Day 94: Helmsdale Rest Day

One final rest day before the finish, and I have spent it stocking up on supplies. Sadly, I wasn’t as organised when I was last in Inverness, so I’ve had to go back there today to sort myself out. 

• Date: 22 June 2024
• Start: Helmsdale
• End: Helmsdale
• Miles: 0.0
• Total miles: 1,214.3
• Accommodation: Helmsdale Lodge Hostel

I was up early this morning as I needed to get the 8am train to Inverness. Sadly, I couldn’t even have breakfast as the kitchen was closed. You aren’t even allowed to stay in the hostel during the day. It’s a good job I’ll be out all day. 

It’s sad that hostels aren’t very popular anymore, but I can really see why. They charge as much as a hotel and there’s less enjoyment, with too many rules in place. You’d go with the hotel option in most cases. 

Due to the lack of hostel laundry, I lugged my clothes back to Inverness, washed them as soon as I got here, then headed for lunch. 

After lunch, I headed to my favourite shop to grab some cooking gas, and also got some supplies from the B&M Bargains next door. 

My journey to Inverness is nothing compared to what my friend Vik is doing, who is joining me for the final stretch. South London to Helmsdale in a day. While she was confident it would go well, trouble hit at Edinburgh when someone died on a train causing huge delays all around. It was sceptical at this point as to whether she’d make it to Helmsdale tonight. 

Unbeknownst to Vik, I was chilling in Inverness hoping that she would make the 6:30pm train to Helmsdale. I was hoping to surprise her on the train, but who knows if that will happen now. 

They delayed the train back to Helmsdale so that other late passengers could get on, including Vik. 

I surprised her with a bottle of water, which apparently she has been deprived of due to her late arrival. 

The final rest day is over. It’s back to basics for the final five days. The walk tomorrow is actually a relatively hard one, with ups and downs over the cliffs, very reminiscent of Cornwall. The four following days get progressively easier. There’s also five nights of camping to do, even after I finish in John O’Groats I’m camping. The weather forecast is looking fantastic though. 

Five days left of this challenge, let’s finish this!