quinnsendtoend
Quinn's End to End
I'm walking from john o'groats to land's end over the summer of 2023, this blog is to document my journey as i walk (i would say everyday but i am not that reliable).
if for some reason you want to give me money you can do that here
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Great glen way (part 2)
Parts of the route were along the canal linking the lochs, which was also pretty. I camped at an informal campsite next to a lock. And failed to explain to a French cyclists that the lakes are called lochs and the canal locks are called locks, which sound the same when I say it but thatās cause Iām saying loch wrong.
I saw frogs, there were two bigger ones and I saw loads of the small ones, I had to shop taking pictures of them because I was shopping every few steps.
I also did some drawing, which was the first time Iād drawn since leaving London, so I enjoyed that.
The end to me walking the great glen way was less picturesque than the beginning, i ran out of food (I thought there was a shop, there was not a shop) and so got a bus to fort William. Not the best planning on my part, but it did mean I spent two nights in fort William, and I did enjoy having a day off in one place.
Iāll try to write about the west highland way in the next few days, but I make no promises.
Great glen way
(I donāt remember when anything happened so itās just the whole thing in one, and yes I know it has been ages since I updated this, I did warn you that I would not be consistent)
I stayed in a nice hostel in Drumnadrochit (still donāt know how to pronounce it), they had a guitar which was cool. I had to make a phone call while I was there so I sat in a park, at which point someone started to play the bagpipes, meaning I had to explain that yes that noise was bagpipes and apparently they do just play them randomly in small towns in Scotland?
I saw Loch Ness, unfortunately I did not spot the monster, though I did see a lot of stuffed toys of the Loch Ness monster for sale. Also apparently the Loch Ness monster is pink for girlsā¦
The views were very pretty, I even took the high route at one point to get even better views (it was very pretty but also so steep). Iāve included lots of pictures so the rest of this section will be in part two.
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Great glen way
(I donāt remember when anything happened so itās just the whole thing in one, and yes I know it has been ages since I updated this, I did warn you that I would not be consistent)
I stayed in a nice hostel in Drumnadrochit (still donāt know how to pronounce it), they had a guitar which was cool. I had to make a phone call while I was there so I sat in a park, at which point someone started to play the bagpipes, meaning I had to explain that yes that noise was bagpipes and apparently they do just play them randomly in small towns in Scotland?
I saw Loch Ness, unfortunately I did not spot the monster, though I did see a lot of stuffed toys of the Loch Ness monster for sale. Also apparently the Loch Ness monster is pink for girlsā¦
The views were very pretty, I even took the high route at one point to get even better views (it was very pretty but also so steep). Iāve included lots of pictures so the rest of this section will be in part two.
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Days, some more of them
The path from Dornoch to Tain was mostly forest paths, which were easy walking. Then from Tain to Alness there was lots of road walking. There were a lot of cyclist so I think it must be part of some sort of cycle route. After Alness I decided to take a break from walking for a couple of days so I got a train to a place called Dingwall and then on to Inverness. At one point I met a very kind cyclist who showed me a good spot to pitch my tent, and then came back later with a bottle of water and some snacks.
I didnāt take many pictures for those days, I was very tired and definitely needed the rest. I spent a while looking around Inverness (without my bag which was great) and it was very pretty. I went to the museum which was interesting, and stocked up on food and stuff for the next bit of the journey.
This is probably the least interesting post so far, but I promise the next one has lots of pretty photos.
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Days *checks notes* 8,9,10
The weather started to improve, which I was super grateful for. Though it did make me more concerned about being sunburnt (since Iād already managed it once while it was raining).
Soon after leaving Helmsdale I met another person who was hiking, he was also attempting to walk from John oāgroats to lands end, but with the 3 peaks along the way, which is pretty crazy. We walked together the rest of the way to Brora and it was a nice change from walking alone. It was almost entirely on the beach, at one point we had to cross a river which meant getting my boots wet again, just when they were starting to dry out.
