Day 69: Uphall to Linlithgow (Edinburgh)

Why walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats when you can run instead. Today’s route was entirely on tarmac and basically flat, so I put the trainers on and ran for most of it. 

• Date: 28 May 2024
• Start: Uphall
• End: Linlithgow
• Miles: 11.2
• Total miles: 919.2
• Accommodation: Edinburgh Backpackers

I woke up this morning in the hostel and got going as soon as I could. There was bad weather forecast for the afternoon so I needed to get as much done this morning as possible. 

I went to the train station and went to buy a ticket to Uphall. It was about £4 without a railcard, and when the railcard was applied, was £12. I think they need to sort out their maths here. 

I jumped on a train back to Uphall (ticket without the railcard applied) and got going. The first couple of miles were along a main road, before I got to a canal. 

Once I reached the canal, I put my headphones in and started running. I got into a routine of running for two songs, then walking for one. I was making fantastic progress.

Without my big bag on, it’s the first time I’ve noticed the improvement in my fitness since I started. As well as yesterday, I’m surprised with how quick I’ve been able to cover ground. 

I arrived at Linlithgow, and had my first sit down of the day. At this point it started raining quite heavily so I checked the forecast. It was due to rain heavily for the whole afternoon. I was hoping to keep going along the canal path to the next station, but decided to head back to Edinburgh at Linlithgow. 

I’d only been out for just over 2 hours, but I can do the few miles I missed tomorrow instead, where the weather is forecast to be better. 

I’ve had a whole afternoon to chill in soggy Edinburgh. I spent most of it wandering around shops and not buying anything. 

Tomorrow, I make the shift to Glasgow, again dropping my big bag there and commuting by train to complete the next leg.