Northern Isles and Gorms from Home

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Swayndo
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue May 07, 2019 6:58 pm
Location: Evanton

Northern Isles and Gorms from Home

Post by Swayndo »

I have a fairly fluid plan coming together for mid/late May. I live in East Ross. Plan is to leave on a Saturday morning and start on my normal Coast to Coast route then hook up with the GB Divide route from Glen Calvie then on to camp by food at Garvault. Short day 2 to jump on the ferry from Thurso and have an overnight somewhere on Orkney, visiting a couple of sites on the way, then on Monday afternoon jump on a ferry to Lerwick and ride down to Sumburgh for a camp.

Next 2/3 days would be spend on Shetland from south to north then back to Lerwick and on an overnight ferry to Aberdeen. Breakfast at a mates house then up the Deeside Way and bits of the Deeside Trail to another mate's place in Braemar, then a variety of options to get to a rail station or if I'm feeling really energetic I may avoid Braemar and ride home via Ballater.

I say fluid because there are so many options to change plan and being solo means I can please myself. If I want I can stay on the islands and return through Caithness or even on the train. If my timings are off, the weather descends on me or if I simply need a break I can reroute. I also have a couple of days cushion I can use.

Not planning to pre-book anything ... is that likely to be an issue? Are there any recommended trails, camp spots or food stops on Orkney and Shetland that I should head for?

Cheers in advance for any help.
Swayndo
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue May 07, 2019 6:58 pm
Location: Evanton

Re: Northern Isles and Gorms from Home

Post by Swayndo »

So Kirkwall to Lerwick is overnight and doesn't run on a Monday night so I guess I'm starting earlier.
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fatbikephil
Posts: 6511
Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2014 10:51 pm
Location: Fife
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Re: Northern Isles and Gorms from Home

Post by fatbikephil »

Check out the other thread on the orkneys - viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21636
Someone here used to live on Shetland but now lives in Angus so may be along to help. Sounds a great trip :-bd
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