Travistrek West Highland Way

This is yet another shameless plug – but this time for something that’s really got nothing to do with me.
Really avid readers may remember me mentioning writing a short blurb or description of the West Highland Way from North to South and that perhaps, in view of the fact that I’ve never actually walked this route, somebody might like to check my writing.
Thanks to Aktoman and Martin Rye for the proof reading, suggestions and pictures, the much improved description is now in the hands of the Travistrek team.

Travis, I should explain, is a guide dog who’s place is on the other end of the lead of a blind chap called Scott Cunningham
Scott, Travis, some former Rangers footie plyers and some members of 45 Royal Marine Commando will be walking the West Highland Way from Fort William and finishing a bit further on at Ibrox. They’ll be starting on 3 April 2009

All of this is for raising money for Guide Dogs for the Blind

As well as all this, there’s a Gig entitled “Madchester Lives On” – a celebration of Manchester bands to be held at Tan Hill Inn on 7 Feb 2009.
Be there or be square like me by the way….
Tickets are £15

Interesting links:

http://legendstrek.co.uk/
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xHTEI2YLfeo

This bloke Scott is quite amazing as it happens, the video will dispel any doubts as to the man’s chances of success.
Anybody fancy a bit of wild camping and wild(ish) music near Tan Hill?

A big discount

A chap I know only from an internet forum asked me to help him write a bit of a blurb to support a walk he’s doing with his pal and his pal’s dog from Fort William to Glasgow Rangers FC’s ground using the West Highland Way. The thing is, his pal is blind and the dog is his guide dog, Travis.

Its not the first time they’ve done this kind of thing and a while back they walked th Pennine Way. The idea is to try to get Rangers players involved in the project (not entirely sure how at the moment) – and the point is, I believe, to raise cash for a guide dog training centre near Forfar.

All good stuff, and I’m really chuffed about helping out. I’ll be posting posts about how things progress as they progress.

As I’ve never actually done the West Highland Way, I sort of wondered if a blogger and/or Northernpies reader who has done the route, or parts of the route, might like to cast an eye over the draft of the blurb to check it for idiocy – at the appropriate time.
This will be unpaid work, though you should get quite good karma from it.

To this end, I went into Durham today and bought a copy of Bob Aitken and Roger Smith’s guide to the walk which I will read backwards whilst hanging upside down from the banister. (because the guide describes the route from South to North, y’see)

Hopefully, the finished thing will be free from any noticeable plagiarism and will be quite a lot shorter than the guide, too.

I appreciate that this isn’t the way to do things.

Incidentally, the Cotswold shop in Durham recorded a price of £41000 when their till read the bar code for the book. Both me and the shop lad took the view that this was a bit steep and he scutterred off to find out how much it should be. A few minutes later, he gave me a £40085 (** edited to read £40985 following BG's comment. Dhuhhh... )discount, which I thought was reasonable.

Pics of Durham. Nice cathedral innit? And look at that knocker! Whoar! Can’t take pictures inside, but, for those who haven’t seen the interior, it is beautiful in a quite remarkable way. And its free. We like free….