Tomorrow (Wednesday) it will be 6 weeks since my knee op and I really appreciate now how much it has improved. Jo and I have just returned from Mallaig where I had initially planned to be joining our walking group on our annual weekend away. We decided not to waste the hotel booking which had been booked and paid for. Although I could not join the others on the longer hikes they were doing, Jo and I did a few decent walks together – a couple of days over 15,000 steps – and generally I was fine. It hurt a little on the last day in Fort William when a good portion of the walk was on concrete, but on trails I was OK.
I’ve been doing short sessions on my static bike for more
than a week now and managing to lower the saddle as my knee bend increases.
Today I even risked a short cycle on my hybrid bike – just to the shops to pick
up some milk – and again it was fine.
Furthermore, I drove all the way to Mallaig (4.5 hours) on
Thursday and all the way back yesterday so things are definitely getting a bit
more normal again. The knee is still stiff and a bit swollen – and still quite
warm – but I feel a lot happier about progress.
I had contacted the physiotherapist team previously as I had
imagined there would have been some follow-up before now. I got a return telephone
call but after discussing my progress to date I was told all seemed to be well
and I should just wait until my formal PT assessment which is now fast
approaching anyway – Friday 26th September – the day before we go to
Marbella.
Anyway, as I said earlier, the Mallaig weekend was good and
was a welcome break for us both. We stopped at the Glenfinnan Monument on the
way over – hordes of tourists there. On Friday we walked the village, drove to
Loch Morar and, on our way to Arisaig, stopped off at the Silver Sands:
Back in Mallaig we climbed up the hill – well done, Jo – and completed the Mallaig Circular trail, stopping at a bench on the descent:
On Saturday we took the small boat ferry to Inverie on the Knoydart peninsula – a place that can only be reached by boat – or a 2-3 day hike over mountains and boggy land – there is no road. The reward is the lovely Old Forge pub, the most remote in the country.
There are nice walks round there and we took one of the
shorter ones:
The most surprising thing about the day is it was Pride weekend – rainbow colours everywhere and a march of about 100 people – more than the local inhabitants. We also managed to fit in a quick visit to the Knoydart Brewery which supplies the Old Forge.
Sunday was a train ride to Fort William – a 90 minute ride
which includes the aforementioned Glenfinnan viaduct. A coffee stop was
followed by another climb up to the start of the Cow Hill trail – then a trail
walk down again:
We decided to head to the Ben Nevis Centre, near where the trail up Britain’s highest mountain starts – and where Kelly began her amazing Three Peaks Challenge – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, all 3 in 24 hours – all those years ago. We got a bit sidetracked and ran out of time before we got there so we had to head back.
Talking of Kelly, she and Chris are trying to find a
suitable rental – ideally as close to Miller’s and Asher’s new schools in the
hills. One possibility that would be ideal is just 2 doors away from where
their new house is going to be built:
Demand for this property will be high – good luck, guys.
Meanwhile, I’m still looking at some possible ideas for our
holiday Down Under next year.
