End of part one…

One day after St Kilda, after 63 miles of cycling back across Skye in nice weather, and then a truly scenic 5 hour train journey from Mallaig on the Hogwarts Express, I found myself in the centre of Glasgow. Although it is a place I know well, it came as rather a shock to the system after 3 weeks in much more remote places. I stayed in a cheap hotel right next to Glasgow Central and managed to leave my phone there; but it’s on its way home by post. I got here first, arriving home by train early yesterday afternoon, well in time for the evening’s band rehearsal to which I was firmly committed. We have a festival to headline on Saturday night (I play bass), so it was a good time to come home and commitment that needed meeting.

I was struck by the lushness of the surroundings here in my home village of Hathersage in the hills of the Derbyshire Peak District. The seasons had moved on since I left home 3 weeks ago and everything seems to be growing like mad and full of colour. It is all quite a contrast from the largely bare, treeless lands I had got used to in May. I felt like I had arrived in a rainforest!

I can’t believe I have already got to the end of May. That represents one sixth of the time I have given myself to complete this mammoth task. I’m barely 18 maps in and there are 186 still to visit! As I sit at my kitchen table looking at what lies ahead, I realize that Scotland is going to continue to be slow and fiddly work. I am confident that later in the trip I will start to quickly claw back time (and maps); but it won’t be for a while yet. Too many islands and mountains to contend with, and not enough trains heading west to make life at all straightforward. But some stunning country and exciting places lie ahead and I’m keen to get into it.

First, however, there are important things that require my attention. A wife, 2 cats, a gig, a student funding application deadline, as well as the small matter of picking up my new bike! More on that tomorrow. For now, please accept my apologies if I don’t blog much until the end of the week. I’ll save my creative juices for when I am back on the road; but try to ensure that the story doesn’t come to a complete halt in the meantime. Watch out for some trip statistics soon.

And so to planning… a not inconsiderable and really important task that cannot wait much longer if I want there to be a part two to this adventure. And, believe me, I really do!