Journeys 3.1

It took all five adults, two wedges, and a rubber mallet to remove one panel so other panels could be slotted in to complete this Little Tikes slide. The little tike was happy, though.

I’m now in Newcastle upon Tyne, my hometown. Much of the city center is still recognizable from my childhood, just more spiffed up. At Fenwick department store’s toy department I picked up a DUPLO set for the almost two-year-old grandchild of the friends I’m staying with.

I first walked across the Firth of Forth on this suspension bridge with my brother shortly after it opened in 1964. By 2018, its role was largely taken over by the cable-stayed bridge just visible on the top-right. Today, we first crossed by train on the 1890 cantilever bridge to the left; here, we’re walking back across the 1964 bridge.

Dwight and I are now in Edinburgh, having bade our friends a temporary farewell. We’re staying in the university area, which we prefer to the overloved city center. Always on the lookout for something we haven’t seen before, we walked over to this former railroad tunnel; built in 1831, it is now part of the National Cycle Network.

​We reached the end of our hike in Pitlochry after yet another day of “good everything”: the hiking, the views, the weather, and the company. It was here I bade farewell to my boots; the soles were simply too worn for another stint. They’ve served me well, but their journey ends here. Already, the four of us are talking about our next multi-day trek.

It’s day 7 of 8 on our Rob Roy Way hike. We’ve settled into a comfortable routine: arriving at our destination by mid-afternoon, just in time for a pot of tea and some cake. ​Today we reached Aberfeldy after a day of stunning views and more waterfalls than we could count. A cuppa and a slice of cake were exactly what we needed before checking into our hotel for a pre-dinner nap.

“£20 for an early check-in,” they said, at a resort in Kenmore at the foot of Loch Tay at the end of day six of our hike. Or, about £14 for beverages from the bar while enjoying this view of Loch Tay from the patio. We opted for the obvious and saved £6 while waiting.