Cape Wrath Trail - Inchnadamph

It was fine weather yet again for the day off in Ullapool. Two nice bookshops seduced me into buying several books. The weather has been amazing for days now!

The next day Dorothy dropped me off at the car park at Inverlael, where she'd picked me up and we said our goodbyes until Thursday week. There was a little bit of drizzle at first but not enough to make it worth putting my waterproof jacket on and it brightened up later. was heading for Gleann Douchary on a forest track but then on pathless terrain.

Waterfall in Glen Douchary

I followed the Northern shore of Loch an Daimh to arrive at Knockdamph Bothy, where I had planned to spend the night but as it was only 2pm I decided to press on for another hour and a half to the Schoolhouse Bothy that has two desks and a blackboard to recreate the atmosphere. Nice touch.

Schoolhouse Bothy

I was sharing the Bothy with 3 other independent Cape Wrath Trail followers: John, who walked from Lands End to John o' Groats last year, Ryan who has left his 'normal' job and does outdoor work now e.g. managing husky teams in Alaska and Peter who is from the Netherlands and is booked into Inchnadamph and Richonich Hotels on the same nights as me.

The next day I  carried on to Oykel Bridge then alongside the River Oykel to camp just beyond Loch Ailsh.

Lovely weather yet again but almost the whole day was walking on 4x4 tracks, which was a bit monotonous.

I stopped to chat to a farming couple who were giving their herd of cows some sort of anti parasite treatment. I said how good it was to see cattle back on the hills as it was more sustainable than the sheep and then deer that followed the Highland Clearances. He said that as those people lived on such squalor with low life expectancy it was the best thing for them. I pointed out that he was making a comparison with today rather than with what life was like in industrial cities like Manchester at the time (early 19th Century). How did I end up having a political argument with a farmer?

John, Ryan, Peter and I camped in the same area, surrounded by bunches of Wild Primroses.

Now we enter the area of the Moine Thrust. This is composed of metamorphic gneisses and schists on top of a series of younger sedimentary rocks. For many years geologists claimed that these rocks had to be in stratigraphic order. However, at the end of the 19th century, two field geologists, Benjamin Peach and John Horne led an expedition through the Scottish Highlands. They suggested that the metamorphic rocks were at one time deep in the Earth and through forces that they were yet to fully understand, these rocks were thrust on top of the younger sedimentary rocks. It was this that led to the theory of thrust tectonics that has held true even until today.

After crossing over the windy col below Conival, which has a Norse name, I followed the Bealach Traligill Fault down into Inchnadamph. By making a small diversion, I visited the Traligill Caves. Traligill means “The valley of the Trolls” in Norse. Limestone is uncommon in Scotland so this area of exposed Limestone and Limestone Caves is very unusual.

The south side of the valley is a cliff of dark grey limestone but the North side is a gently sloping slab of pale grey limestone. The slope is the thrust plane and the older darker rock has been pushed over the younger paler rock. The river follows the thrust plane, often underground.

Lewisian Gneiss overlaying younger Limestone.

Below ground there is an extensive cave system including Uamh an Claonaite, Scotland’s longest cave with over 3km of passages. For a detailed analysis of the cave system go to http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/commissioned_reports/F02AC105.pdf

One of the Tralligil caves.

Cape Wrath Trail - Ullapool

After a substantial breakfast at the Kinlochewe Hotel, Dorothy and I set off past yet another ghastly hydro-electric scheme at the 'Heights of Kinlochewe'. It was another very hot day until a slight breeze built up. We met Daniel from Dusseldorf, who was also doing the CWT. We got the tent set up out of the wind next to Loch an Nid with a great view of An Teallach beyond.

Slioch and Lochan Fada

On the next day we walked up to the ridge and then on to Mullach Choire Mhic Fhearchair (top of the corries of the son of Farquhar). We also climbed Sgurr Ban (white peak) and Beinn a' Chlaidheimh (mountain of the sword). On the way up we walked up a gently sloping slab.

However, by taking a photo at the right angle it looks as if Dorothy is free climbing up a rock face.

After Loch an Nid, I carried on - bypassing Sheneval Bothy. However, Shenavall – A Brief History by Alex Sutherland is worth reading. I carry on down to the A832. This road is known locally as Desolation Road and was built to give employment in the years following the potato famine of 1846. I then carry on to the Ullapool road, past An Teallach and over what I later discovered was the Coffin Road to Inverlael.

An Tealach from Beinn a' Chlaidheimh

Dorothy went South, retracing our steps back to the car. She then drove round to Inverlael to collect me and take us to Ullapool for two days.

