This is a diary of my time on the Peaks of the Balkans. If you’re looking for a blog about practicalities, such as where to get food on the trail, you’ve come to the wrong place! I’m in Montenegro. It’s three days before I’m due to start my long-distance hike of the Peaks of the … Continue reading My eight-day thru-hike of the Peaks of the Balkans
The Madeira Ultra Trail is a short thru-hike that isn’t actually a thru-hike at all. At around 120km long (depending on your route!), the trail is actually an ultra marathon route. But more and more hikers are walking this stunning trail which crosses the island from west to east. The trail took me and my … Continue reading Thru-hiking Madeira’s Ultra Trail
Back in the days before Covid, I thru-hiked and wild camped the Masar Ibrahim Trail with my friend Chris. The length of the West Bank of Palestine, the trail is 330km long, and took 19 days. It runs from Rummana in the north to Beit Mirsim in the south. It’s about 35°C in the city … Continue reading Hiking the length of the West Bank (part 1)
In September 2021, I thru-hiked the GR20 in Corsica. This is a section-by-section account of my experiences. You can read part 1 here and part 2 here. Section 11: Bergeries de Capannelle to refuge de Prati Me, Alek and Arthur are pissed off. We’re at refuge de Prati and we have been chucked out into …
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In September 2021, I thru-hiked the GR20 in Corsica. This is a section-by-section account of my experiences. You can read part 1 here. Section 6: Castel de Vergio to Manganu refuge “SHIT!” I scream. “WE NEED TO MOVE! QUICK!!!” We all leap up, half-terrified, half-excited, as a helicopter hovers just metres above our heads, about …
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In September 2021, I thru-hiked the GR20 in Corsica. I came to Corsica as a solo hiker, but rarely spent much time alone. This is a section-by-section account of my experiences. I’m an excited ball of energy as I arrive in Calenzana, the village where the GR20 begins. I first heard about this mighty trail …
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First of all, I finally opened an Instagram account. Please find me on there! In August I thru-hiked the Hebridean Way, a 250km-long hiking trail spanning the length of the Outer Hebrides. It took me ten days, and I did the trail solo, but with my dog. There’s already some good day-by-day accounts of the …
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Continue reading Bogs, beaches and bombs on the Hebridean Way
It’s my first hike since coronavirus locked us all down! The weather’s looking torrential in the north-west of Scotland, so I decide to head north-east, where I don’t have to endure days of rain and bog. The Loch Ness 360 is a 130km-long hiking trail, loosely doing a loop around Loch Ness. I say loosely, because there’s some days where you don’t see the loch at all.
The official website describes the trail as “epic”. I think that’s a slight exaggeration. Epic if you’ve only seen Kent, maybe. But it’s definitely a lovely hike, and if you’re an experienced walker, you’ll find it easy. There’s *lots* of forestry track and tarmac, though, so if you’re going to hike this, try to make your bag as light as possible to give your feet a break as they pound the hard ground. Continue reading “My first thru-hike with a dog! Hiking & wild camping the Loch Ness 360”
*Last summer I hiked the Karhunkierros long distance hiking trail in northern Finland. It’s taken me forever to write about it!*
Me and Sara are in Ruka, a ski resort in northern Finland, and we’re about to walk the 82km-long Karhunkierros, or Bear Trail in English. We grab a not-very-detailed map from the tourist information centre. The worker assures us that this is all we will need. “It’s impossible to get lost!” she says.
Continue reading “Hiking Finland’s Karhunkierros Trail (Bear Trail)”Last Autumn I hiked the length of Scotland on the Scottish National Trail. Read part 1, part 2, part 3 , part 4 and part 5.
Day 29: Morvich → Maol-Bhuidhe bothy (23km)
The trail takes us up over a pass to the Falls of Glomach, a mighty 113m high waterfall. We follow a boggy, remote Landrover track to Maol-Bhuidhe bothy (section 30). We’re lucky today: there’s not much rain, so the river separating us from the bothy is an easy paddle. We’d been worried that this bothy would be closed for hunting season, but it’s thankfully open.
A weather warning tells us that 80km p/h winds are forecast the next day, so we have a day off in the recently refurbished bothy. The winds pick up to insane speeds and the river becomes uncrossable. We venture outside only to piss and to collect water from the raging river. Continue reading “Hiking the Scottish National Trail (part 6): the hardcore Cape Wrath trail”
AN AIMLESS HITCHHIKER: the diary of a vagabond woman 