On Sore Feet: 2026

Iona!

I couldn't get a bed at the hostel tonight but I managed to get one on the island of Iona, the very last bed on the island. In the morning I packed up my belongings and walked to the ferry. On the way I bought two salmon sandwiches, one for lunch and one for dinner.

First ferry, to Craignure on the east coast of the Isle of Mull, 55 minutes

Bus from Craignure to Fionnphort on the west coast of Mull, 80 minutes

Second ferry, Fionnphort to Iona, 10 minutes

The large, white building in the middle is St Columba Hotel, where I'm staying tonight. Iona is a very relaxing place to visit. Only residents and some deliveries are allowed to bring a car, which means that there is hardly any traffic.

Iona abbey, birthplace of Scottish/Celtic Christianity.

St Martin's Cross from the 8th century

The cloisters

After visiting the Abbey I set off to climb Dun Ì, the highest hill of the island with supposedly wonderful views. Unfortunately I either took the wrong trail or it was just too difficult (I had been warned!), so I turned back after a while. No need to aggravate the knee!

I got to meet some nice sheep 😍

St Columba Hotel

My room, very lovely, I sat in the window for a long time. But the duvet was a bit strange with boxed down (?) filling that was very uneven. I really expect better from an expensive hotel!

No complaints about the views, I could see the ferry shuttle back and forth.

The Abbey in the evening sun

Iona sunset!

Iona morning!

St John's cross, believed to be the first Celtic cross, with the distinctive circle to support the heavy arms.

I set out for Columba Bay, but met a man who said that it was very boggy right now, so I walked across the island to the west coast instead. For a while it drizzled, but I hardly got wet. I then walked back to the hotel to get my backpack and got a ride down to the ferry, which gave me time to have lunch.

The ruins of Iona nunnery

Fishing boats in the harbour

The sea is so incredibly green!

The little lighthouse halfway to Oban

The rain followed us back to the mainland.

On the ferry I met Moira, who was on the ferry yesterday as well and we had a nice chat.

Entering Oban harbour we passed Oban Youth Hostel. The bottom right window is the lounge, where I like to sit and read, write my blog or listen to music. Or just look at the harbour with all the boats and ferries.

I'm a highland coo, I don't want to have my picture taken.

Rest days in Oban

Friday

I slept well last night. Occasionally I heard someone snoring, climbing to a top bunk or getting up in the morning, but I just went back to sleep. Then I heard someone coming back into the room and I told them to open the curtains turn the lights on if they wanted. It was just after 8 o'clock and I had slept 9-10 hours. I guess I was tired! Apparently someone (else) snored a lot last night, but I slept right through it 😂

I tonight I'm in the same room, but then I'll be "bed-hopping" for a couple of nights. I made the reservation just before I got on the water taxi yesterday, so I was glad I could find inexpensive beds. There's just one night I couldn't find a bed, so I'm considering my options. Wait and see if there's a cancellation, and if not find a hotel, or visit Iona, a small island just off the coast. I've wanted to visit Iona for years, so I may do that.

Saturday

I had another good night. There were only two of us in the room, the other girl came in late and left so quietly I didn't realize that she checked out this morning!

Since I'm changing rooms today I packed up all my things and checked out, leaving my backpack in reception and walked into Oban to have a look. I found a small sea food shack where I bought a hot smoked salmon sandwich for lunch, it was only £5.50, very cheap! There were a lot of people sitting or standing around, eating different delicious plates of seafood.

Lunch!

Back at the hostel I went to the lounge where I was resting and watching Hebridean ferries go by, when all of a sudden someone knocked on the window. It was Nell, another challenger whom I've been in contact with online. She is also spending some time here before the start of the challenge. It was very nice to finally get to meet her in person!

Ferry to Barra, I think.

Some kind of race outside the window

Nell and I walked back to Oban to do some shopping when we saw a group of dancing girls celebrating their third place in a competition.

