I did the TGO Challenge in 2013 for the first time. I’d been thinking about it for years but I never managed to get away from work commitments. Then, after treatment for cancer in 2011, I decided to prioritise life rather than work and I signed up in October 2012. I wanted to revisit places I hadn’t been for years and I wanted to walk ‘home’ - I live outside Aberdeen. So, I planned a route starting at Mallaig through Knoydart, Glen Roy, and Glen Feshie, finishing along the Deeside Way.

I originally wrote up my experience as a trip diary but, because I decided to rebuild my web site after a security beach, I decided to summarise these in a couple of pages, with a single photograph per day.

My route: Mallaig to Aberdeen

Mallaig to Aberdeen: My original route plan

I start in Mallaig with the Bruce Watt ferry from Mallaig to Knoydart. This…

Week 1: Mallaig to Glen Feshie

Day 1: Mallaig to Sourlies

About 30-odd Challengers set off for Knoydart. Experienced Challengers were chatting; newbies…

Week 2: Glen Feshie to Aberdeen

Day 8: Glen Feshie to Mar Lodge

I woke up to cloud but the weather looked set to improve as I set off - as ever, I was…

First day, first Challenge

My first Challenge did not start well.

As a newbie, I decided that the most sociable way to start was to catch the…