Perfect Day

LETJOG – Day 58, plus 1: Thursday 15 July – WICK

I have been asked by the charities for some reflection on my LETJOG adventure. I will admit to a sense of achievement, but looking back now I feel, at least to some extent, that the whole trip has passed me by in a bit of a blur, as if on fast-forward. This is a strange sensation, as each day has been so different, and I think it will help in this regard, in due course, to run back through some of my daily experiences – my photos and blogs will certainly assist with this.

I am pleasantly surprised that, physically, my body held up to the challenge as well as it did. I put this down to lots of training beforehand (including the dreaded rucksack filled with dumb-bell weights in the immediately preceding month), and to giving myself time for good food and rest each evening. I don’t think I could have kept up anything like my pace or distance had I been camping. A shower and the chance of a good meal and a comfortable bed, as well as getting all my washing and drying done each evening, meant greater comfort and a lighter pack than would have been possible in a tent. I’m a softie compared to many of the ‘wild campers’ I met, but they invariably covered fewer miles each day. I’m also surprised how few long-distance walkers use poles – these must be worth a good three miles a day in saved effort!

I would like to thank everyone again for all your support – that was also worth three miles a day! Walking yesterday I left my phone on, and it started pinging away first thing with so many messages, and continued all day. Thank you all, I’m humbled by all of your kind thoughts and comments! So my feeling last night was a comfortable one of accomplishment, rather than of euphoria. I’ve not really been tired, physically or mentally, on the walk, at least until today when I found it impossible to stay awake as Rachel drove back from our short road trip around Caithness – it’s strange, after all this walking, that today in the car was the first time I’ve needed an afternoon nap!

The pictures today are from our morning walk around Wick, and from a short walk back out on the coast at Keiss, to the north of Wick, around the harbour and castle that I passed by yesterday. We completed the day with a tour of the north-east coast, along the ‘Route 500’, around John O’Groats and on to Dunnet, Castletown and Thurso, before returning to our hotel in Wick for dinner.