A setback....

We've had a minor setback...Patch has an abscess - we think she's picked up a bit of grit. That's really not good timing as our daily walks are now on hold, but she seems to be on the mend thankfully. I think we'll be using her boots quite a bit along the walk...

I've made a last minute change to the first part of my route. Initially it involved a fabulous remote walk through northern Scotland, but I'm a bit worried about how Patch will cope with the RAF aircraft passing overhead. She's reduced to a quivering wreck when they pass overhead here - and I think northern Scotland will have even busier skies. To play it safe I'm going to stick to the coast road which is a real shame,. The up side is this means I have less food to carry. On the old route I would have had to carry 8 days food, but on this route I pass through towns / villages daily.

The change of route means I've had a last minute panic printing new sets of maps and changing the re-supply food parcels that I'm sending ahead, but I'm back on track now.

My final kit list will soon follow...I'm currently experimenting with a bivi bag and lightweight tarp...