Log No 115. Thu 29th Aug 2013 - Gallanachmore, Oban to Ardmaddy, 16 miles (1795 miles walked)

It rained through the night and the tent still never leaked.

I must be going soft, low cloud & mist with a forecast of light rain and I had no hesitation in taking the easy option of going by road instead of fighting my way through ferns.

It may well be easy but once you are on the main road it is also very boring and all the more so when it is raining.

Inland initially to Kilmore at the head of Loch Feochan then along the south side of the loch to Kilninver. 3 hours walking with only one break in a bus shelter in Kilmore, the highlight of the morning was when a lady stopped her car and asked if I wanted a lift.

Things picked up in the afternoon, not the weather as the showers continued, I found a handful of ripe brambles and then I got off the road and onto a footpath over the hills.

This was a good track, signposted to Degnish, and there was a board at the start saying "Wishing Tree 2.2Km".

It was 13.20 when I started on the track and, after the excitement of the morning when I took one photo, only planned on walking another couple of miles to find somewhere to camp in the hills.

After half an hour I walked by a small Hawthorne tree which had a fence round it. A few metres on and I suddenly "twigged" that it could have been the Wishing Tree.

I went back for a closer look, it would also be another photo for the log.


All I initially noticed was dead stumps and branches with some Hawthorne growing on part of it, I don't know if it was originally a Hawthorne or not, there was no information board.

A couple of branches had a ribbon tied on and then I realised the whole "Tree" was covered in coins, mostly hammered into the bark.

There were all denominations of coins and a lot of foreign ones. The older copper coins had turned blue/green, it was probably these copper coins that had killed the tree.

I put one in myself and made a wish - that my body & spirit hold out long enough to get me back to Yorkshire.

I soon found a good spot for the tent on a sheep grazed area with running water.

I'm really scraping the barrel if I've got to put a picture of the stream water on the log, it looks more like a urine sample!

16 miles in 6 hours and it is still raining, it will be another wild camp tomorrow.