What better way to celebrate graduation than walking 400km across the Scottish Highlands? Or, rather, limping - I badly hurt my knee on the fifth day, but we continued anyway, and it was most definitely worth it!

Highlights: Knoydart, the Falls of Glomach, Sandwood Bay, and the bothies! The bothies are without a doubt the highlight of the trail: each has its own unique character, offers welcome respite from the rain and (relentless!) midges, and is usually filled with other friendly hikers to chat to. This was my first trip staying mostly in bothies rather than camping, and it was wonderfully sociable.

Don’t underestimate the river crossings - as usual in Scotland, there were a few surprises in store for us, namely constantly changing water levels. A river could be easy to cross in the morning but impassable by the afternoon, or vice versa.