TGOC2020…virtually the third bit.

This #virtualTGOC is something. I'd enjoyed a fearsomely fun night at the Melgarve Bothy Secret Ceilidh with Denis, Terry Leyland, Di Gerrard and many others....and somehow found myself pitching up outside Culra Bothy.

What happened there then? I blame strong drink. Well, it was the first time I'd met Denis...no other expanation needed. Pauline Marshall was busy carrying out repairs on the wounded:

The Rockin' Rev was ever so generous with his platy full of something very alcoholic, songs were sung, stories were told...and a fine evening was enjoyed by all.

Dalwhinnie and the hotel was the next stop. It was a bit of a yomp along the shore of Loch Ericht - and it was really quite hot.

Pauline Marshall and Bernie scooted off for a night in a comfy bed, c/o some friends (I wish I had friends like that!), The Rev endured emergency foot repairs, thanks to a certain GP who was passing.

Mr D. Brocklehurst Esq:

I met up with the lovely Brocklehursts once again, it's always a great pleasure to be in their company.

The Dalwhinnie Distillery:

And the hotel didn't sell proper beer. Oh well.

TGOC2020….virtually the second bit

Days 4 and 5 of my virtually virtual Challenge: 

The bunkhouse at the Tomdoun Hotel wasn't the most comfortable, but it was clean(ish) and it had a shower. 

Leaving on a chilly but bright and dry morning, Day 4's route wasn't particularly inspiring, mostly road walking to Invergarry for chips and beer. 

It was here, in the Invergarry Hotel Bar, that I met Bernie, Billy-Whizz and others for the first time. Was Pauline Marshall there? And Trudie Buttrick? Probably.

I let slip that I was aiming to be at Melgarve the next day.... and The Famous Secret Ceilidh. My fate was now sealed, there was no escape. I was kidnapped, taken to Glen Buck Bothy for a night of great fun, then onto Melgarve the next day, guided by Billy-Whizz. 

 Glen Buck Bothy

Kidnapped:

We stopped at Luib Chonnal Bothy for lunch out of the mizzle. In the bothy someone opened a tin of Heinz Beanz with Pork Sausages....I'm surprised that person got out alive! The smell was delicious....now that's something I thought I'd never say! 

The Melgarve bash was amazing. Terry Leyland had arranged for my melodeon to be transported to the bothy, Waggy's concertina too. 

I met so many 'famous' names, including Di Gerrard, Denis, Nev and Anne, Terry Leyland, Trudie Buttrick, Waggy... I'm told I really enjoyed myself - lots of great conversation, singing, music, food....and maybe the odd beer. Or rather more.

Next day, in the aftermath, we headed East (East is good) in the company of Nev & Anne. Nev was another who carried a huge pack – I was beginning to feel slightly less self-concious.

TGOC2020….virtually the first bit

 Virtual TGOC2020 - maybe

Kick-off was from home,taking the train from Manchester Deansgate to, ultimately, Mallaig. 

Impossibly young – too young to enter the Challenge?

Fort Bill to Mallaig, the most beautiful train journey anywhere?

It was my first long backpacking trip and I fell into the trap that all newbies fall into…I carried FAR to much gear – and it was damned heavy. Too heavy.

Day 1 of my Challenge...and the next couple of days: After an uncomfortable night in Sheena's Backpacking Hostel-type place (lots of nocturnal coughing, sniffing, grunting, farting, burping etc), it was time to sign out. 

L > R: Andrew Walker, Alan Hardy, Moi

Met up with Alan Hardy once again, he was carrying an impossibly large rucksack - almost as impossibly large as mine (although his was probably lighter than mine). Andrew went one way, heading for an unplanned helicopter ride, we went another. 

A lovely walk over Mam Barrisdale to camp on the shore of Loch Hourn where I met Sam for the first time. 

Heading East the next morning (East is good) via Kinloch Hourn to eventually camp at Alltbeithe (not THAT Alltbeithe, another one). The weather was closing in - fast - and the ground was distinctly tent-unfriendly. I spotted a tiny elevated flat area, *just* large enough to take the tent. The Saunders Spacepacker was up in double quick time, just as the heavens opened. Dinner was home-dehydrated pasta bolognese followed by rhubarb & custard - wonderful! 

The next day's destination was Tomdoun. Whilst en-route we found a pleasantly sun-shiny lunch stop on Mam na Seilg. I heard distant grunting and cursing, getting closer all the time - Keith Leonard soon introduced himself. Keith continued on his way, also heading to Tomdoun. 

We arrived at the hotel to find him wrapped around a pint. I ordered one - a moment before the bar closed for the afternoon. A very jolly evening followed....little did I realise that I was being drawn into such bad company

Blogger, LiveWriter and OpenLiveWriter.

I strongly suspect that work on OpenLiveWriter has stopped. I downloaded the most recent release which has supposedly fixed the problems encountered when trying to post photographs - it doesn't work, not for me anyway. Text only posts work fine, the brick wall appears when photographs are included in a post.  Things are very quiet on the OpenLiveWriter Twitter and Facebook pages, there's very little activity which more or less confirms my suspicions. I'm guessing that a major reason for this is because Google ultimately want to shut down Blogger (because they don't make any money out of it?) and they're making it more difficult to post. The original LiveWriter, a Microsoft product, provided an easy and very effective way of posting to blogs but Google, who control Blogger, appear to have moved the goalposts which effectively stopped full access via LiveWriter. Microsoft have since withdrawn LiveWriter which led to OpenLivewriter which is Open Source - although apparently still under the umbrella of Microsoft. OpenLiveWriter seemed to work for a while, but it wasn't long before it's access to Blogger was also blocked. Searching the web has uncovered a number of instances where it's been claimed that the problem has been sorted - but they're all beyond my limited technical ability. I'm happy to be corrected in my assumptions, but having spent a long time running round in circles I'm going to take some convincing. Anyroadup, here are a few photos from my first TGO Challenge, 2004.

