails, but the Heb Way returned to more long stretches of tarmac this afternoon which, with all the road walking previously, is killing our feet. Just two days now to the official end of the trail at Stornoway. #hebrideanway

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