It's the people you meet

I'm not a particularly sociable person (wonder where I get that from..) but most days I have conversations with interesting people. The last couple of days have been no exception.

On Wednesday morning I was on a campsite to do some washing and helped a lady work the machines to put hers on. We talked whilst our washing was doing, mainly our travel plans but she also gave me tips on how to prolong the life of pants between washes! Stella, a semi retired stop smoking advisor from Nottingham. 

Wednesday night I parked up near another van in a beach car park and whilst watching the sunset we started talking. They ended up inviting me into their van and we passed the evening with camping stories. Dave and Pauline, really interesting people - a woodturner and a Potter from the Isle of Arran.

Thursday morning, I caught the passenger ferry across the Kyle of Durness as I wanted to walk the 12 miles to Cape Wrath lighthouse, the North Western tip of the UK. There's a minibus that runs so after agreeing it with the driver, I'd catch that back (everyone else was getting the minibus both ways). On hearing my plans, Stella who was off on the trip with her husband came over to me and asked if I actually wanted to walk or if I was trying to save money. If it was the latter then she wanted to pay my bus fare for me. I wanted to walk, but really appreciated her kind gesture.

A mile from the lighthouse I saw an older man walking with full kit across the hill. I waved but didn't wait for him, if he was at the end of a long trail walk alone the last thing he'd want would be company for the final mile, I knew I'd see him at the lighthouse. Steve from Accrington, he'd just completed the Cape Wrath trail, the toughest trail walk in the UK and once I'd told him the date, he worked out he'd been walking for 22 days. It was the first long walk he'd done without his wife who is too old to carry kit now, and after this one he's decided he is too. He was tired and weathered and just relieved to have finished. He caught the minibus back and I drove him from the ferry jetty to the campsite, a shake of hands and he disappeared to put his tent up. 

I'll never see any of them again, but they've been great company. I'll not be running out of clean pants any time soon and if I ever find myself feeling tempted to do the Cape Wrath trail, I'll know who to blame.