When i woke the it was looking a little dreary. I was planning on making my way to port William which was a fair hike but but having set off early and the route round fairly flat i figured it was a worthwhile target.
With the tide out i left Sandhead and set off along the compact sandy beach crossingthe mod bombing range. The flags were still lowered which I figured was a good sign. My pack was light as I'd almost used up all my rations which allowed me to make light work of the walk.
It didn't take long for me to cover the 5 miles of beach but reaching a wide and fairly deep river i had to make my way towards a nearby woodland to find a way across. I had considered using hoolley and although it was a glorious sunny day there was still quite a strong wind blowing churning up the water. Reaching the woods i found a track which was easy to follow and eventually it took me to a bridge. I was making extremely good progress. The time I'd spent in the hills lugging my load through the marshes and bogs, scaling steep slopes and climbing cliffs was now paying off.
Taking a quick breather i spotted a mobile mast nearby so decided to see if i could get my messages. Sure enough a rampage of texts came through, one from frances who'd received my next package of rations. I gave her a quick call and we arranged to meet so i could stock up again. The signal was still patchy but I managed to direct frances to me using landmarks i could see and it wasn't long before I could see her car driving towards me.
Having a bit of time to kill frances offered to take my back on to the cock inn a few miles away. Not having to carry my pack especially fully loaded is always a welcome break for both my knees, back and shoulders. Knowing I'd have another river to cross just passed the local golf club i stayed on the road and was eventually able to empty the contents of the parcel into my pack in the car park of the inn.
The cock inn wasn't open but Christine, the new owner who'd heard about my challenge via Facebook was more than happy to make me a coffee before i set off again now fully loaded with my pack almost bursting at the seams.
The sun had stayed with me all day and it didn't look like that was going to change any time soon. The hike to port William was also going to be a breeze following the road alongside the coast all the way.
A few days earlier I'd received a message from Alison brown, a long time follower of the trek, she'd contacted PIRSAC (port william inshore rescue service) the local privately run voluntary lifeboat service to see if they could assist me with a place to stay. Upon arriving at the port i was instructed to meet george at the boat house on the harbour for a quick tour of their facilities. Alison had also arranged for a brick to be dedicated to the trek which would help the crew construct a new boathouse, the old one having been a coal store and used by the service for 35 years to store the boat which itself was 15 years old. A grant issued by the fisheries commission would now allow them to buy a new boat, land rover and two storey boathouse on the harbour.
As with the guys at the rnli stations i was welcomed with a coffee and open arms and after paying a quick visit to the green man, Christine had insisted i must see, i was taken to the Monreith arms to settle in, have dinner and spend the evening repairing my trousers which were now torn and tattered.
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