Day 0 – Bolton to Portpatrick

We set off from Bolton on the supposedly four-hour drive to Portpatrick and our overnight stay at the Portpatrick Hotel, ready for the start of the Southern Upland Way tomorrow. Having left a couple of hours late we then joined an almighty traffic jam on the M61, so it was well after 6 o’clock when we arrived.

Portpatrick turned out to be quite a lovely seaside town, far better than Stranraer just up the coast, of which we retain ‘unflattering’ memories from taking a ferry to Belfast several (many!) years ago. The start of the Southern Upland Way stood marked by a Saltaire on a rocky outcrop across the harbour – very easily found.

We checked into the very impressive clifftop Portpatrick Hotel and discovered that our room had a perfect bird’s-eye view of the start of tomorrow’s walk, which was thoughtful of our hosts! Had dinner at The Crown Hotel – for me, a rather mediocre fish and chips; for Noelene, a huge portion of crab claws in what looked like a very tasty sauce. The beer was very good – Five Kingdoms Superdelica pale ale which was, err, superdelicious. Someone in marketing had clearly had a productive afternoon!

The Portpatrick Hotel – highly recommended

Then back to ‘the gaff’ where I realised I’d ‘dropped a bollock’ and booked us into our next stay a day too early. As they had no rooms for the next night, we simply stayed at the rather nice Portpatrick Hotel again, albeit in a different room. A logistical error, yes, but at least one with a view of the car park!

Some Photos From Day 0