I COULD JUST SENSE that the great outdoors was fast becoming the great indoors. No matter that I live in the Scottish Highlands; a young family and a full-time teaching job meant personal time and space were being squeezed from all angles – and to get my weekly fix of fresh air, I would need to be more inventive with my time.
As my children grew older I realised I could steal progressively more time at the start and end of each day for my commute to work. I’m lucky enough to live in Lochaber’s Great Glen, where some of Scotland’s finest mountain biking routes are located, and I started out by making use of them for my commute from my home near Spean Bridge to Fort William – a distance of about nine miles. But the idea slowly came about that this journey could be used for some even bigger outdoor adventures – ranging from the relatively gentle (kayaking along the Caledonian Canal) to the very challenging indeed (the epic 15-hour, seven-Munro walk that is the Lochaber Traverse).
So this would be my challenge: to commute to work in five different ways over the course of a year: mountain bike, walk, swim, kayak and ski. I knew it would be great fun – and, what’s more, it would be a great source of inspiration for the teaching day.
Commute one – by mountain bike
It started with my daily cycle to work. The A82 is not necessarily the best or the worst road for cyclists; but to the side of it are fantastic routes such as the Great Glen Way and the Witch’s Trails, so I got on my mountain bike and went ‘off-road’.
Bu hikaye The Great Outdoors dergisinin December 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Great Outdoors dergisinin December 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.
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