John Muir Way Scotland · 2025
Edinburgh · Helensburgh · 135 miles on foot on the John Muir Way · Dunbar · Edinburgh
June 28, 2025
The Magic of Seeing and Sea –John Muir Way Scotland.
And then the trail disappears for six hours.
What do you mean, “disappears”?
Yes, disappears, just like that. Swallowed up by the sea. But it later reappears. Hmm!
We have walked half-way on Scotland’s John Muir Way by the time we reach the sea. As we enter the village of Prestonpans, the official signposts all point towards the town center. But walking through a town is usually loud, gray, and boring as hell. “Look, there's a stone path running parallel to the town wall, right by the sea,” I suggest. When we step onto the path, it is strangely wet, slippery, and covered in algae. Yet it hasn't rained for two weeks. Shortly afterwards, we realize that the path only exists at low tide and is completely flooded at high tide. It's low tide! I'm thrilled and dance across a puddle. My husband looks at his watch first.
Find out if we make it before the tide came in, how an enchanted forest saved our morale, how I ran headlong into waves of fear, and what fulfillment feels like on top of a hill in the second part of our long-distance hiking report.
May 30, 2025
A Loch, a Moor and a River in the Clouds: John Muir Way Scotland.
Once from coast to coast through Scotland. But hey – not by rental car, but on foot. We are hiking the John Muir Way from the Scotland’s west coast to John Muir’s birthplace on the east coast. 134 miles and 15 days. We are standing at the starting point in Helensburgh, a small village on the west coast of Scotland. The John Muir Way is much less well known here than the great West Highland Way, so the starting sign is also relatively puny: a plaque on the wall of a small building that has all the charm of a public toilet. Never mind, we take a photo anyway.
Then we walk out of town like Scottish ambassadors in the 16th century. Heavily laden, with a mission, not knowing if we will ever reach the other end. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. Nevertheless, there is inherent magic in every long-distance hike. It seems to start the moment you decide to deliberatly walk an absurd distance on foot in a highly technological age. The moment you realize that you will carry everything you need for weeks on your back. The moment you let go of everything just to find out what you can achieve, knowing that you will never be the same person at the end of the journey as you were when you set out.