In April 2026, Dwight, two friends from the UK, and I backpacked Scotland’s Rob Roy Way. We had divided the trek into eight one-day sections, but one leg proved about five miles longer than we thought prudent. To manage the distance, we lopped off those extra miles by taking a country bus from Strathyre, where we had stayed overnight, to Lochearnhead on Loch Earn. There, we planned to pick up the trail again…
Category: Place
Short-sleeved sunny cycle
Met a friend at the U, surrounded by sports stadiums. The weather was perfect for a ride to and around St. Paul’s Lake Como, followed by a cuppa from Dock & Paddle beside the lake.
A little under the freeway
Our colds persist. Going a little stir-crazy, I went for a walk, starting with this tunnel under the interstate near our home, dense with metaphors. Later, at a new bookshop, a barista with the snuffles brewed me a welcome Americano.
Kindle above the couch
Day 3 nursing a cold: at least it’s not COVID. It’s a good day to lie on the couch and read Clouds Above the Hill, set in Meiji-era Japan. There’s an entire museum in Matsuyama devoted to this book; I’ve actually visited it, though only because it was designed by architect Tadao Ando and features a lovely cafe. At the time, the significance of the story was lost on me, but today I can escape my cold and lose myself in the history.
Afternoon in Whitley Bay
This is one over-the-top fish and chip restaurant at the seaside in Whitley Bay’s Spanish City. I met my brother for a late lunch, followed by a bracing walk along the seafront to the Rendezvous Cafe, which is sometimes featured in the Vera TV series. There was no Vera sighting, but we did enjoy some cups of tea and cake.
Child’s play
It took all five adults, two wedges, and a rubber mallet to remove one panel so other panels could be slotted in to complete this Little Tikes slide. The little tike was happy, though.
Start ’em young
I’m now in Newcastle upon Tyne, my hometown. Much of the city center is still recognizable from my childhood, just more spiffed up. At Fenwick department store’s toy department I picked up a DUPLO set for the almost two-year-old grandchild of the friends I’m staying with.
The cantilever, the suspension, and the cable-stay
I first walked across the Firth of Forth on this suspension bridge with my brother shortly after it opened in 1964. By 2018, its role was largely taken over by the cable-stayed bridge just visible on the top-right. Today, we first crossed by train on the 1890 cantilever bridge to the left; here, we’re walking back across the 1964 bridge.
Under Edinburgh
Dwight and I are now in Edinburgh, having bade our friends a temporary farewell. We’re staying in the university area, which we prefer to the overloved city center. Always on the lookout for something we haven’t seen before, we walked over to this former railroad tunnel; built in 1831, it is now part of the National Cycle Network.
The end of the road
We reached the end of our hike in Pitlochry after yet another day of “good everything”: the hiking, the views, the weather, and the company. It was here I bade farewell to my boots; the soles were simply too worn for another stint. They’ve served me well, but their journey ends here. Already, the four of us are talking about our next multi-day trek.