It was a very wet and dreary start as i left Newton Stewart and followed the A road towards Creetown. The rain simply didn't let off one bit. With very little visibility i kept my head down and just kept putting one foot in front of the other. My boots were now feeling like they were leaking and without checking i was sure my socks were wet.
After a fair hike i saw a small hut at the side of the road, lorries and vans parked up alongside it. It had to be a cafe. I went over, sure enough my prayers had been answered, metaphorically speaking. A place to rest and dry out. Whilst sat enjoying a nice hot coffee at the tea pot, skyreburn a chap came in wearing an expolice riot suit and fantastically unique beard. Tim Dennis was a local of sorts. As we chatted and he ate his lunch tim entertained me with some fantastic stories of his past travels. Before he left he jotted some details on a scrap of paper and told me to stop by when i got to Palnackie. He also called an artist friend of his alice frances who lived on a farm a couple of days hike from where i was and arranged a stop over for me there.
Before tim went on his way he handed me a fiver to get myself a coffee further up the coast which i put under my phone while i went toilet. Unfortunately when i returned the money had gone. My feeling is that the lady serving had it away. Its a shame that such a thing should happen but with no proof there was nothing i could confront her with. I felt sorry for the lady as i gethered my kit together, she must have really needed the money for her to have so blatantly taken it from me and it was ultimately my fault for leaving temptation on the table in plain sight. I just hoped that it would go to some good in the end and not towards supporting a habit of any kind.
Not wanting to hang about any longer i finished my coffee and headed off to see if i could get a few more miles in before setting up camp for the night. As i left the cafe the rain ceased and the wind died down. The sun came out and for the rest of the day it felt quite pleasant. I continued to follow the road until i reached the bridge opposite a grand castle ruin where i was able to drop down onto a farm track. On both sides of the track were what appeared to be electrified fences and having learnt my lesson the hard way a few days earlier i decided to stick to the track.
The two short days I'd spent hiking had given my knee a chance to heal a little and that had now paid off. I'd made excellent progress even in the dreadful weather. Continuing to stay on the track i passed through a small farm and kept hiking. Eventually i came out at a caravan park and seeing a tap grabbed the chance to fill my bottles before heading off once more.
A few miles later i could see the sun beginning to set and with a small woodland ahead decided i should find somewhere sheltered should the weather change again as it has known too.
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