Fastpacking by Lily Dyu

Author:Lily Dyu
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781783627004
Publisher: Cicerone Press
Published: 2018-11-03T16:00:00+00:00

‘Bodies are amazing in what they can do,’ says Aly. ‘I really wish, especially for young women today, that we’d celebrate good, strong bodies instead of what we see in magazines; that we’d value fitness and strength and how our bodies can carry us to the tops of hills and mountains and to all these wonderful places!’

By day 31 they had reached Northumbria and it was a cool, spring morning as they climbed out of Byrness, passing wild goats that were grazing the hillsides. Soon they were running over a lovely, rolling expanse of soft green, with Malcolm bounding ahead of Aly, when, with a yelp, he suddenly disappeared waist-deep into the ground. Unbeknown to either of them, they had entered an area of sphagnum moss, carpeting a peat bog. When she’d stopped laughing, Aly lay on a patch of solid ground and pulled him out, with a champagne cork pop as his legs reappeared. Finding the main path, they continued, but an hour later, peering over a fence at some spotted toadstools, Malcolm suffered an electric shock – to more laughter and little sympathy. But despite Malcolm’s mishaps, the Cheviots was one of their favourite places on the whole journey.

‘It was an area I’d never really explored, that edge of Northumberland into Scotland, and it was stunning and unspoilt – like some of the wilderness you go further north for. There was a lot of climbing but you were often surrounded by a panorama of wild, green hills. It was like finding a jewel you weren’t expecting.’

On the shores of Loch Ness, on day 42 of their journey, they pushed open the door of the youth hostel. Strung to their bulging rucksacks were bags containing dinner ingredients – pasta, sauce, cheese, bread and chocolate – which they’d bought in the village store in Invermoriston. Throughout much of their trip, friends and family had provided support and some had even run stages with them, but for four days, as they followed the Great Glen before heading north to the coast at Dornoch, they were alone. The pair were carrying all their own gear, waterproofs, spare lightweight shoes, and a second set of running kit they’d wear that evening after handwashing that day’s clothes. Starting each day by 8.30am and finishing in the early afternoon would allow plenty of time for recovery and to review the next day’s maps.

As they cooked dinner, they were surprised when the warden said there was a phone call for them. It was Carolyn, a woman they’d met weeks earlier at the foot of Pen-y-Ghent, who coincidentally lived in nearby Drumnadrochit and had been following their progress on the website that Aly’s son was updating daily. She insisted on delivering their gear the next day to their guesthouse in Beauly, allowing them to travel light. Alongside this, she also left a bag of chocolate and treats. ‘She was one of our many guardian angels,’ says Aly. ‘We were overwhelmed by the support we had along the way.

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