In case you haven’t guessed it yet from our Long Ways podcast, we are not conventional hikers (you can probably learn more by not doing what we do). However, there is one exception to this philosophy - the Zero Day. In theory, Zero Days are supposed to be non-hiking days, or minimal step days. A time to catch your breath, do some laundry, sleep, and get prepared for the challenges ahead.
You can hear more about this theory from one of our earlier podcast episodes on Zero Days:
But for us, Zero Days have also become a way to take time to experience the culture and history of the area we are hiking through, while still getting some sleep in, dry a few clothes recently exposed to typhoon-category rain, rest some muscles, and of course, drink a few local brews.
One of our favorite Zero Days — in fact, our first “planned” one — was a side trek we took on the West Highland Way to the coastal city of Oban. To be honest, after days of battling midges along the shore of Loch Lomond, what we wanted seafood and an ocean breeze.
Photo Credit: Eric Weber.
Oban delivered that and more. After a short train ride from the town of Tyndrum, we arrived at the coastal city of Oban. Oban has a deep history in Scottish culture: its roots date back to almost 8000 BCE, but most of the existing structures, such as the Dunollie Castle, date from around the 12th century.
After days along the inland lochs, we were there for the oceans. So we embarked on a coastal tour to experience the ocean breeze, see some coastal wildlife, and make Eric, our photographer, happy!
And the natural fauna rose to the occasion!
Photo credit: Eric Weber.
But our “zero day” was not yet complete. Before choosing a seafood restaurant, we hiked (painfully) up to McCaig's Tower. Contrary to what it might seem, it’s not actually a Roman ruin — construction on this structure started in 1897, when local banker John Stuart McCaig wanted to mimic a Roman coliseum.
By the end of the day we were exhausted, and felt the same as a feline friend we encountered at the tower:
Have you visited Oban or the Scottish coast? Leave a comment or tag us (@thelongwayspodcast) in one of your social media photos!
Before you go, for more of Eric’s photos visit us at our SmugMug store. You can follow our podcast on any podcast platform or on Buzzsprout.
One of our number, Michael, is hiking across the Cotswold Way next week! Stay tuned for our notes and photos from the trail all next week.
I love the idea of Zero Days--and that's an intriguing landscape to fill it. Looks like a lovely place to visit!
We loved our Zero Days on the Camino de Santiago - a chance for us to rest, and launder, and a chance for our teenagers, who we were walking with, to spread out and take some time off being sociable!