Caledonian Sleeper

Finally getting the train North was a great relief. The tension hanging over us in the morning as we made our final preparations and left home built to a distinct nervousness as the departures board at Euston declared our Caledonian sleeper delayed and “awaiting arrival of stock”

We should have left London on the crest of a £150m wave of new trains launched just yesterday but reports of teething trouble including water leaks into compartment, passengers without cabins and a three hour delay left the atmosphere rather foreboding. We got the all clear to board and were pleased to see the old 70’s style carriages waiting for us at platform 1, after a swift drink in the bar we retired to our very comfortable bunks and rattled our way north through the night.

Waking to a pre-ordered bacon roll and coffe, we peered out the window at such familiar scenery but from a new angle, we hugged Loch Lomond, traversed Rannoch Moor before arching through Spean Bridge down to Fort William. I remember the 80’s high street as of a bleak place where pubs sold only Tennants, McEwan’s export and Guinness. Today, this self proclaimed “outdoor capital of the U.K.” has vegan restaurants, stylish coffee bars and pubs selling local beers along a pedestrianised high street. We chose to eat towards the southern end of the high street and had a good meal after which the waitress asked about our plans. We described our journey to Cape Wrath but then she asked where it was - the name of the restaurant was the Geographer!

The Planning

In 1984 I cycled from Glasgow to Cape Wrath and so began a 35 year love and fascinating for Scotland. Sue and I share a love of a good journey so one day we decided to walk to the top left hand corner of Britain.

In late May 2015, during our cycle journey of the British Coast, we met a young Frenchman  in Durness who was ecstatic about his walk from Fort William to Cape Wrath and declared it to be the best journey of his life. Interestingly the day after his arrival, an American arrived at the same bunkhouse expressing the exact opposite and complained about the weather and poor state of the Bothies! I suspect he may have difficulty in finding joy anywhere in the world. Like so many parts of the UK, our bike tour in 2015 left us longing to explore more so it was there in Durness that the seed was sewn to complete the Cape Wrath Trail.

Cape Wrath Trail: 400km and 12,500m ascent

In 2016, runner Marcus Scotney completed the Cape Wrath Trail as an Ultra Marathon in 8 days (41 hours and 36 minutes), you can watch a video of the run here and a new film about the Ultra is also here. We, however are not in a race and have chosen to stroll it in 28 days with considerably larger packs on our back.
With a year of planning, weighing stuff and chucking out all but essential items, I think we are ready to go, returning to dehydrated meals which are much improved since the 1990's when we endured them on the odd mountain marathon. We originally hoped to buy food in local shops but the lack of stores being passed resorted us to 3 food and fuel drops at Kintail Lodge, Clachan Farm- Loch Broom and Kylesku where we have booked bed and breakfast.
Last year's fine summer and Scottish tourism's "North Coast 500" initiative must have prompted an increase in visitors so we made all our bookings one year in advance, punctuating wild camps and Bothies with bed and breakfasts.
Bothies are “A simple shelter in remote country for the use and benefit of all those who love being in wild and lonely places.” Defined by the Mountain Bothy Association (MBA), they have kept about 100 of these small dwellings habitable since 1965. We joined the MBA and plan to visit or stay in about 17 during our journey, some of which have become very popular so our tent may be a preferable shelter!
We are excited by our journey to Fort William by the Caledonian sleeper train from London and it will hopefully be a restful start to our challenging journey north.