Dorothy disappears into the distance

In 1820 about 55 families were evicted from Inverlael and Braemore. Inverbroom and Achindrean were also cleared pre – 1850. Other evictions took place here and there including some in Coigach – one attempt to evict there was unsuccessful because the officers with the warrant were attacked and humiliated by a band of irate women.

(http://www.ullapool.co.uk/clearances.html)

In the late 1960’s to early 1970’s low-draft Scandinavian cargo “Klondykers” appeared in Ullapool to buy the herring. They employed many local men to ice the herring caught by the east coast boats which was then taken to Norway, Africa and the Canaries, etc. These boats would then return laden with fruit for the home markets

As the herring again declined around 1975 and the nutritional value of mackerel became apparent, we experienced the amazing sight of up to 70 Eastern Bloc factory ships anchored in Loch Broom and Annat Bay – long before the end of the “Cold War” – and often viewed with disbelief by visitors! On occasions their numbers swelled by Nigerian, Irish, French and even Japanese klondykers, all intent on cashing in on the mackerel bonanza – so once again Ullapool harbour had to be extended to cope with the extra traffic

The klondykers literally were processing factories and the end products were loaded on to reefers to be exported to all parts of the world. They often stayed for 6 months out of each year and their crews could increase the population of Ullapool to over 400! They came ashore in watches, in small orange ‘liberty’ boats to buy up all the goods, which were unavailable in their own countries. Shop owners smiled happily as their stores were quickly emptied of all manner of electrical goods, coffee, cosmetics, ladies tights, etc. and there were even buses laid on to take the crews on shopping trips to Inverness!
In the early days of these visits by the Eastern Bloc ships, the crews had little or no sterling with which to buy our goods, but not to be outdone, they would often be seen on the pavements selling shirts, towels, fur hats and beautifully made model sailing ships. Needless to say, many hotels and homes in Ullapool now boast one of their carefully detailed models.(http://www.ullapool.co.uk/fishermen.html)

Cape Wrath Trail - Kinlochewe

From Strathcarron, the route continues North (no surprises there!) alongside the Fionn-arbhainn river and ascends to Bealach Ban. This isn't very far but I had decided to camp here so that I could climb Beinn Liath Mhor (Torridon) (big grey hill) and Sgorr Ruadh (red peak) in the afternoon.

Looking down a Stratcarron and the route I'd followed from the summit of Sgorr Ruadh

It was another lovely warm sunny day with a slight breeze and from the top of these hills I could see The Cuillin Ridge on Skye, trotternish, Liathach, Beinn Eighe, Ben Alligin and all the hills around Loch Mullardoch that Dorothy and I walked on last year. I got back to the tent at about 6:30, just time for dinner and bed.

Bealach Ban

I was up and away at 7.15 from Bealach Ban and I descended to, and crossed the A896. Then right round the back of Ruadh-stac Mor passing near the site of the crashed Lancaster Bomber. This happened in 1951 near the summit of Beinn Eighe. All eight crew from RAF Kinloss died and the difficulties in recovering the bodies led to the formation of RAF Mountain Rescue. In a strange twist to the story in 2008, a climber's fall during an avalanche was arrested by a propeller from the plane and although he was injured he survived.

Liathach at 8am

Torridon Mountains (Flowerdale Forest)

Waterfall at the outflow of Coire Mhic Fhearchair

The going was very difficult once the path ran out. Mile after mile of rocks, heather, and hummocks. However, the views of the Torridon mountains were well worth it and once again, hardly a cloud in the sky.

Finally, I descended into Kinlochewe feeling very tired and with aching feet at 6pm. Definitely the toughest day so far! Lovely to be greeted by Dorothy though when I got to Kinlochewe hotel.

The name Kinlochewe implies that this is the settlement that lies at the head of Loch Ewe. Which is a bit odd as Loch Ewe is the sea loch on which you find Poolewe, some fifteen miles to the north west. The answer lies in the fact that until around 1700 Loch Maree was also called Loch Ewe. The name was changed to commemorate St Mealrubha, who is credited with bringing Christianity to Wester Ross and who had a cell on Isle Maree, one of Loch Maree's islands.

The north east side of Loch Maree is dominated by one of Scotland's most attractive mountains, Slioch or the spear. Today it is natural to think of that shore of the loch as being just as wild as the vast area of mountainous wilderness beyond Slioch. It is odd to realise that for centuries the Slioch side of the loch carried the drove road from Poolewe to markets at Dingwall and Inverness: and it was the south west side of the loch that was the less travelled.

