Day Three: Sandhead to Stranraer

Resuming a trek, even one that’s been looked forward to for a long time, can be a daunting proposition, especially when the reason it needs resuming is because of health and a feeling of not being able to cope. At least, it is for me.

The last three days of recuperation have been restorative and healing. Always present in my mind was the challenge of returning to the path that felt so difficult. Throughout, that anxiety was battling with my stubbornness and the desire to not give up on my plans.

I was also buoyed up by two things: the fact that I now have proof that if something does go wrong, it doesn’t need to be a disaster. That actually gives me some confidence. Secondly, I spent some of the last three days lightening my pack. I didn’t weigh everything I removed, but it was significant. It’s also taken my pack volume down, so it’s no longer straining at the seams. There’s still very noticeable weight - I’m still camping and feeding myself along this trip - but it’s now missing the straws that were breaking this camel’s back.

My brother drove me down to Sandhead, and we shared a meal with our Dad at the same pub where I had been rescued a few days before. It felt nicely circular to sit in that same beer garden with a very different mood.

About 1pm, I set off from the pub, and headed to the shore. The weather was (blessedly) much cooler than on Sunday. After a time among the Marram grass, the path led me back onto pebble beach, but blessedly it didn’t last long. After crossing a narrow footbridge over a stream, the beach became sandy, and the tide was far enough out that I could walk on the firm, damp sand.

I made good time, with the cool wind behind me. Little pebbles in the sand each had streaks of dry sand piled up in their lee, giving the beach the look of being even more windswept than it actually was. After a couple of miles I reached the MoD facilities that dominate the rest of that shore as it curves east, and I headed inland.

Surprisingly, just on the civilian side of the boundary with the MoD land, there is a motocross test track among the dunes. The guide board suggests pedestrians should keep to the path, which I did, and immediately came across an interpretation board explaining the area is a Site of Special Scientific Intetest as a bird conservation and protection area. The three uses seem to be held in close proximity, and I wonder how each makes a difference to the others?

The path continued inland, becoming a track and then a (minor) road. Many people aren’t fans of walking on roads; it’s hard on the feet and of course not so safe. For me, it was a gift of confidence in both direction and footing. As I followed the road inland and gently uphill, the wind was blowing away the mist and low cloud, and the sun came out.

I passed many farms, mostly fields filled with cows or in a few cases sheep. A moderate herd of bullocks were really interested in me, and trotted along beside me until my road passed the end of their field.

The road gradually narrowed and petered out, leading me through the final farm and into actual fields. A couple of fields had the worrying sign ‘if bull is in the field, please use the style” but the first was empty and the second had only sheep.

I stopped for a rest and a very welcome cup of rose tea after the sheep field, and spent half an hour enjoying lying in the sun with my hat over my face. My mood was so good by this point, I was beginning to feel like this trip is something that I can face without anxiety.

We briefly joined the Southern Upland Way, another path I’m keen to walk some time, and then entered the gentle woodlands leading to Stranraer.

The campsite here is only a quarter of a mile off the route, and is wonderful! Great facilities, and the tent side of the site is generously sized, with soft ground, beautiful trees, and even our own sheltered cooking area and washing up facilities with hot running water!

Tomorrow will be a different day, with my first wild camping experience of the trip; for tonight, I look forward to sleeping in this gentle evening.