6th May 2013 – Beattock to St. Mary’s Loch: 21.3 miles, 3,310 feet “Happy is the man who has acquired the love of walking for its own sake” W.J. Holland

5th May 2013 – Wanlockhead to Beattock: 20.0 miles, 3,578 feet “My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing” Aldous Huxley – English Author (1894

4th May 2013 – Sanquhar to Wanlockhead: 8.2 miles, 1,973 feet “All walking is discovery. On foot we take time to see things whole” Hal Borland – American Author &

3rd May 2013 – Nether Holm to Sanquhar: 15.1 miles, 2,002 feet “After a day’s walk, everything has twice its usual value” George Macauley Trevelyan – British Historian (1876 –

2nd May 2013 – St. Johns Town of Dalry to Nether Holm: 14.9 miles, 2,873 feet “One may walk over the highest mountain, one step at a time” John Wanamaker

1st May 2013 – Bargrennan to St. Johns Town of Dalry: 25.4 miles, 3,099 feet “It is good to collect things, it is better to take walks” Anatole France –

30th April 2013 – New Luce to Bargrennan: 18.8 miles, 1,809 feet “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they

29th April 2013 – Stranraer to New Luce: 14.0 miles, 1,046 feet “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into

28th April 2013 – Portpatrick to Stranraer: 9.5 miles, 1,320 feet “Of all the exercises, walking is the best” Thomas Jefferson – American President (1743 – 1826) The Harbour House

27th April 2013 – Travel to, and arrival in Portpatrick “I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want

Originally written: Monday, April 1st, 2013 This section covers my kit for the Southern Upland Way. I’m carrying all my own gear for this trip, but as I’m not camping,

Originally written: Wednesday, March 27th, 2013 Most of my long walks take place in late April / early May. There are good reasons for that, not least that this is

Originally written: Sunday, March 24th, 2013 Choosing a route along a prescribed National Trail may seem like a pointless exercise, or rather the re-enactment of a task that has already

Originally written: Thursday, December 20th, 2012 With the route planned at a high level and the number of stops determined by things like how far I can reasonably walk in

Originally written: Saturday, March 23rd, 2013 As there is no Trailblazer guide for the Southern Upland Way I had to look elsewhere for a guide book this year. With hindsight

Originally written: Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 Now that the actual path has been selected, I can start making some initial plans for the walk. Typically these early strokes on the

Originally written: Wednesday, December 12th, 2012 What is the Southern Upland Way? The Southern Upland Way is the only official Coast to Coast path in the UK, it’s also Scotland’s