From the early 1600s English ironmasters set up furnaces at Letterewe on the north east shore of Loch Maree and at its eastern end. For over 50 years, iron ore was imported by sea from England for processing, because it was far easier to transport than the vast amount of charcoal needed to process it.

The industry ceased after it has consumed all the readily available woodland in a wide area of Wester Ross. In a sad case of history repeating itself, during the Second World War much of the woodland that had recovered since the 1600s was cut down to make ammunition boxes to support the war effort.

Cape Wrath Trail - Strathcarron

After Shiel Bridge the route goes through Morvich and then passes the Falls of Glomach, one of the highest waterfalls in Britain, at 113 m.

Then on to the Iron Lodge, which is on the Srath Duilleach Coffin Road and sounds a bit like a location from Game of Thrones.

On the road to the Iron Lodge.

Then I descended to the Bothy at Maol Bhuidhe. It is in an incredibly isolated location

Arriving at the Bothy

Sunrise at the Bothy.

On the Mountain Bothies Web Site there is a story about the last family at Maol Bhuidhe by Ian MacKay:

As a boy, I lived at Pait Lodge. Maol Bhuidhe was empty then, but years later I was fortunate in being able to meet the two boys of the last family who lived at Maol Bhuidhe. They were Burnet to name, two men in their eighties who had left Maol Bhuidhe in 1916 aged 8 & 12 years. There were also two sisters who had died before I met the boys. Their father was a deer stalker for the Killilan Estate.

At Maol Bhuidhe, they had what was known as a side teacher who came for one week, then had a week teaching children at Pait and another week at Lunard at the head of Glen Cannich, so they had a week at school and then two weeks off.

When I lived at Pait, we had a side school but we had a teacher full time. Our school inspector came up from Muir of Ord or Dingwall once a year, and the Burnets told me that once a year they had walked to Pait and joined the Campbell family there to have their exams.
Their grandfather had come up from the Borders with flocks of sheep – their father, as a boy, could not speak Gaelic, the main language in the area. He had a job as a 14 – 15 year old as a ghillie on Attadale Estate.

One September far out on the hill with a stalking party, the gentleman who was hoping to shoot a stag with the stalking party instead collapsed and died miles out on the hill. The head stalker said to young Burnet ‘You are the fittest and fastest man here, we’ll have to get the body home today.’ He gave the boy instructions to make for Strathcarron to get as many helpers as possible. Young Burnet made good time only to find when he arrived that not a soul spoke any English, although they knew by his agitated state that something was amiss.

They found someone who had some English and eventually a large party followed young Burnet back to the hill to help bring back the body of the unfortunate gentleman.
The family before the Burnets were the Renwicks who brought up 10 children in Maol Bhuidhe. One became Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland. The Renwick dad was a shepherd, he may also later been a gamekeeper.

I have been meeting quite a few other CWTers. I've already mentioned Alan on the first day. Then there was Wild at Sourlies, Chris the Aussy at Sourlies going North to South, Phil and Glenys from Sourlies to Strathcarron (same schedule as me so far), the fast guy who was doing it in a week, Alex from Romania and Andrew at Mail Bhuidhe. So about one person doing it every day it seems.

From Maol Bhuidhe I went anti-clockwise around Beinn Dronaig, past loch Calavie, then past Bendronaig Lodge. It was another lovely day without a cloud in the sky.

Loch Calavie

Sadly the whole area around Bendronaig Lodge has been recently ruined by 4m wide hill tracks created to service and build a hydroelectric scheme. There has to be a better way than this!

Strathcarron is near Loch Kishorn where there is deep water, a port and dry dockand. There is a song based on working at Kishorn Yard called Kishorn Commandos (perfomed here by TheMakadin)

I'm staying at the Strathcarron Hotel. Very luxurious to have en-suite facilities! CWT going well so far and I am really enjoying the amazing scenery. Looking forward to Dorothy joining me on Friday and also to walking in Torridon.

