My Southern Upland Way Thoughts
On a walk that will take you well over the 212 miles along the Southern Upland Way (SUW), you have plenty of time to think about the walk you are doing, if you've found it easy/hard, if you would do it again and if you would recommend it to other walkers but I prefer to wait a week or so before I write my final thoughts, by which time I have got back home and back to my usual routine, quite often my thoughts about a walk at the end of it change in the next few days when I've had time to think about it.
I found the SUW was challenging, not only physically but mentally as well and also it wasn't as easy as many other walks to plan and book. If you are used to long distance walking and prefer walks where you can walk 20+ miles a day and not see a single person, the SUW will be ideal for you. If however you can't walk 20+ miles a day, the SUW might be too much for you unless you can arrange transport to take you to or from your accommodation as much of the SUW goes through remote areas with no accommodation anywhere near and only the occasional road to cross where you could get picked up. Some of the accommodation named in guide books or websites no longer exists meaning limited or no accommodation in places where they were ideal e.g. Tibbie Shiels at St. Mary's Loch so you might have to arrange accommodation miles off route, luckily some providers will gladly pick you up and drop you off next day if it means getting your business, so don't be afraid to ask them when you're planning the SUW.
The SUW has some beautiful scenery along the route if you have clear weather and can try and block out the wind farms that seem to be on most hills in the Dumfries and Galloway part of the SUW. The remoteness of the walk means you won't see many people on it and you won't have your ears filled with the noise of traffic like you get on some walks, I loved how quiet it was as you could then hear the birds, animals, streams and the wind in the trees, not cars and lorries.
There were times in the first few days when I would finish tired and remind myself that it would still be over a week before I finished, the SUW is a very long walk, possibly easier to do it in two or three sections. Once you get the first few days out of the way and reach Sanquhar it feels mentally a bit easier as you will be ending each day in a town or village so food and drink isn't as much a problem as in the earlier stages
Yes, I would recommend the SUW if you are used to long distance walking but probably not your first walk, do something with less distance and more villages, towns, transport and accommodation along the trail. If you can manage the long distances and like scenic and quiet walks, the SUW will suit you very nicely indeed.
