Hiking: Scotland
I hiked the AT three years ago when I hit 60 (sort of do or die). My wife, Jeanine, had the chance to collect me at road crossings but did very little hiking (not her thing).
Last year we had the chance to travel to Scotland and tour alot of the country. We did some walking and biking as well as riding. I had also convinced her to try a little hiking on Hadrian's Wall.
We had packed in backpacks so the transition was easy. We left our rent-a-car in Carlisle, England which is near the west end of the wall. We spent the next five days walking through some of the prettiest country we have seen.
For the most part it is moors and pasture with a few homes and farms. We tented the first night but were able to find two hostels and a hiker barn for each of the remaining nights.
The history surrounding the wall was fascinating as well. The wall, having been built by the Romans in the 7th century, has all but disappeared. Some sections have been rebuilt and to see what they had done in an attempt to control their border was inspiring.
The weather, thankfully, was good for the most part but with a threat of bad for the fifth day we hiked to the village of Wall and turned south 5 miles to a train station and called that the end.
We have talked about returning to finish one day but time will tell. The experience was great and it has convinced my wife to try other trips as well. This year we traveled to "Trail Days" and planned a four day hike while there. I'll leave that story for later.
Thanks for the site, Pipesmoke and Mrs. Smoke