10th - 11th March

10th March day 369

It was a gorgeous spring morning, clear skies and birds singing when i woke. With hardlya breeze in the air i boiled my water for breakfast and gradually gathered myself together ready for the day ahead.

Continuing to nurse my knee which appeared to be improving daily i stuck to the track passing through i would guess a holiday village and out the other side. The calmness of the weather was unbelievable especially after hiking through the torrential rain the day before. Finding a coastal path marker i headed away from the track and began to follow the footpath.

Taking me across a field i found myself at an ancient harbour. There were three unusual stone columns erected in a perfect triangle. I wondered what they had been used for. Maybe tying a maiden to satisfy the hunger of a sea serpent. After taking a bit of time to clamber over the rocks and take a closer look i followed the shore as far as i could. The tide was out and the sand firm. As i walked away from the pillars i pondered at how ridiculous it was to think they'd tie a maiden to them, there were three pillars after all therefore room for three maidens which made more sense and i would guess sea serpents would be quite large and have an appetite to suit.

A little further along i came across a mini castle. I wasn't sure what or why but it intrigued me enough to make me stop and take a look round. It was certainly suitable for hobbits or gnomes. Maybe it was a gnome castle. Satisfied I'd unravelled the castle secrets i continued on my way. The rest of the day was easy, simply following the coast and enjoying the views lost in my own thoughts.

Before i knew it i could see Kirkcudbright ahead 3 maybe 4 miles away. I'd even almost forgotten about the twinges in my knee, well almost. Looking across the tidal bay at the peninsula i was tempted to unpack hoolley and cross over but having been warned about the tidal race and the fact I'd intended to visit the rnli station in the town continued to walk up to the bridge and into town.

Seeing a chinese takeaway open as soon as i hit the high street i decided to grab some sweet and sour chicken with a portion of chips. The station was closed so i contacted alison to see if she knew anyone i could see and get a look round the boathouse. Naturally she was right on the ball and after getting in contact with john the operations manager informed me she'd arranged an interview with the Galloway news, a photographer would be meeting with me 10am at the harbour.

It was still light and i had planned to keep going but pr was more important if i was to build awareness about the charities i supported. A woodland just beyond the town looked good for shelter so i decided I'd stop short and pitch up there after I'd met up with john at the station.

Arriving at the crew house i was greeted by john who kindly gave me some history and background about the station and crew and who also offered to take me to the boathouse which unusually is located 4.5 miles from Kirkcudbright. This is because the bay is massively tidal and if the boat was housed nearer the town they would have trouble launching in times of need.

The boathouse itself is one of the oldest in the rnli and still fully functional with launch ramp. Back at the crew house john then offered me the floor for the night which was much better than the 3 mile hike to the woods and 3 mile hike back the following morning to meet the journalist.

11th March day 370

It was a blustery day when i woke. Poking my head out of the rnli station to check the weather i wasn't sure if it was going to rain or not. I checked the weather forecasts for the area and it seemed like there was the possibility later that day.

Packing my sleeping bag which i still had to wrestle with on a daily basis one of the seams burst and i found myself covered in duck feathers. It was a messy disaster.  I cleared up and made repairs doing my best to sew the seam back together.

Leaving the station it began to rain. The forecasters had for once got it right, unfortunately. Where had the sun disappeared to that i had the pleasure of hiking in the day before. I had plenty of time to get to the reporter so i gradually made my way to the harbour. It was quite chilly and i could feel a bite on my fingers as i arrived at the meeting place.

After posing for a couple of photos down on the harbour it began to rain so i headed off to find a cafe to indulge myself with a mocha and put my wet weathergear on. Whilst sat in Mulberries i  was invited to  join a very exclusive  group for coffee before heading off in the rain.

Before leaving Kirkcudbright i had to take a closer look at the old castle. It was an extremely good example of traditional Scottish castle however it was closed to the public. A little gutted i couldn't take a look round the inside i headed out of the town.

As i left the centre of Kirkcudbright and reached the outskirts i came upon a sign pointing the way to St marys circular, an additional 3 miles hike I'd not realised I'd have to do. You could say not carrying a map somewhat holds me to a disadvantage but for me it adds to the adventure, not knowing where I'm going means that every decision takes me into the unknown, tests my versatility and fuels my insatiable apatite to explore.

Despite the rather damp start to the day it was quite a nice hike around st marys circular which i assume was named after mary queen of scots. Leaving the circular via a different path to the one i started the walk on i decided to stick to the road to avoid the strong gusts and swampy and slippery salt  banks of the tidal bay.

Although the lifeboat station was over 4 miles away i made good time getting back out to it. Taking shelter beneath the trees i stopped for short break and watched the waves rolling in passed the boathouse. Feeling quite energised i was hoping the rest of the day would continue to go smoothly.

Leaving the boat house i hiked along a muddy track, i could feel my socks getting damp. The track took me through the woods and up to a field where i was now completely exposed to the elements. The day was about to get tougher. Hiking across the field i saw a gate which led me out on top of the cliffs and probably not the best place to be in high winds. The temperature was beginning to drop drastically with the wind beating against me lifting my baseball cap as i battled on. Not wanting to lose the cap and certainly not wanting to get brain freeze i swapped the cap for my beanie. As i continued along the clifftops i could only imagine what sentries posted at the mod firing range would think as i approached their boundaries.

Reaching the mod firing range i was pleased to see the flags lowered and sentry box empty. Passing through the gate and entering the range i decided to stick to the designated trail to ensured i wouldn't get blown up. Signs dotted along the route saying things like "controlled impact area" and "don't touch anything it may explode " reinforced my decision.

The range itself was massive but as i gradually made my way across the  sun came out. It looked like it could possibly turn out to be a nice day. Continuing to follow the finger posts showing the safe route across the range i found some old rusty tanks. They'd obviously been put there to be used as targets. They weren't far from the path and figuring that you could only do something stupid the once and that this was as good a time as any to be stupid i ventured towards the relics for a closer look.

Perched on the hill near to the cliffs and near to a large metal structure i guess had to be a target for either gunships or aircraft i found three tanks, none of which were modern but still recognisable as tanks. The view was pretty good too. It was hard to imagine only that morning thick mist, barraging rain and strong winds were engulfing the coast and obscuring the views.

Heading back to the trail and looking inland i could see about half a dozen bunkers buried in the hills. I can only guess they were used during the war to defend the solway from nazi attack. I didn't really know but  the theory seemed sound.

After many miles of hiking through the range and passing more tanks i eventually ended up hiking through a forest still following the finger posts. The track eventually stopped at the top of the cliffs. From there i had no choice but  to climb a gate into a field where i could follow the clifftops. As i looked out across the water i noticed a large wind farm out at sea and beyond that something i wasn't expecting. Land. To be more precise England. It was closer than i had  thought.

I continued to follow the coast crossing several fields thankfully i didn't have to climb and electrified fences, gates had been provided. Approaching a small woodland and with the sun slowly setting i decided to stop and set up camp.

As the sun sank below the horizon and i sat beneath my tarp boiling my water i could see lights across the sea as England prepared its evening meal and sat in front of their televisions.