Haggis and Hairy Cows

This little virus appears to have been quiet for a while, where will it raise its ugly little head again? I've had enough and my body wants to walk and organise for 2021 and 2022. I cannot just sit at home and wait. My Scottish walk and Europe tour for 2020 is a thing of the past. Mr Qantas and Mr Thai have rebooked me for 2021 and tells me not to cancel or change at present. Mr Australian Government tells me that I am going nowhere in 2020. Whom do I believe? I need to organise so have decided to go ahead and start the plans for 2021 and 2022. This time I will do the organising myself and I will be a little more careful what I organise and give me a "get out" ticket in case it happens again. Plans are that I will be walking the John Muir Way in Scotland in April/May 2021 in time to see the daffodils, and then sneak across the border to England and walk back along Hadrian's Wall. Why these walks? Because I can and they have been on the radar for many years. From t...

This little 'VIRUS' thing has turned the world upside down and appears to have gotten its way. It has changed everyone's plans for 2020 including mine and I am not happy. It has made us all stay at home and not venture out, it has cancelled all international and domestic travel, it has stopped us hugging friends or even shaking hands with acquaintances. It has stopped us visiting family and friends, it has stopped our lives. What can we do - absolutely nothing but sit and wait it out and hope it will go away soon. I have now cancelled my Scottish walk which was planned for late September, I have cancelled my short bus tour of Germany but guess I can do it again in another year, in another life. Germany and Scotland will not be going anywhere. After a 'short' think for my walk for 2021 I am considering finishing off the Via Francigena that I started in Canterbury, England in 2017 and then walked another section in 2019 finishing at the St Bernard Pass, Switzerlan...

I thought I was getting organised for the Scottish walk until a "virus thing" decided to rear its ugly little head and send the whole of the world into a panic and lock down. Flights are cancelled and planes stop flying, walking paths are closed down, walking boots are stored in house cupboards and the front doors are all shut tightly. How could a little invisible thing cause such chaos but it appears to have succeeded. I am sure it is sitting somewhere on a rock or up a tree just grinning at us and saying "got you all, try and catch me". My domestic flights home to see my husband and family are cancelled and I am stranded in the north for the long haul. What do you do in this situation?  Read travel books, post travel photos on social media, try and walk each day on your own or with a loyal companion and away from the general population and stay sane. Is that possible? I have decided that I will not cancel my flights, accommodation and travel plans for late Sep...

The preparation time is starting to slip away and some days I ask myself why I am doing it again. Guess the walking becomes a little addictive, a little " I want to do it , I must do it, I can do i t". Then I walk a few days back to back and I wonder where this silly idea came from and as I try to unstiffen over the next few days I start to wonder again "why am I doing it ". Around and around in circles I go. I decided to walk a 2 day back to back in the local area, guess it is still too hot but I did it and walked 60klms to train. Discovered that as I have not walked for several months that perhaps I took on the training too quickly, at least the distance was perhaps a little longer than I had expected. A good walk, great photos but a a very sore and stiff body at the end of the weekend. I have ordered and collected my walking shirts and they are BRIGHT so hopefully no one will miss me if I have to walk on the roadside. Will try them out a few times over th...

I still have 8 more months before I walk again and this time the John Muir Way or the Scottish Coast to Coast from Helensburgh on the west coast to Dunbar in the east. A mere 218klms walk this time but solo and I have decided to carry a backpack. This is something I vowed I would never do again. The flights across to Zurich are booked, the 5 day bus tour to Oberammergau for the Passion Play is booked, the flights across to Scotland are booked and I have now started on the walking accommodation bookings. This time I am going to have all my beds paid for before I leave Australia so less money required when over there. I did this when I walked across UK and France in 2017 and found the plan worked a treat. I am finding I am getting better at what I can take and what I really need to take, things that I can do with out and most times if the item is really needed it can be purchased along the way. I really will not die if I do not have it. I have learnt to live with 2 sets of clothes, o...