About this blog

The journey from John o'Groats to Land's End took place in 14 sections, starting in 1996 (a week or so each year). The idea came to me in 1995 and I completed the British JoGLE Watershed in June 2009.

I was joined by a number of relations and friends from time to time. Most notable among my walking companions were my son Tim (7 sections) and nephews Peter and Jonny.

After walking the first section in 1996 I discovered that Dave Hewitt had already pioneered the Scottish Watershed (to Cape Wrath) in 1987, and had published his excellent account Walking the Watershed in 1994. We have been in touch since then, and he has been a great encouragement.

A simple definition of the watershed is that any rain falling to the left of the path finishes in the North Sea or English Channel, and anything to the right flows into the Atlantic Ocean, the Irish Sea or the Bristol Channel.

I believe that this was the first walk along the full length of the British JoGLE Watershed. I became aware just after I completed the journey that the late Mike Allen walked a slightly different version (from Land's End to Cape Wrath) between 1988 and 1994, so he will have covered the same ground apart from the most north-easterly 220km.

There have subsequently been several walks and publications about parts of the JoGLE watershed, including Peter Wright's 2010 Ribbon of Wildness account of his Scottish section walked in 2005, which has brought the subject of watershed walking in the UK to a wider audience.

I hope you enjoy this blog. I'm planning to publish a full account in 2013/4. A summary of the walk appeared in The Angry Corrie volume 76 in 2009.

Malcolm Wylie.

Monday 28 June 1999

Day 40 - Crianlarich and Cruach Ardrain

A straightforward descent into Crianlarich was followed by an excellent lunch and a game of pool at the Rod and Reel. We then walked back up the A82 the short distance to rejoin the Watershed.

We crossed the railway line and made our way up through the forest by way of some fire-breaks which we'd spotted on our way down in the morning.

There was a good baggers' path up to the summit of Cruach Ardrain (onto map 56 - see photo), with good views all round. Although tempted by the nearby Munro Beinn Tulaichean, we decided to press on to conserve energy.

We climbed over the very slabby Stob Glas and had an interesting descent. We found a fantastic ledge on the way down, just the right size, and camped there at about 399197 - see photo. The sunset to the NW was soon complemented by a full moon to the SE, and we played cards until 11:30pm.
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