I took a small detour of the trail to go and look at cairn liath, a broch near Golspie. There are lots of them all around this area but this one is especially well preserved. They are buildings from the Iron Age and there exact use isnāt really know, possibly a variety of things. This one also has the remnants of various buildings added on around it. It was pretty incredible to walk around.
Part of the route was round loch fleet, which involved a long road bridge to cross. But was totally worth it since I saw seals. (Keep the sound off, itās just wind)
I also made an attempt to see the northern lights, but Iām honestly not totally sure whether it was successful or not. Iāve included the photo so you can decide for yourselves. It was about 1 in the morning, I was looking north and it looked more green in person. So I donāt know what else it could have been, but also i was half asleep and it was cloudy.
To all the cosmo fans, I apologise for the lack of photos, heāll be back next time.
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Days 5, 6 and 7
Not much to say, it was very wet. There was some lovely views but I didnāt take many pictures cause it was raining. Hopefully the weather will improve in the next few days. I have included a picture of cosmo impatiently waiting for the rain to stop so that I could cook food, unlike cosmo Iām super patient and have never complained about the rain (do not fact check this).
I saw deer 2 more times and attempted to take pictures, which was a complete failure (I promise that there are deer in the 2 photos below, but even I struggled to see them and I was there). The one at the river had big antlers which was very cool.
I also saw the ruins of (and a monument to) the village of Badbea, which was on the cliffs. In the early 1800s the local sustenance farmers were kicked out of the glens to make space for sheep farms, they were allowed to live on the land right next to the sea but it was much harder to grow anything there so many of them had to get jobs on boats. There were lots of villages like Badbea but by 1911 the last inhabitants had moved out and the monument was built. Itās really interesting to learn about the history of the area as Iām walking (practically every village has some sort of heritage museum).
Also I have made it to Sutherland, no idea how many counties (or whatever they are in Scotland) Iām going to pass through, but thatās one down.
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Day 3
(Iām definitely going to forget what day number Iām on soon)
I slept well, maybe cause it was quieter, maybe because I was to exhausted to care. It had rained in the night so my tent was wet, but at least it wasnāt raining while I took it down.
I left the stupid sand dunes as fast as I could, and walked along the beach. I will admit that my pace was fairly slow, mostly because I kept stopping to draw pictures in the sand.
I did a bit of walking along roads in the morning, but it was still very pretty. I got to wick and went to a shop to get some food, and then I sat and ate lunch. It was alternating between very sunny and heavy rain, which made putting on and taking off layers pretty constant.
There was a cool old tidal swimming pool just outside wick. I didnāt walk much further as it was along the cliffs and the weather was getting worse, and I didnāt think I would find another good camping spot.
Day 4
It was very windy and rainy when I woke up so I decided to cut across some fields to get to the road. I definitely made the right choice since the weather only got worse. It was pretty but a lot of the time all I could see was rain.
I passed through a village called thrumster (I think) which had a little museum to the railway that used to be there. There was also a pub but it was too early in the morning for it to be open. I walked about 20km to lybster where I had a late lunch in a very nice cafe. And then checked into a hotel, which was a lovely break from being constantly wet and cold, and definitely needed.
And now, the heavily anticipated wildlife updateā¦
birds; different types of gulls and lots of another seabird that I donāt know what it is called (that may be a pattern in this wildlife update), it was black and white and had an oddly shaped beak, maybe Iāll look it up some time. I saw a big black bird that I think might be called a shag but have no idea why I think this so it might not be. Also lots of little birds on land.
Insects; (these arenāt all insects but they are going in this category anyway) there have been a lot of slugs (maybe cause itās wet) and there were loads of little snails in the sand dunes. There have been quite a few butterflies. The midges were around on the first day, but I think itās been raining to much since then (So far not needed to use bug spray). Also bees, before it was raining super heavy all the time there were loads of bees, it was cool I donāt think Iāve ever seen that many bees in one day other than at a bee hive.
