The TGO Challenge is steeped in history. It started in 1980 when mountaineer Hamish Brown presented the idea of a coast-to-coast, self-guided challenge to Roger Smith, the then Editor at The Great Outdoors Magazine. Many challengers return year after year to join the pilgrimage from west to east and age and ailments don’t seem to deter their spirit of adventure. This year I joined the 292 challengers on my own journey.
Last year, I started the challenge, but foot issues that I couldn’t resolve by day 3 resulted in my untimely retirement. I was gutted, having felt I had prepared well, and the sense of unfinished business was immense! I learnt a lot during those first 3 days about walking my own walk, stopping when I need to stop, upsizing my boots beyond what I would normally use on a day hike and being a bit more selective with my kit. Thankfully I was given the opportunity to take a second bite of the cherry this year.
Planning for the event started in late autumn with many a dark winters night spent researching potential areas of exploration, plotting and replotting a route to make the distance, terrain and elevation suit the two-week window for the challenge. Early in my planning I came across the Cowal Way in Argyll and Bute which coincidentally started from the most southerly TGO start location at Portavadie Marina. The route offered a great variety of terrain, as it meandered its way to Loch Lomond, rich in wildlife and boasting stunning views of The Kyles of Bute, Lochs Ruel, Goil and Long. This became the launch pad for the rest of my route... read more.
Day 1 Portavadie to Glendarual
● Friday 9 May ● Distance 29.7km ● Elevation 417m
Arriving by bus at the glamorous Portavadie Marina, the first challenge was finding the reception where the TGO sign in book was located. On entering reception, I felt momentarily like I was in a strange version of ‘race across the world’ where you look to see who has beaten you to the sign-in book, and who you may see on your journey... keep reading.
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