Cape Wrath Trail - Shiel Bridge

I left Glenfinnan by going underneath the famous viaduct and up Glen Finnan to reach Glen Dessary. A long poem has been written about the eviction of tenants from this glen by Principal Shairp of St. Andrews and Professor of Poetry in the University of Oxford describing the eviction of the Camerons entitled “The Clearing of the Glens”:

We still to poor Lochaber cling,
Content if ceaseless toil and care,
Scant living from these rocks may wring,
Confined to this lean strip of shore,
The Mountains free to range no more,
All gone – our goats and bonny kye,
That were so bounteous to supply
Alike the children’s wants and ours;
We drudge through late and early hours,
And for our toiling hardly win,
Of fuel, food, and raiment thin,
Enough to keep this poor life in.
How different from the easeful wealth
Of mountain-living, those old days,
When we drank freedom, joy and health,
High on Glendesseray braes!
But that dear Glen, as though hast seen,
To-day is silent as the grave,
No songs at the high shealings green,
No voices in the valley, save
The bleating of the thousand sheep,
Which o’er our fields and gardens feed,
That Lowland drover thence may reap,
O’erflowing gain to glut his greed.

Despite the forecast, there were long periods of sunshine. Alone in spacious A'Chuil Bothy, it seemed very peaceful. I did spot the tiny mouse as it slipped into a hole behind the warm fireplace.

Next day I set off for Sourlies Bothy through Glen Dessary. Once again, the forecasted light snow failed to materialize. It was cold and overcast with occasional bursts of bright sunshine.

In Glen Dessary I crossed the route taken by Bonny Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart) on 20th July 1746 after defeat at the Battle of Culloden. I will crossed over his trail again at Kinloch Hourn.

A’Chuil Bothy was built some time after 1875 and was occupied by a Sutherland family until the early 1940s. The children went to a school in Strathan which survived until about 1950. Supplies were brought in by boat across Loch Arkaig until the road alongside the Loch was built in the 1920s.

Loch Arkaig's other claim to fame is as the alleged hiding place of a consignment of gold landed by the French at Arisaig for the Jacobites in 1746. This was hidden somewhere near Loch Arkaig, and the hiding place, it is said, has never been found.

In common with a number of other Scottish lochs, Loch Arkaig was at one time supposed to be the home of a water horse. James Harris, 3rd Earl of Malmesbury and twice foreign minister during Queen Victoria's reign, recorded in his Memoirs of an Ex-Minister:

"October 3rd, 1857. This morning my stalker and his boy gave me an account of a mysterious creature, which they say exists in Loch Arkaig, and which they call the Lake-Horse. It is the same animal of which one has occasionally read accounts in newspapers as having been seen in the Highland lochs, and of the existence of which in Loch Assynt the late Lord Ellesmere wrote an interesting article, but hitherto the story has always been looked upon as fabulous. I am now, however, nearly persuaded of its truth. My stalker, John Stuart, at Achnacarry, has seen it twice, and both times at sunrise on a bright sunny day, when there was not a ripple on the water. The creature was basking on the surface; he only saw the head and hind quarters, proving that its back was hollow, which is not the shape of any fish or of a seal. Its head resembled that of a horse.... The Highlanders are very superstitious about this creature. They are convinced that there is never more than one in existence at the same time, and I believe they think it has something diabolical in its nature, for when I said I wished I could get within shot of it, my stalker observed very gravely: 'Perhaps your Lordship's gun would miss fire.'"

I spent two nights at Sourlies Bothy at the head of Loch Nevis (Loch of Heaven). from here I climbed Meall Buidhe (yellow hill)

Sourlies bothy lies on the Southern side of Knoydart.  The famous seven men of Knoydart fought in WWII and tried to reclaim the land they had been promised that was owned by Lord Brockett. Although unsuccessful, they became legendary heroes to the cause of crofting rights and established a principle, which has today become a reality for communities in Eigg, Assynt and now Knoydart itself.

For more details go to http://www.redflag.org.uk/frontline/nov11/knoydart.html where you can read the lyrics of Dick Gaughan’s song.

Prior to the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion the population numbered nearly a thousand and in spite of much emigration, mainly to Canada, remained at that level in 1841.

In 1852 four hundred of the inhabitants were given notice of eviction for the following year and offered passages overseas, originally to Australia, but later their destination was changed to Canada. On 9 August 1853 three hundred and thirty inhabitants from the west coast of the peninsula went on board the Sillery and left for Canada. However, 11 families comprising over 60 people refused to go and the story of their eviction became notorious as part of the Highland Clearances.

