Day 11 - Sandend to Macduff

Things were quiet at the campground last night, and we got a pretty good sleep. We woke up to light rain around 6:45 and managed to get on the trail around 7:45, most of our gear still dry, with the exception of the tent.

The trail took us past the beach we were staying beside last night, and we spotted some more anti-tank cubes and another pillbox.

Sandend Beach

Anti-Tank Cubes, Pillbox In The Distance

Pillbox, And Other Building

There were lots of slugs on the trail near the beach, with their homes on their backs. We stopped to watch two of them racing but ended up carrying on as it was going to take way too long to see who the winner was. 🤣

Slug Race, Not Sure Who Won 😆

Today was a head down and walk type of day for us. With the end of the hike getting closer and closer, we have entered the phase where part of us is feeling sad that the adventure is almost over, and the other part is relieved for the same reason. While we love being outside, seeing new things, and meeting interesting people, we also miss our friends and family, and our kitties. 🐈🐈‍⬛ We are also a little worn down from the day-after-day packing up, hiking, unpacking, setting up cycle.

Today was cloudy with some sunny breaks. Our route took us a little further from the coastline, through some more rural farming areas. It was picturesque, and gave Mandy dozens more opportunities to call out to any type of animals she could spot. If I had a dollar for every time she suddenly called out “Hello, Babies!!!!” to cats, dogs, sheep, cows, horses this trip I would probably have about $158!!! 🤣

Mandy Spotted These Three Babies On Our Way Through Portsoy

We stopped and chatted with a farmer for a while at one point. It was very interesting to listen to some of concerns about farming and the country in general. He said despite the price of beef in the grocery store he struggles to break even. He decided to plant some canola this year because oat and barley prices are also depressed. It is a bit of a risk for him because the wind can actually destroy the canola seed just before it’s time to cultivate. It sounds really tough. He was very friendly, and I really enjoyed chatting with him.



We continued on and eventually ended up the Royal Burgh of Banff. We have been telling many Scots how we live near the Canadian sister town of Banff, which they all seem to find amusing.

Wait, How Did We Get Here??

We were able to finish our walking around 1:30 this afternoon, and are pitched up at a campground just south of Macduff. We unpacked in the sun, which was a welcome treat, and allowed our wet tent to fully dry before we got in it. Tonight will be our last night in the tent. ☹️ 🥳 Our plan for tomorrow is to be in Fraserburgh for a 17:00 pickup by our good friend Moira. In order to do this we plan on being up a little earlier, as we will have ~32 km to cover.

Thanks again for reading, everybody!! One more post to come!



Day 11 Route - 23.8 km, 397 m ascent