My room tonight

My view!

Day 44 Inversnaid to Oban

Kilometers: 11

My bed last night was in a one-room cabin with two bunk beds. Upon arrival the room was very hot, but overnight it got cold. When I woke up it was 7 degrees inside and we had all been freezing. There was a free standing radiator in the room, but with the heat yesterday none of us had thought we'd need it.

After breakfast I packed up and walked down to Loch Lomond.

I had decided to try the walk north along the lake, hoping my knee would be fine even though I knew it is a difficult path. At first it seeed to be fine. I made it a couple of kilometers, or at least that's what it felt like, but it was getting increasingly difficult with lots of ups and downs and eventually I decided to turn around and go back to Inversnaid.

Waiting for the boat taxi on the right. See the steep mountain side to the left? I walked that to Inversnaid two years ago and today was no easier. From Inversnaid there are a number of boat taxis across the lake, where there are both buses and trains to different destinations.

Out on the lake

What a lovely day to be on the water!

When I arrived in Tarbet I had the choice of bus or train. I had decided to go to Oban, to be able to rest some more before the start of the Great Outdoors Challenge. I managed to get a bed at Oban Youth Hostel and I was first in my room so I got to choose my bed 😁

The view from the hostel

After a longish rest (I even dozed off for a while) I went out for a walk. The sun was setting but it was still nice and warm.

Oban moon rise

Om du vill stötta min insamling utan att ange adress osv, så kan du swisha mig så betalar jag in motsvarande summa i pund.

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Day 43 Loch Venachar to Inversnaid

Kilometers: 19

The Glasgowans at my campsite had a very good time last night; me not so much. I think they were up until around 2.30 - 3 am, playing music the whole time. They had thought they'd be alone at the campsite and I didn't want to ruin their evening. Thankfully I liked the music! I woke up about 2 hours after they went to bed and couldn't sleep, so I got up, packed my things and went on my way. The morning was cloudy but the sun soon came out and it turned into another lovely day ☀️

After about 11 kilometers I reached Loch Katrine, a bit tired after my not so great night.

I found a cafe! At lunchtime! It was at the southern end of Loch Katrine and as I was sitting there someone asked if I was going on the steamship? Steamship?? Apparently there's a steamship that runs along most of the lake, 11 kilometers, walking would be 21 kilometers and so far today I hadn't seen a single place to camp.

What to do? On a LEJOG you're supposed to walk every step of the way, but with all the problems I've had so far it's too late for that. Besides, after a great day yesterday, today has been a bit difficult for the knee. I decided to take the steamship. I'll never come back here again, this is my only chance.

The Sir Walter Scott.

What a lovely boat ride! The views were stunning and the steam engine was quiet, making the trip very pleasant.

Beautiful views for an hour.

After leaving the steamship I joined the Great Trossachs path towards Inversnaid. At first it felt so nice to be on a trail instead of a road, but it wasn't long before my knee started protesting, so the next chance I got I took a trail down to the road. Of course there was a locked gate, but I assumed it's to keep people out, not in, so I climbed over it (I'm getting very good at climbing locked gates!). It was now getting very hot and I had to walk as much as possible in the shade of the few trees along the road.

A world on a rock.

There's a reason I don't like them.

I had reservations for a tent at Inversnaid Bunkhouse but managed to get a bed in a dorm instead. There are four of us in here, the others are doing the West Highland Way, which I will be on tomorrow .

There's no place to cook your own food so I had dinner at the restaurant. They cooked a special meal for me, chicken salad with fries, and made sure to check what I couldn't eat. And it was soo good! Another WHW hiker joined me at my table and it was very nice to have someone to talk to again! He's the first hiker I'v met so fat who knows what The Great Outdoors Challenge is, he's even done it a couple of times.

Moonrise just as I was going to bed.

I'm finding this walk increasingly lonesome, thankfully the Challenge is coming up soon!