JOGLE route first draft

Okay, this draft has already gone through some initial changes but here’s what I’ve got first off…

 

1. NOV 15^th John O’ Groats to Lybster 30 miles pretty much on the A99
   
2. 16^th Lybster to Brora 33 miles A99 then A9
   
3. 17^th Brora to Invergordon 35 miles A9 all the way
4. 18^th Invergordon to Inverness 24 miles A9 all the way
   
5. 19^th Inverness to Aviemore 30 miles A9 all the way
   
6. 20^th Aviemore to Dalwhinnie 31 miles A9 all the way
   
7. 21^st Dalwhinnie to Pitlochry 30 miles A9 all the way
   
8. 22^nd Pitlochry to Perth 28 miles A9 all the way
9. 23^rd Perth to Queensferry 35 miles A912 then B996, B917, B981
10. 24^th Queensferry to Carnwath 29 miles push on to the A70, straight down
11. 25^th Carnwath to Elvanfoot 27 miles B7016 then A702
12. 26^th Elvanfoot to Lockerbie 29 miles B7076 all the way
13. 27^th Lockerbie to Carlisle 25 miles – SCOTLAND DONE – B7076 all the way until Gretna then trail
14. 28^th Carlisle to Hackthorpe 25 miles A6 all the way, maybe path
15. 29^th Hackthorpe to Heversham 33 miles A6 all the way
16. 30^th Heversham to Garstang 25 miles A6 all the way
17. DEC 1^st Garstang to Wigan 30 miles A6 then A49 all the way into the centre
18. 2^nd Wigan to Northwich 28 miles Different minor roads all the way
19. 3^rd Northwich to Market Drayton 32 miles A533, B5074 to A529 all the way
20. 4^th Market Drayton to Church Stretton 34 miles A53 to Shrewsbury then A49
    
21. 5^th Church Stretton to Leominster 28 miles A49 all the way
22. 6^th Leominster to Ross on Wye 31 miles A49 to B224 all the way
23. 7^th Ross on Wye to Chepstow 27 miles Succession of smaller roads
24. 8^th Chepstow to Worle 32 miles Over the bridge then small roads
25. 9^th Worle to Taunton 30 miles A370 to A38 all the way
26. 10^th Taunton to Crediton 33 miles A38 to Tiverton, A3072 all the way
27. 11^th Crediton to Lewdown 30 miles A30 then small roads
28. 12^th Lewdown to Bodmin 32 miles A30 all the way
29. 13^th Bodmin to Redruth 33 miles A30 all the way
30. 14^th Redruth to Land’s End 29 miles A30 then coastal path

 

That’s the initial thoughts and even that took a few days to get kind of right.

On the front page of this blog you’ll see 925 miles in 30 days, the above tallies up to just below that. But until I upload the GPS data at the end of the trip I won’t know exactly for sure. 925 pre-trek seems to be about right but may be 900 miles or slightly over 925. I can only find out when it’s done!

Some place I’ve chosen, like Worle because I have family there and it’ll be a nice bed down before the final week. Elvanfoot… well, who wouldn’t want to stay in a place named Elvanfoot. Of course, this route will go through many drafts before it’s final but I’m liking this one so far.

 

No West Highland Way or Great Glen Way?

That is the obvious choice when arriving at Inverness but to be honest, I’ve already done them and I live in Fort William. Thus, If I walk by my house or get close to it in the first week of trekking then chances are I may throw in the towel, so I’m completely bypassing the great ways and going the Cairngorm A9 route.

Only hindsight will prove me right or wrong.

 

Mostly tarmac walking it seems?

That could be the major factor in all of this. I’ll be following mainly smaller roads where possible or paved routes hopefully with some trails to mix it up a bit. Shoe/boot choice is going to a major decision in all of this depending on what the final route is. Now I need to go through each day with a fine toothpick and work out accommodation potential and actual routes.

There’s a few big days on there so I’m sure we’ll see some changes yet!