© 2010 Terry Williamson , Page last updated: 26 August, 2011
July 2011
Had quite a successful months walking with 128 miles completed. Unst is finished and the bits and pieces in Northmavine are complete. The main places I have walked are Yell and between Vidlin and Toft pier.
As of today (5 August) I have approximately 50 miles left to do. It looks like the final mileage will be around 910, approximately 25 miles more than originally estimated.
Weather has been mixed; some fine sunny days where I have got sunburned and others when I have been soaking from the skin and out. It's also been fairly cold for the time of year. I have had no problems with blisters, sore ankles or sore knees this month.
Finishing Unst and in particular Hermaness was a very fine walk. The bonxies are starting to lose interest and are not as aggressive as they were earlier in the year.
Yell, so far, has been pretty good walking except for the section between Vatsetter and Mid Yell, which was the longest grass I have ever walked in with approximately 12 to 18 inches of dead root and old grass which made you feel like walking on a sponge, having to lift your legs to at least knee level every step. The hardest and most tiring 2 miles I have done in the whole walk.
If the whole of the Shetland coast was like this I would have given up long ago. The plus side of the walk was that I sat in the long grass watching an otter feeding and then patrolling his territory.
Between Toft and Vidlin, Fora Ness was a challenge, covered in deep heather for a lot of the way and with plenty of rabbit holes. I was flat on my face several times and rabbits were being called a lot more than just rabbits.
The planned finish date for the walk is 21 August 2011. People are asking me if will be glad that it is finished and the answer is “I really don't know”. It will be fine to complete the distance but I've kinda gotten the hill walking bug and am already wondering what I can do next. Having said that Marilyn has finishing the house pretty high on the list of priorities!!
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