Here is a typical story from Alexander MacKenzie’s book:

Alexander Macdonald, aged 40 years, with a wife and family of four children, had his house pulled down. His wife was pregnant; still the levellers thrust her out, and then put the children out after her. The husband argued, remonstrated, and protested, but it was all in vain; for in a few minutes all he had for his (to him once comfortable) home was a lot of rubbish, blackened rafters, and heaps of stones. The levellers laughed at him and at his protests, and when their work was over, moved away, leaving him to find refuge the best way he could. Alexander had, like the rest of his evicted brethren, to burrow among the rocks and in caves until he put up a temporary shelter amid the wreck of his old habitation, but from which he was repeatedly driven away. For three days Alexander Macdonald's wife lay sick beside a bush, where, owing to terror and exposure to cold, she had a miscarriage. She was then removed to the shelter of the walls of her former house, and for three days she lay so ill that her life was despaired of.

There were four other people in the Bothy on the first night and two others on the second. It was misty, wet, and windy at the top of Meall Buidhe. With snow underfoot. Lots of Self Heal growing on the lower slopes and around Sorlies Bothy bright yellow Lesser Celandines. Guess who has a Wild Flower App on their phone!

Loch Nevis

From Sourlies bothy I climbed over the col called Mam Unndulain and descended to Barrisdale Bothy in Barrisdale Bay on Loch Hourn (Hell's Loch). There were a few drizzly showers but not enough to make it worth bothering with a coat.

The Carnach glen is so beautiful and secluded. A really pleasant day.

Carnach Bridge

More people to chat to at Barrisdale, where I spent the night. Then  I carried on along an ancient right of way to Kinlochhourn and the camped just north of there in Coire Reidh.

A guy came by while I was reading. He was also doing the CWT but in a week. That day he had done what I had taken three days to do! Again, weather overcast with sunny spells. No issues with crossing rivers, which is great.  Even tea and cake at Kinlochhourn. Luxury!

Looking back towards Barrisdale Bay

The next day I wove my way round Sgurr na Sgine and the Forcan Ridge to arrive in Shiel Bridge where I am staying at the Trekkers Lodge owned by Kintail Lodge Hotel.

I was here on 10 June 1719, between British Government troops (mostly Scots) and an alliance of Jacobites and Spanish, that Battle of Glen Shiel took place. Topically, this was linked to Britain's acquiring of Gibraltor.

The Battle of Glenshiel 1719 by Peter Tillemans.

Cape Wrath Trail - Glenfinnan

I set off early on Saturday morning for Fort William from Hebden Bridge by Train. I travelled via Preston and Glasgow. I spent the night at Fort William Backpackers and had a delicious chicken biriani in Spice Tandoori in Fort William.

Fort William Backpackers is a very friendly place and very reasonably priced so it's not surprising that it is fully booked.

Next day, I had planned to catch the 08:15 Camusnagaul Ferry across Loch Linnhe and set off down the road along the North side of the Loch to Conaglen. However (Schoolboy Error) it doesn't run on Sundays! So I took a taxi down to the Corran Ferry and started from there. Very interesting discussion about Scottish Independence with the driver!

Leaving the very quiet main road, you enter the Conaglen Estate.

The Conaglen estate was purchased from the Macleans of Ardgour by the 18th Earl of Morton after the death of Alexander Maclean, 13th Laird of Ardgour in 1858. It is currently owned by the Guthrie family. They also own Hever Castle through their company Broadland Properties that, as you can see from the link, usually donates £50,000 pa to The Conservative Party.

Fair play to them though, this sign about deerstalking is very welcoming to walkers.

I met a guy called Alan who is also walking the CWT. He was planning to go all the way to Glenfinnan in one day. I didn't fancy starting with 20 mile walk.

I camped in Conaglen. It was nice and sunny. There was bit of rain later on and overnight but I awoke to sunshine. Unfortunately this didn't last.

Next morning I was up and away by 9 am. I carried on along Conaglen then followed the River Callop down into Glenfinnan. It was snowing nearly all the way. The sun finally came out as I reached Glenfinnan. I am staying in The Glenfinnan Sleeping Car. A converted railway carriage. I had a shower, did some washing and collected the parcel that I had posted. Very relieved that the parcel had arrived.

I am planning to eat in the hotel down the road and have breakfast on The Dining Car, another railway carriage that has been converted but, this time into a restaurant. It's started snowing again and the forecast is for heavy snow tomorrow followed by more snow on Wednesday and Thursday!

Still, I am in Bothies until Saturday, so should be warm and snug ...

Glenfinnan was where Bonny Prince Charlie's Standard was raised and there is a memorial to the event. The raising of the Standard took place at the head of Loch Shiel on 19th August, 1745, in the last attempt to reinstate the exiled Stuarts on the throne of Great Britain and Ireland. The monument was erected in 1815.

The Glenfinnan Viaduct carries the railway to Glenfinnan Station across a 380m span, up to 30m above the ground.

