Читать книгу The Southern Upland Way. Scotland's Coast to Coast trail онлайн

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The best solution at present is to arrange transport pick-ups at various points, with return the following morning. The useful pick-up points at stage ends are:

 Stage 2: New Luce back to Stranraer or Castle Kennedy, or south to Glenluce

 Stage 4: Craigenbay (west of), for transport forward to St John’s Town of Dalry

 Stage 5: Stroanpatrick track end, for transport back to St John’s Town of Dalry

 Stage 7: Overfingland, on the A701 Dalveen Pass, for transport to Leadhills, Thornhill, etc

 Stage 9: Scabcleuch, Ettrick valley, for transport to Selkirk, etc

Various B&Bs and inns do provide such pick-ups, and these should be detailed in the official SUW accommodation listing. Several companies offer a bespoke self-guided holiday using these options (see Appendix D and the SUW website). With this programme, the longest day will be 19 miles (30km), with a daily average of 15 miles (24km).

The alternative is backpacking the route, carrying your tent, food and cooking equipment. Scotland’s access laws allow wild camping almost anywhere along the route – a huge choice of idyllic camps; there are also the five bothies available as wet-weather fallbacks. This removes the need to complete a full stage each day in order to reach accommodation. Of course, the down side is carrying all the extra weight.