Today was a heavy day. I don’t even really know why. I slept very well and was very happy with the campsite I had found. Right by a loch, where there were changing rooms for those who want to swim and more importantly for me, a compost toilet.

I was up early as I wanted to get the tent packed up before the rain started. Sure enough, it rained today. It started after I had been walking for half an hour. I was prepared for that and that’s not what made it heavy. It was actually nice to get a bit of rain, although it probably didn’t do much for the parched ground. It stopped again later in the morning. I think the farmers were happy anyway. And speaking of farmers, after walking for days past fields and meadows with cows and seeing many tractors with people working, I got to thinking how happy and grateful I am that there are still people who bother to farm, to grow crops and keep animals so that the rest of us can get something to eat. I really hope it lasts.

So I dragged myself along today. The legs were heavy, the bag was heavy, every step seemed strenuous. Fortunately, that didn’t apply to the mind today.

At one point when I couldn’t find any water, I saw a man in an armchair in his garden and I just asked him if he could give me some water. He was more than happy to and we had a little chat about my hike. And in the end I found an excellent place to pitch the tent. So in the end, it wasn’t the worst day.