28th February - 1st March

28th February day 359

My little camp up in the hills served me well and sheltered behind the wall from the wind i slept extremely well. I was now getting up earlier and earlier, rising with the sun. Having expected an extremely wet night i was delighted when i climbed from beneath my tarp to see clear skies.

Once I'd packed up i head off over the hills passing isolated bays and beaches and although it was quite windy i could feel the sun's warmth against my face. All in all it was a fairly uneventful day and i soon arrived at Portpatrick where marc, a crew member for the RNLI, had organised a room for me at the harbour house hotel.

While being given a tour of the  ports lifeboat station it began to chuck it down, i was particularly pleased to have arrived before hand. 

That evening i was invited to the annual crew party where i was treated like family and had the rare opportunity of meeting almost all the crew and their respective wives and partners. After the meal the drinking continued long into the morning and i eventually found my way back to the hotel a little after 2am. I just hoped i wouldn't be too hanging the following morning.

Late night

1st March  day 360

Feeling a bit mortal i tried to ignore the sun shining through the window. In the back of my mind a little voice kept telling me to get up and make the most of good weather. It was windy outside but with clear blue skies it looked like it would be a lovely day which is what i needed as i knew from talking to the boys from the lifeboat the night before there wouldn't be many places I'd be able to shelter.

My goal was to get to port logan before nightfall where i was hoping to find a small woodland to set up camp amongst. Feeling less than fresh but powered by caffeine i left Portpatrick harbour and began the climb against the wind up a never ending corridor of steps. The wind was incredibly strong hiking along the ridge away from the village and it took all my energy to stay on both feet.

A castle just a little way along caught my attention so i took a short break to admire what remained of the architecture before tackling the coast. A reasonably well trodden path was my guide and with the goid weather  i could see the land stretch out ahead. Once i reached the mull i knew I'd reached the very bottom of Scotland but that wouldn't be for at least two days.

The path at first was easy to follow but as with all good things it eventually ended. Abruptly at that. From here on in I was up against my new nemesis, electrified and barbed wired fences. My trousers slowly getting shredded the further i hiked. The Galloway peninsula is quite a hilly peninsula nothing too steep but undulating none the less. There are also several gorges that have to be negotiated taking me in away from and then back out to the coast.

The coastline looked stunning and at one point i swear i could see the sea on the other side which is possible because at some points I'd be less than a mile from the east side.

As i made my way south the agricultural land became more set back from the coast to be replaced with a more baron heather, bracken and gorse wilderness. Getting to the wilderness wasn't quite so forward as you might think though. Reaching a steep long  valley and i mean really steep and really long i made the decision to well toboggan down the slope to the valley floor. I could see a trail from the top that had obviously been left by local roe deer and decided to follow it. Afterall the quickest way between two points is a straight line and this was a straight line down. Crouching down onto my right foot with my left leg outstretched to be used as a break i rapidly slid from the top to a track i found at the bottom which lead to an isolated cottage situated in a small remote bay. Finding a sheltered place to crouch behind next to a small stream i stopped for a coffee and tracker bar.

From the bay i began the climb up into the wild and rugged hills. This stretch of the coast is really quite crinkly and although relatively easy to hike took a long time to get anywhere. With lots if crags and plenty of hilly slopes i gradually began to make progress and reaching a long beach i felt i would eventually make it to port logan and hopefully before nightfall.

Heading down to the beach and looking forward to an easy mile or so at sea level i spotted probably the largest hare i have ever seen. All i would need to do was learn how to lasso it and would be left with two choices, either have it for dinner or strap my pack to it and use the hare like a pack horse. Unfortunately while i was procrastinating about the options the hare had darted so i continued down to the beach where i came across a rather interesting cave entrance. It was too interesting not to put my pack down and have a closer look.

As i entered the entrance several birds panicked and flew out making a hell of a racketas they did. The cave itself was really large inside and much bigger than it appeared from outside,  in fact i began to think it would be quite a good place to stop the night. A long tunnel stretch back from the main cave at the entrance which passed through several more caves. At the back it was quiet, warm and dry but it was still too early to stop so having explored thoroughly i decided to grab my pack and carry on.

As i reached the far end of the beach i could see that i would only have  a couple of hours if light left and that i would probably end up hiking the last mile or so in the dark. Following the coast was easy but as the sun set i opted to follow the fences along the perimeter of the fields. Stars were appearing above me and the coast seemed to stretch on out of sight.

My way was now only lit by my head torch but seeing a row of lights ahead, which could only have been the houses of port logan i knew my day would finally be over.

Getting closer to the port the skyline silhouetted the tops of a woodland, my home for the night. Climbing a small stone wall i entered into the woods and quickly found a perfectly sheltered spot to set up camp.