How can I avoid walking along the A9 in northern Scotland?
The final few days to John o’Groats take you along the busy A9 and A99, and there’s not a great deal you can do about it. However, if you really want to avoid the A9 (and who can blame you?), then you can turn northwest along the A897 at Helmsdale and head for the north coast at Melvich; from here you can strike along the A836 to Thurso, and then east along the lanes to John o’Groats. The hard part is finding places to stay along the A836 and A897, but there are some options – you’ll just have to plan carefully. Although it’s still A-road walking, it’s a lot quieter and some people prefer it. The following advice from Peter Wickenden might also be useful: ‘My wife and I did the LEJOG walk as a retirement project April-July 2006. The unavoidable bits of the A9 between Tain and Brora were by far the worst bits of road walking of the entire trip. We avoided the northern section of the A9 by taking the alternative route suggested above (it’s 21 miles longer than the direct route). Unfortun
