The Outdoors Station

We finally have to leave the solutiude and romance of Sandwood Bay and head for Cape Wrath lighthouse. Although we can see the lighthouse form the bay itself, the first fence we have to cross has the ominous sign, suggesting that checking for a live firing exercise might be a sensible thing to do! However, there’s no phone signal at the bay and we felt confident from the conversations we had with villagers and shop keeprs on route, that live firing had been cancelled that day. Even so, we umm’d and ahh’d for a while before deciding as we couldn’t hear anything exploding to go for it! Underfoot it was probably the hardest part of the trip. We chose not to stick close to the coast, which would have meant dropping into deep gullies only to have to climb back out again, but keep a kilometre inland where the track was more undulating. I say track, but it was more a case of picking the best line through the bog and marshland.

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Sandwood Bay is a wonderful location, thankfully far off the tourist track, which accounts for the peace it offers for the more adventurous backpacker. There are stories of Vikings, Ghosts, Mermainds and sunken boats and treasure. None of which we found. I recall we have the entire place to ourselves and saw one or two other people leaving as we arrived, which gave us the place to ourselves all afternoon and night, on a Sunny Spring day. Wonderful stuff. I do descend into a long gear review in this podcast and many of the items have changed or are no longer manufactured. It is interesting to listen to this list and apart from those few items, the key parts of my gear which I take haven’t changed very much. Obviously the Bushcraft equipment is no longer taken unless it is a lowland adventure.

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This podcast starts with an interesting interview with a young couple who give an idea of how hard it is to make a living in this part of the world. However the upside is the sense of community and the strong supporting bond between those who choose to live here. The surrounding area is actually owned by the community and the Assynt Crofters Association. It makes a fascinating read if you want to know more. The day ends in an unusual wild camp spot directly under a bridge and an A road. But the camp places are limited we found on the whole trip. The next day is a very long one and we use a hotel to restore body and soul. Sandwood Bay is getting closer and the next thing we have to consider is the potential Live Firing on our Cape Wrath path. Will they or won’t they?

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The second part of this series originally recorded in 2008 as Lee and I make our way from Ullapool to Cape Wrath through a variety of weather and exciting camping conditions.

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The next few podcasts are to make up for my silence of these last few weeks. I am soon to be interviewing Keith Foskett regarding his forthcoming book High and Low, part of which touches on the Cape Wrath Trail. So before speaking with him, I thought I would re-visit my 2008 adventure and recycle the 5 part series to inspire our audience to consider one of the last wilderness trails in the UK. It has been a joy to listen to these again and I do hope you find them equally interesting. If you are seeking a remote adventure and want to challenge yourself both physically and mentally then Cape Wrath offers the kind of solitude and beauty that is so rare to find.

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This ia an important subject and one which hopefully you wil be able to share with other individuals, groups and interested parties, who all share a love for the outdoors and a desire to maintain it with respect. Life Trek Adventures is run by partners Seb and Heidi. Their shared passion for outdoor sport and adventure travel has taken them around the globe in both personal and professional contexts.  They are committed to helping others understand, care for and utilise our wild spaces in a sustainable way. Both of them hold a Leave No Trace Master Educator certification - the highest qualification provided by the largest organisation specialising in minimum impact outdoor recreation training.

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It was a very, very pleasant New Years Eve for Rose and I as Andy and Kate finally made it over to our new place and following a nice wet afternoons walk on the local Malvern Hills to give Pip the dog a good stretch, we settled in for a magnificent Venison Stew and a night of laughter with our old friends. After a good sleep we all woke to a new day and a New Year and naturally after the usual pleasantries were exchanged we got down to the more important breakfast topics of how much weight Andy and I need to lose and why Trail Shoes were more suitable for most outdoor activties than Boots! There was much discussion also over the topics I would like to look at this year for both the audio and video content, which seemed to be coming up with regularity on the various forums and Facebook pages. usually the simplest questions which result in the longest or most prolific of answers. We discuss this in more detail in the podcast and how things have changed for all of us in the last few years.

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So here we are at the end of the 2017 and I just want to say thanks to everyone who contributed to this podcats and great to hear the variety of relationships they have had with The Outdoors Station during our 12 years and 10,000,00+ downloads. In order we hear from Alan Callow, Brian Vargo, Dave Hanney Alpkit, Sarah Jackson, David Lintern, Katy Mccullagh, Roman Ackle, Chris Townsend, Alex Roddie, Paul Stokes, Lee Wells, Colin Woolford, Rich Sheward and Steve Bunting. Thank you one and all for your comment and feedback. I know it isn’t a comfortable thing to do to use an answer machine, but it really helps inspire me to keep going knowing that everyone is getting a wealth of pleasure and knowledge from whatever I do and share. Whishing you a happy, healthy and safe 2018 in the company of those you love. Bob and Rose

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Thanks to you, my audience we have just passed the 10 Million download mark. This is an incredible achievement for a small independent, unsponsored producer. This goes to show there is a need for the content and service we provide and I want to celebrate this by asking you, the audience, to call in and leave a message so I can create the next podcast from you and your relationship with this podcast. I couldn't have done it without you, so please join in the celebration and Skype me to leave a message - theoutdoorsstation - or phone a local rates into the Skype service on (+44) (0)1905 570313.

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