Animals; I saw a few rabbits, mostly early in the morning. There was one fox in the sand dunes. At one point there was a small rodent which was cool, maybe a vole? (I also donāt really know what those look like). I saw an adult and a baby deer which was very cool. Also I maybe saw seals? They were far away and Iām not even sure if seals live round here, so I may be wrong.
Iāve past a couple of whale watching spots, but so far no whales. So far.
I think thatās all the stuff Iāve seen, though Iām probably forgetting something.
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Day 2
Turns out that the sea is loud, as is rain, not the best night sleep Iāve ever had. I canāt decide whether it is worse putting a tent up in the rain or taking it down in the rain, neither are great. I set off at about 6.
It wasnāt raining particularly heavily, but the ground was very wet and I was walking through tall grass and nettles so my trousers were soaked through. I could feel my boots gradually filling up with water (I have a feeling they wonāt be fully dry for a while). The weather did improve though so I took a break to at least slightly dry out. My boots and socks were still wet afterwards, but I didnāt feel like I was walking in a puddle and I couldnāt hear water moving with every step, so I think it was a success.
I reached a village called keiss which had nothing in it except a very shut pub. I stopped for lunch on the beach.
I walked on the beach for a while before the tide meant that I had to walk in the dunes. I hate sand dunes. They are just endless unstable hills and I never want to step foot in one again. Anyway, I found a place to put my tent in the dunes (which was slightly difficult since they are made of sand).
I was going to write about the wildlife Iāve seen, but I canāt be bothered, so Iāll do it tomorrow. (Itās a cliffhanger to keep all my many readers engaged)
Oh yeah, the beef chilli gets a 7.5/10.
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What are black holes made of?
Love how this is completely random. But sure why not.
Assuming you mean what makes up a black hole rather than what stuff becomes a black hole (a very big star).
Short answer: we donāt really know?
Basically all the stuff in the star get crushed down into a singularity, but we donāt know what happens to it or what it is like once it is part of a black hole.
Unless I missed a very important development in physics.
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Day 0
I made it to Inverness. Not much to say really, I love trains but 8 hours is to long. The hostel was very nice.
More importantly let me introduce you to the real star of this blog, cosmo the astronaut. Assuming I donāt lose or break him Iāll be taking pictures of cosmo as I travel across the country.
Day 1
Got another train from Inverness to Thurso, which I nearly missed. The views were very pretty, but lots of hills which seemed ominous for the walking ahead. At one point along the coast I spotted the John OāGroats trail from the train, so hopefully Iāll be back there in a few days (at least that bit looked pretty flat).
I met someone else who was waiting for the bus to John OāGroats, and they kindly took my photo next to the sign (if youāre reading this, I either forgot or didnāt ask your name, sorry). I also bought a postcard. After that the only thing to do was start walking.
I didnāt walk particularly far today but Iām not too worried as the next few sections are pretty short. The views were amazing all day, and I found a beautiful place to pitch my tent right next to the sea. Pitching a tent while itās raining and youāre having a nosebleed is not an experience I would recommend, but the tent didnāt fall down so it was still a success.
I ate āready to eatā vegetable chilli with rice for dinner. It was alright, 6.5/10 maybe 7/10 because it was hot. Iāll let you know how the other types of vacuum sealed food I brought compare.
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Welcome to this I guess
As you presumably know Iām attempting to walk from John Oāgroats to Lands End this summer. And this is where I will be posting about that, Iāll try and write something about most days, and then Iāll post it within a couple of days.
Many of you probably donāt use tumblr, and would rather this was on a different platform, tbh I donāt care, I like tumblr and I like how this looks on it. Iāve made a ko-fi, so if for some reason you feel like giving me money then you can do that there, you can also follow me for free on there to get emails when I post if you would like to. No pressure for either of those things, just letting you know itās there. Feel free to forget this blog even exists.
Asks/replies/comments are welcome. Hope you enjoy reading.
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