I first came across the Adventure Queens Grant a few years ago. It looked exciting and although I had adventures in mind, I felt it was something that others did rather than me. Moving forward to 2024, the Adventure Queens Grant was still at the front of my mind and I’d been thinking about an adventure I’d wanted to do for several months. So, when I saw the next round of applications, I sat down, made a plan and submitted my application. On a cold January day, while at work, I received an email telling me I was successful!! I was so excited and remember sharing the news with colleagues. They thought I was crazy for being excited about walking alone and carrying my home on my back for a week!
While I had been thinking about my idea to walk the Arran coastal path for at least 12 months, I now needed to go and confidently do it! One of my biggest decisions was my backpack. I had never carried a bag larger than 33 litres and knew that I didn’t want to look like Reece Witherspoon in the film Wild!
My mentor suggested selecting a bag that was no more 40 litres and to go from there. I searched the Osprey website (https://www.osprey.com/gb/) for the perfect bag and after going into a store to try a few out I chose the Osprey Kyte 38
This bag is perfect in so many ways. It has an opening at the bottom where I can put my sleeping bag and sleeping mat AND an opening on the side so I can get things from the middle of the pack. It also has an integrated rain cover which proved very handy in the Scottish weather!
I had never carried a tent or a sleeping system before and was worried about the added weight and volume. I knew I was going to use my Alpkit grant towards the sleep system so did lots of research around sleeping mats (the scientist in me was geeking out on R values!) and tents and decided on the Alpkit Numo. It packs down small, but the 8cm thickness ensures you don’t feel the lumps and bumps on the ground. The initial climb onto the sleeping mat was a battle of fabrics as it’s a bit slippery, but by day three I knew where to sleep on it. Very comfy!
For tents, I was undecided between a bivvy and the Alpkit Tarpster 2. I opted for the Tarpster 2 so that I had a home for the night. This tent is particularly savvy as you only need one walking pole and some tent pegs to put it up. It did take some getting used to. The first time I used it, I had water pooling around the walking pole, but things got better after I bought some new walking pole tips so that there was a greater surface area for the tent to rest on.
Over the next few months, I scheduled time off work, booked my train and ferry tickets, and repacked my bag 50+ times! I was worried about my fitness levels and was aware that I wanted to enjoy this adventure rather than torture myself, so planned to do the walk over eight days rather than the usual four to seven. I found komoot (https://www.komoot.com/) particularly helpful with this.
My route on komoot
The app has some ready-made routes, but gives you the opportunity to amend them. It was great to be able to play with my route on the laptop and then have it on the app on my phone. Oh, and the app talks out loud to you!
Getting to the Island
I had planned to take the ferry from Ardrossan on the Scottish coast to Brodick on Arran, but closer to the time I learned that ferries on this route had been cancelled and so I had to come up with a new plan. Thankfully, ferries from just down the coast at Troon were still running, so I still made it to Arran via a little detour and an extra bus.
Starting my solo hike
I decided to be easy on myself at the beginning of the hike and booked myself into a hostel at Lochranza in the north of Arran and the next day took the bus back to Brodick, and from there walked north along Fishermans Walk, first towards Cladach and then through some woods towards Corrie and Sannox. This day probably had the best weather; after this, rain was a common theme.
The next day I walked from Sannox to Lochranza on possibly the most beautiful section of the route, with lots of wildlife. The sea was bright blue, the beaches were rocky with white sand and I saw seals, jellyfish and many birds. This was my first day of being mindful in nature and it was a lovely feeling. I don’t know much about birds, but made a pact to myself to learn more about the birds in the British Isles, so that I could identify them on future adventures.
I finished at the hostel in Lochranza again and decided to have a rest day here as heavy rain was forecast. So as not to waste day three, I took a short ferry from Lochranza to Claonaig on the Argyll coast and walked about an hour to the Skipness seafood cabin for a delicious plate of langoustines. Not bad for a rainy day!
I knew that from day four onwards it was going to be more remote so packed my bags with enough food for two days and set off the following morning for Imachar. By this point I was in a routine. I knew where everything was in my bag, I knew what I was going to eat and how much food I would need to keep me going for a few hours and my legs knew I had to walk!
On day eight I arrived in Lamlash, not far from my start point in Brodick. I’d wanted to snorkel here with COAST (the Community of Arran Seabed Trust) arrancoast.com, but unfortunately it wasn’t a snorkel day, so instead I spent some time learning about the local marine life at the centre. Anemones are really pretty! I still want to snorkel, so now I have the bug for multi-day adventures, perhaps my next adventure will involve snorkelling and water-based activities.
Reflections
My Adventure Queen adventure made me realise that I can be self-sufficient and need ever so little to have an amazing day. It’s rare that I get the opportunity to be in my own mind for such a long period of time, and knowing and learning how to live with my thoughts while in the wilderness was a great learning experience.
About our Adventure Queen Grant winner, Summaya Kasuji
Sumayya is a forty something adventure lover. She first discovered a love for hiking when she joined her University hiking club many years ago. She was always the slow one at the back, but that didn’t stop her loving being outside with like-minded people and taking in the mental health benefits of being in the great outdoors. Sumayya is now a pharmacist in the NHS, and hiking and being outside is where she loves to be when not at work.