the clyde – 26 sep, 2018
Day 48 Land’s End to John O’Groats – New Lanark to Strathclyde Country Park
Distance: 25km
Cumulative distance: 1222km
I met Christopher Morris in the hostel last night, and he told me about his brother Connor who lost his battle with leukemia as a young bloke all the way back in 1999. Chris’s family and the Anthony Nolan Trust tried desperately to find a suitable transplant donor but ran out of time. To coincide with Connor’s 21st birthday, Chris and his mate Joe decided they would raise funds for the Trust by cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End in the space of two weeks, and summit the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon) as part of the challenge. When I met them they were only a handful of days into the journey, and already feeling the pinch but they were determined to get it done. They’d come up with the idea over a pint about a year ago, and had been in training ever since. I had dinner and a few beers with them and Joe’s Dad who was following the boys around in a support van. And I’m happy to report that about 10 days after we met in New Lanark the boys reached Land’s End, and managed to raise a staggering 6000 pounds for their efforts, more than double the 2500 quid target. Some people are truly inspirational, and it just goes to show what the human body is capable of with the right attitude.
There were two days between myself and Glasgow as I set off this morning, and maybe a touch over 50km to get across. Most of the path would be along the Clyde River, but I managed to false start by going straight down to its banks and being squeezed between the water and the cliffs after about 200m. Turns out the path was on top of the cliffs, so I turned around and hauled myself back up the hill before seeing a sign pointing me in the right direction. The next mile or so of walking was incredibly serene, through a mossy, damp forest with rays of sunlight occasionally piercing the canopy and lighting up the forest floor. There was a series of unexpected switchbacks to take me high above the river, but fortunately they weren’t too steep.
The path passed through some lovely gardens, wooded areas and across quiet roads as it loosely followed the Clyde River which snaked its way ever closer to Glasgow. There was another surprise hill I had to climb up and over, but again it was much smaller than those monsters from a few days back before Wanlockhead. I stopped for lunch at a little bridge over a small burn that fed the Clyde deep in a forest, and something quite unexpected happened. A little squirrel emerged onto the path and started slowly skipping towards me. I stayed perfectly still figuring it simply hadn’t seen me, and as casually as you like the squirrel came right at me before scampering past only six inches from my right leg. It was a beautiful little moment.
As I pressed on the trees subsided and I broke clear into some more farmland. I had to go right by a farmhouse at one stage before linking back up with the river and off in the distance I could hear several shots being fired. I figured it was either someone hunting grouse, or an incredibly pissed off farmer who wasn’t particularly fond of Clyde River walkers. Given I wasn’t required to duck for cover I figured it was probably the former and pressed on undeterred. A little further along an elderly Scottish man engaged me in conversation and was blown away by my undertaking. We chatted for a little while before he enthusiastically shook my hand and we parted ways. Beyond the Scotsman and some more wide-open pastureland the path veered once more into forest, and I walked underneath a towering railway bridge and passed by a couple of hidden dams to my right. Pushing on I eventually came to the Strathclyde Country Park, a beautiful belt of green land between Hamilton and Motherwell, right on the south-eastern edge of Glasgow’s sprawl. Strathclyde Loch is about 3km long and I walked across its western bank with the river to my left, past rowing clubs and what I think was a council chambers building set on a pier stretching out into the water. There were locals running past me in every direction, and a theme park on the opposite side of the water.
Apparently the loch is a popular watersports area also, but for me it offered a delightful little wedge of land between incessant motorways and the endless suburbs of greater Glasgow. The campsite was at the far end of the loch, well within earshot of the M74 and the A725. I pitched up and then ventured about half a kilometre down the road to a place doing an all you can eat carvery. I’ll happily admit here that I took full advantage – they piled every cut of meat available onto my large plate and then I buried it all in huge chunks of roast vegetable, pasta, gravy and anything else I could get my hands on. I’m not sure what was more challenging, carrying the precariously loaded plate back to my table or finishing it all off.
