28th December ( day 298 )

It was a cold and frosty night, so cold in fact my wet wipes froze into a solid block. Thankfully I didn't need to use them that morning.

With the sun rising and casting a spectacular orange pink light onto the snow capped mountains across the loch I boiled up some water and hydrated a packet of smooth oats and raspberries,  the staple morning breakfast of any serious adventurer. Not wanting to climb from the warmth of the sleeping bag I took my time sipping a hot coffee.

Emerging from beneath the tarp and looking around for low flying balls I braved the cold weather, grass frozen solid, frost as far as the eye could see. Packing my kit away was much as it always was except this time it was much colder and folding the tarp I found my fingers turned numb. To be honest it was a struggle and despite my best efforts and a couple of attempts I wasn't able to roll the tarp small enough to slide it into its mesh bag completely. It was close enough though so I attached it to my pack and headed back to the road to continue my journey.

After a couple of miles I arrived at the hollytree hotel, which offered free swims in the hotel swimming pool to anyone who bought a lunch. A tempting prospect although I didn't have any swimming shorts with me so I settled for a mocha and a short break out of the cold.

During the 50's the hollytree was in fact a working railway station but when beecham later axed the service the site became a private home and later the hotel. More recently the old railway track which has now been removed has been converted into a footpath and cycle track running alongside the loch and was now to form part of the trek. Feeling more alert and settling comfortably back into my roll as an adventurer I followed the old railway lined with trees and cut into the rocks. Along the way I passed a sign pertaining to be the outdoor sports capital of the uk. I'd now left the Highlands and entered argyll and bute.

As continued my way the enemy began knocking on the door, time was once again against me, my nemesis. As night fell I began looking for somewhere to stop, my tummy rumbling, the temperature dropping drastically to freezing levels. Taking shelter behind a small boat house on the shore opposite the silhouette of castle stalker I decided to collect water from a nearby stream and rehydrated a packet of chilli. As I sat perched on a low brick wall I tucked into the steaming hot packet with only the light of my head torch illuminating the steam eminating with every spoonful. In the heavens above the stars were like a blanket of diamonds with not a single cloud to be seen.

Feeling much better and with renewed energy I set off with one thing on my mind. I was now getting close to Appin, it was getting late and I was beginning to really feel the cold.

With only the light from the torch it was difficult to find a place to shelter for the night and beginning to wonder if I would have to make do with just the bivibag I was delighted to eventually come across a small birdhide at the side of the loch not far from jubilee bridge, an iron bridge erected to honour the queens jubilee.

I laid my sleeping bag on the concrete floor and rehydrated a packet of custard with berries and made myself a mug of hot chocolate.

I hadn't done a lot of hiking leading up to Christmas and as I lay there in my sleeping bag the torcherous pains of my muscles began to nag. Firstly my shins followed by my buttocks, back and shoulders.