The Scottish National Trail

Recently a new long distance footpath was launched, from Kirk Yetholm (at the northern end of the Pennine Way) to Cape Wrath. Cameron McNeish (for it was his idea) explains the concept in the video below:



I wondered what route the trail would take, especially through the Lowlands, so was interested to see a map:



The trail follows St Cuthbert's Way, then a route to Edinburgh I don't recognise, the lowland canals, the Rob Roy Way, the Corrieairack to Fort Augustus, then disappears into trackless country in the northwest. It was with surprise I realised I've already walked the majority of the way from the border to Cape Wrath, albeit in installments and by a different route to the proposed trail.

The border near Berwick:


I've walked the Berwickshire coast and John Muir Way as far as Aberlady, the Union and Forth-Clyde Canals between Edinburgh and Glasgow, Glasgow to Milngavie, the West Highland Way to Fort William, and from Ardnamurchan to Cape Wrath. The only gaps in my own route are from Aberlady to Edinburgh, and from Fort William to Ardnamurchan - Ardnamurchan being, as I described before, a superior starting point to Fort William for the route to Cape Wrath.

Cape Wrath:


I always think of official footpaths more as suggestions than fixed routes anyway (Wainwright's Coast to Coast is the right idea) but there is no doubt it is much easier to sell a fixed route than a vague 'choose your own adventure' one. Selling, I think being the operative word. It is the first national trail to have a commercial sponsor (Goretex). Will there be more in the future? An RBS Way from St Andrews Square to Threadneedle Street? A Tunnocks Way from Uddingston to Largs? A Cairn Energy Way from St Fergus Gas Terminal to Aberdeen Harbour? The possibilities are there to be exploited...