Update:
This was originally posted using Blogger.
I then opened OpenLiveWriter and selected ‘Open Recent Post’ to open this post.
I then changed the font and font size before updating.
This seems to have been successful. So far.

Update 2:
Although the photos are visible on MY computer, others can’t see them….well Martin can’t.
I realised the album I took the photos from was private, I’ve now changed that to public….let’s see.
Update 3:
Maybe not...

Bernie Marshall....my mate

TGOC2018, Day 14, The End

In which I eat strawberries. Again.

This was all terribly amazing and confusing….but at about 10.30am (after once again being fed royally by the Crooks of Knipe Knipes of Crook) we set off walking from Brechin’s Co-op in the general direction of The End Of My TGOC2018, aka: Kinnebar Links….via the very wonderful Charleton Fruit Farm. Obv.

Until this year I’d never visited Brechin, I gather there’s a pizzeria in town. And probably a couple of pubs, perhaps more. Whatever, Our Plan was to head east and get to the coast as quickly as possible. The route wasn’t going to be much fun, a few off-road bits but mostly tarmac…but at least it was dry & bright.

Caledonian Railway Station, Brechin

We were soon out of town and heading to the coast in the most direct way possible.

It should be Garden’s ….shouldn’t it?

For AlanR

After much tarmac, a few interesting ancient features and a closed pub we arrived, hungrily, at Charleton Fruit Farm.

It would have been rude not to…..

Chasing after Fast Knipe, who seemed to be on a mission, we arrived at the coast where the traditional wetting of the boots and chucking of the pebble from the west coast ceremony took place.

A ship in the North Sea

Then it was a brisk march along the beach to Montrose where loads of biscuits were snaffled from Challenge Control. And I received a pair of Darn Tough Socks by way of reward for my efforts. The socks were good, very good. In fact I’m going to buy some more. 

So that was that, all over and done with until next year. I was good fun (nowt new there), the weather was unusually excellent, the company was good…and the socks were brill.

Next year just MAY see me doing a very lightweight and very fast crossing. Not sure yet.

In the meantime….

 Michael Glass holding me up

The very excellent Ali

The equally very excellent Su…chatting to Tim (who is also pretty damned excellent too!)

TGOC 2018, Day 13. To Brechin’s Co-op

In which we saw the sea for the first time

The previous day’s walk had really been the beginning of the end: we’d started the day in pleasantly hilly country but by the time the day was done we were walking through the sterile flatlands of Angus.

It was all a bit sad. My Challenge was by no means over but I knew that now I’d left the wild country my walk to Montrose would be virtually all on tarmac – and flat tarmac at that.

I woke at 7am to the sounds of cussing, swearing and the packing of rucksacks.

Keith, wondering what day it was

Keith & Co were away fairly early, they had an appointment at a pub in Brechin, we had an appointment in Brechin too – at the Co-op.

I packed slowly, really not looking forward to the tarmac trudge ahead. There were millions of ladybirds everywhere….well at least five anyway. They’d decided my flysheet looked like a cosy place to chill:

The day’s walk was to be virtually all on tarmac so we knew we’d make fast progress. We did move along – but such a featureless route would make time pass very slowly.

As it happened it wasn’t THAT boring. Mike had spotted some features that he wanted to tick off. They were easily accessible from the road: a Standing Stone, Noranside Prison, a Cairn, Killievair Stone, the Brechin underpass, and probably a few others too.

So here went the day, not many words and not many photos either, such was the day’s route.

In need of some remedial work?

Our ‘lunch-stop’ (more of an elevenses stop really) was enjoyed just off the road, a little way down a farm track. My food supply was running low so I made-do with some muesli, a choccy bar and a mouthful of finest corporation pop.

It was from this vantage point that we spotted the East coast for the first time: Montrose Basin: 

11.47am, Wednesday 23rd May 2018: Montrose Basin

After Brechin’s Co-op we magically and mysteriously appeared at House of Dun – a wonderful oasis of peace and tranquility that was first introduced to me by the loverly Brocklehursts on TGOC2012 – where Margaret expertly carried out complex and quite daring foot surgery on the hoof (so to speak)….

A little later another blessed miracle, we appeared in Johnhaven (wot?) in time to spot a couple Challengers wandering about the harbour area: Willem and Leendart from Amsterdam. After we filled them up with huge quantities of tea and pumped them for information on any scandalous activities they may have come across on their Challenge they wandered off, taking their fox with them.

I sneaked a soak in the bath and then we all feasted on a very splendid roast chicken dinner provided by the Knipes of Crook. What nice folks they are.

  

This was all very lovely, so lovely in fact that we had to wander down to Johnhaven’s pub, The Anchor, for beers to calm our nerves.

A fine end to the day.

Johnhaven Harbour on the way to the pub

Johnshaven Harbour on the way back from the pub.

Not one cuckoo.

Only two* (tame) Challengers….plus a funny-looking fox

*Not counting Keith & Co. They weren’t tame anyway.