It seems like years ago when I randomly decided to walk the West Highland Way with Skye. It seemed like a fitting adventure for a dog who wasn’t able to be walked off-lead for the first couple of years.
Between September 2019 and March 2020 we put in a fair bit of training. I’d come home from work around 4pm on a Monday, Friday and Wednesday and we’d go on 6-7 mile walks together. At the weekend we’d up the miles further and in those 6 months we discovered many new walks around the Falkirk area including new ways of completing our old favourite walks.
Of course in 2020 Covid-19 hit the UK, restrictions were brought in 2 weeks before we were due to leave and we were forced to cancel our plans. We originally re-booked for October that year but once again we were forced to cancel due to further restrictions being put in place. We were able to have a short holiday to Drymen in October and walked a little of the way then. Unfortunately Morse was still a bit “meaty” on lead and the thought of him off-lead was positively terrifying. In Easter 2021 I again re-booked and yet again we were forced to cancel due to Covid-19 restrictions when the Delta variant swept through the UK. It’s safe to say that my enthusiasm for the idea took a battering and the trip went on the back burner. Skye was 10 at the time of our original booking and I was sure she would be fine to complete the whole thing for when it was originally planned. Sadly, I knew that 2020 was really our last chance for that.
I’d taken sponsorship money in 2020 and knew I would be walking the way with Skye in tow for as much as she could manage and possibly Morse as well provided he was sufficiently well-trained. So in January, I re-booked our dog-friendly accommodation and dusted down my walking boots.