Argyll

“Sorry for waking you last night. I met two Polish guys on the West Highland Way and they got me drunk.” My young roommate sheepishly pads down the hallway to the bathroom as I settle down with tea and toast

The West Highland Way (“WHW”) was my first long-distance trail. You know what they say about your first love. Given the choice between walking 13 miles along the A82 coast road to Fort William or revisiting Glen Coe and Rannoch

Catching the first bus each morning in the cold and dark is wearing, so I treat myself to a later start. Unfortunately, this means the incoming tide now blocks the An Sailean marshes, forcing me back to the road, which

“Bridge of Clachan please.” “Not jumping off it are you?” “It’s a bit cold for that!” Do I look desperate? Mind you, who in their right mind boards the first bus at 7 am in the rain? I’m the only

It’s pitch black and I’m crossing the Bridge over the Atlantic onto Seil Island, the only passenger on the first bus to Ellenabeich village and the ferry to Easdale Island. The driver will pick me up anywhere along his route

Luing is the largest of the Slate Islands — “the islands that roofed the world” — yet it is only six miles long and 1.5 miles wide. In the 1800s, over 600 people lived on the island, working in 15

Cal leaves while I’m barely stirring. I rashly planned a second mountain hike today, but the gloomy weather and my aching legs suggest a more gentle return to the coast. Waiting for the bus to Benderloch, I chat with the

I woke twice in the night with a bad headache, which is rare. Most likely dehydration, compounded by the beer before I fell asleep, or a lack of sugar, as I did not eat enough yesterday. A midnight KitKat and