Glenfinnan Viaduct has been used as a location in several films and television series, including Ring of Bright Water, Charlotte Gray, Monarch of the Glen, Stone of Destiny, German Charlie und Louise, and four films of the Harry Potter film series. In fact the Harry Potter Train or The Jacobite Express (whichever you prefer came through the station just after I arrived.

A long-established legend attached to the Glenfinnan Viaduct was that a horse had fallen into one of the piers during construction in 1898 or 1899.In 1987, Professor Roland Paxton failed to find evidence of a horse at Glenfinnan using a fisheye camera inserted into boreholes in the only two piers large enough to accommodate a horse. In 1997, on the basis of local hearsay, he investigated the Loch nan Uamh Viaduct by the same method but found the piers to be full of rubble. Using scanning technology in 2001, the remains of the horse and cart were found at Loch nan Uamh, within the large central pylon.

Glenfinnan Monument

Next update Shiel Bridge in several days. See map below for precise details.

Cape Wrath Trail - Packing

So here's a list of what I'm taking:

Gear
 

Boots Gaiters 2 pairs Walking Socks Waterproof Socks 2 pairs Liner Socks ME 3 Layer Goretex Jacket Berghaus Paclite Overtrousers ME Fitzroy Belay Jacket  Sun Hat Rucksack (Lowe Alpine Peak Attack 35:45 litr) Rucksack Liner Two Micro Fleeces Smartphone Cheap Phone 5200 mAh Phone Recharger 3 way usb plug + cables Maps + Printouts (Guidebook on Phone) Walking Trousers Sitmat Esbit Stove Esbit Solid Fuel Lighter

Waterproof Clothes Bag One Walking Pole 2 T-Shirts Shorts Belt Long Johns Reading glasses for map Collapsible reading glasses Food (See below) River Crossing Shoes Kindle First Aid Kit and Bits (See below) Emergency Foil Blanket Head Torch 3 pairs Pants Washing kit: (Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Disposable Razor, Comb, Soap, Ointments, Floss, Nail Clippers) Sun Cream Plastic Mug Food Sponge Spoon Compass Wallet and Money

2 litre foldaway Water Bottle 2 x 500ml plastic water bottles Tent (Terra Nova Laser Competition 2) + extra pegs 3/4 Length Karrimor Inflatable Mattress Foam Sleeping Mat Down Sleeping Bag (ME Helium 400) Sleeping Bag Liner Inflatable Pillow Woolly Hat Gloves x2 2 Buffs Waterproof Bag for Gloves etc. Waterproof Overmitts Trowel Toilet Paper Towel TeaTowel Midge Hood Lipsyl 2 Hankies Plastic Bags Scourer

First Aid Kit and Bits

10cm Crepe Bandage, 2 Adhesive Wound Dressings, Paracetemol, Ibuprofen, Triangular Bandage, Strip of Elastoplast, 2 Wipes, Protective Gloves, Tick Remover Tool, Soluble Aspirin, Safety Pins, Bit of Cling Film, Compeed Plasters, Mini Scissors, Sewing Kit, 2 x Sugru, V. Small Penknife, Boot Lace, Spare Lighter, Biro, Paper, Clothing Repair Tape, Thin Cord, 6 Wooden Clothes Pegs, Water Sterilisation Tablets, Tiny Screwdriver, Duct Tape.
 
Food

Breakfasts x 17: 4tbs Muesli With 2tsps Dried Milk (Add Water) + 1 Cup of Tea
Lunches x 25: 60g Mixed Nuts and Raisins, 60g Trail Mix, 2 Humzinger Fruit Bars, 2 Pepperamis, Snickers Bar
Dinners x 18: Mountain House Dehydrated Meals + 3 Cups of Tea

I have boxed up all the food for posting. some of these also include: Replacement Batteries, Wet Wipes, Solid Fuel Tablets, Washing Powder, Toilet Paper, Sun Cream, Toothpaste, Replacement Rucksack Liner and Plastic Bags

Ready for posting to hotels

This is what it all looks like:

Before Packing

This is what it looks like packed:

The packed rucksack weighs 12.6 kg. I'm quite pleased with that. My ME Belay Jacket and the other clothes I'll be wearing aren't packed of course. It has food for a couple of days. There will be a time when I have food for 5 days so that'll add about 1.5 kg and I'll probably be carrying half a litre of water most days (0.5 kg).

So... I'm off on the 06:56 from Hebden Bridge tomorrow morning and my next post should be from Glenfinnan on Monday 24th April.