Newb on the Southern Upland Way

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This is the stuff I am taking. I decided on a small 40 liter pack. I know that is small as fuck for a 30 day hike but I will be storing water, food, emt and small stuff on molle patches on the outside.

I don't plan on taking a GPS because the trail is very obvious and there are signs everywhere. I am taking my phone to call home every couple of days so if I really can't find the way I can use Google maps.

Like I mentioned in the OP I am a pretty fat dude and one of the main reasons I am doing this trip is to lose some weight. I don't plan on eating more than 3000 calories a day depending on how much I walk. Every other day I pas a small town where I should be able to stock up on some food.

Just to throw it out there, because I know questions are coming. I weigh 235 lbs (107 kg) and my condition is pretty bad. Some parts won't be easy, that's for sure. Atleast I have a full month to make it.

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Just sharing a couple of sights on the trail to hopefully inspire some other Eurofags to do it. It's a very unknown trail but it looks very good and all the reviews are amazing.

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This is in Port Patrick, the starting point of the track.

There trail features a lot of trout-rich lakes, but unfortunatly you need a license to fish and even if you get one you aren't allowed to eat it. We truly are Eurocucks.

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Alright, so that is everything I have to share so far. Any form of feedback or response is encouraged.

God bless.

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I also wanted to share my water setup. I bought these two 1 liter water pouches and a Snugpak 1 liter bottle. The bottle I will keep in a molle pouch to pull out whenever I need it. The two water pouches I will fill up at rivers and towns and use them to refill my water bottle.

When empty, the two pouches don't take up any space which is the reason I went for this approach at storing water on-the-go.

>>1020066
Looks like a great route, I'm heading up to Scotland in the summer to do some hikes around Ben Nevis.
Don't forget some water purification if you plan to drink from rivers, and what will you be taking for food?

>>1020150
Cheers, Scotland looks amazing. Seeing forward to it a lot.

I'm taking a couple of Mountain House meals for the moments that I just want to quit and need a decent meal. Other than that I am taking some protein bars, oatmeal and other powdered stuff. Basically anything I can make with boiling water.

The trail goes through towns every two or three days so I'll be sure to stock up on canned food and maybe even some meat to be grilled above the fire later that day.

I don't plan of purificating the water, but I will be taking some chlorine dioxide tablets in case the river looks shady.

Portpatrick's a beautiful town but most of the shops are geared toward tourists so it might be a good idea to stock up elsewhere. Depending on how you're getting there, Girvan or Stranraer will be better for food.
We've had a very mild winter so there's a horrendous amount of midges and ticks this year, they'll be out in force in the wetter parts of the trail so it might be an idea to bring some repellent. I've already had a tick bite earlier on in the month so watch yourself.
I'd definitely recommend taking some way to purify water, there's plenty of good water sources but coming down with the shits is the last thing you want.
Also, there's some Bothies on the way so be sure to take advantage of them, just be sure to replace anything you use and leave them as you find them.

I'm from the SW of Scotland so if you're needing general advice I'll be about.

OP is gonna die.

>>1020530
I'll arive in Belfast in the morning, from there I'll take the ferry to Stanraer. I'll stock up in Stranraer and get on the bus to Port Patrick. For the night I'll set up along the coast line just outside of Port Patrick on the SUW trail.

Or atleast, that's the plan.
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I was hoping for few midges but like you said, I can expect a lot of them. Definetly buying repellent.
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I am definetly taking some chlorine tablets and I suppose I should look into a filter too then.

Thanks for the reply mate.

>>1020530
Hijacking this if you don't mind. I'm from down south and like the look of this trail, I like the quietness and the fact it's not six billion miles from England.

Was thinking of maybe driving up and leaving the car somewhere along the route, Moffat or Dumfries or something. Then getting public transport across to Portpatrick and walking back. Looks like the only possible connections between Portpatrick and the rest of Scotland are back up to Glasgow and then back down again, is that for real?

Any thoughts on how to make this work?

>>1021585
Yeah public transport outside of the central belt is abysmal, even then in the rural parts of the belt you're still in for a hard time. I'm not sure what long term parking will be like in Dumfries or Moffat but there's definitely places you can park long term in Glasgow, though it might be expensive. If you're travelling from England it might be better to use Glasgow as your start and end point.
Then again, you could use anywhere on the train route from Glasgow to Stranraer, most stops are at bigger towns like Irvine or Ayr, though Ayrshire's an hour at most away from Glasgow by car so it's up to yourself.

>>1021481
Just remembered, the the villages along the trail are generally very small, some don't have a shop or a pub so it might not be easy to stock up. However most have B&Bs so they're a good shout if you fancy a shower and a meal.
Though a lot of the trail is signposted, do you have a compass and some maps? You mentioned using google maps but you might not get the chance to charge your phone.

>>1020854
gonner for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnCn2VTzY90

>>1021481
>I was hoping for few midges but like you said, I can expect a lot of them. Definetly buying repellent.
I've never used repellent so am unsure of it's effectiveness but I'd definitely pack a midge head net. You don't know true misery until you have billions of the cunts swarming round you in your ears eyes nose and mouth making it hard to even breath. They weigh nothing and pack so small it'd be stupid not to really.

Something like the Bahco Laplander folding saw might be something worth considering as well if you're having a fire. Lots of Forestry Comission plantations ooop North so any dead fallen trees you will be able to harvest branches and logs from.