As she stood in the pouring rain Yvette Primrose wasn’t sure if she could take another step. Her blistered feet throbbed in her sodden walking boots and every muscle in her body ached.
She had set herself what can only be described as a challenge of epic proportions: to walk 668 miles from Shropshire to the north of Scotland with just a sleeping bag and a handful of provisions.
With no tent to provide shelter she would be wild camping: sleeping on the rough, damp ground night after night and staving off hunger pangs by foraging for roots and berries.
“I was in Northumberland and it was raining hard. I was trying to reach somewhere more secluded but my boots were so painful I couldn’t take another step. I ended up standing in this field, leaning against a wall and thinking, ‘What am I doing?’” says Yvette, 52, who lives on Gometra an island in the Hebrides with her husband Andy, 46, a stay-at-home-dad, and their 12-year-old daughter Katy.
Yvette came up with the idea for her trek across the UK when she reached a crossroads in her life.
“I was 48 and had just left my job as a senior lecturer in counselling psychology at Wolverhampton University after 10 years.
I love to write and I’d written a story about a woman who walked from Shropshire to Scotland
“I’d developed arthritis in my hip and I was going through the menopause. I wanted to overcome the aches and pains to really see what I was capable of.”
Yvette decided to walk from her home at the time in Ditton Priors to Knoydart in the Scottish Highlands.
“I love to write and I’d written a story about a woman who walked from Shropshire to Scotland.
“So the walk was reverse research, I suppose. I started hatching a plan to see if the journey was really possible.”
In September 2014 Yvette walked 40 miles from her home to Penkridge, Staffordshire over three days with a sleeping bag but no tent. It gave her the first taste of sleeping outdoors.
“On the first night I was determined to stay out of sight.
“I got into a copse and thought it looked safe.
ALONE: Yvette slept in a makeshift shelter (Image: FREE )
“I tried to hide myself from insects by digging into the ground but I was soon eaten alive by midges and mosquitos.
“So I ended up sleeping under a hedge in a field.
“It was high ground and I had a wonderful view. It taught me not to be so worried about being out in the open.”
With her confidence boosted Yvette planned the rest of her journey and divided it into three legs. The first would take her 174 miles from Staffordshire to North Yorkshire, the second 134 miles from North Yorkshire to the Scottish border, and the third 320 miles to Knoydart.
“People did think I was mad but my husband Andy and Katy were very supportive,” she says.
In March 2015 Yvette set off for the first leg of the journey from Staffordshire to North Yorkshire.
TRAVELLING LIGHT: Yvette’s travelling gear (Image: FREE )
She foraged for food and supplemented it with a small amount of pemmican, a traditional explorer’s food made from dried meat and animal fat.
“I was eating a lot of leaves such as sorrel and cress. I tried to find flavoursome things that would make the pemmican taste better. I ate bracken tops, young leaves off beech trees and made tea with thistle roots.”
And despite the cold March weather she slept outdoors.
“Every little bit of contact with the ground and the rock and the water made me feel good,” she says.
“At night it made me feel I was part of the natural world and I was just bedding down with everybody else.”
After finishing the first leg in just three days Yvette set off for the second time in September 2016, walking from North Yorkshire to the Scottish border. The freezing conditions made it tough going.
“The weather was absolutely awful and my feet were in agony. I have bunions so my feet were ripped to pieces. I felt I was really pushed to the limit.”
It was here that Yvette found herself in the field, doubting she could continue.
“The only thing that kept me going was the sheer will to overcome the pain.”
But that night she was rewarded by a gorgeous sunset.
“Every time I faltered I was inspired by the environment and I’d keep going.
“It was a beautiful red sunset which means good weather the next day. And sure enough there was.”
Nine days after she set off Yvette reached the Scottish border.
Then in May 2017 she embarked on her final and most gruelling hike through Scotland, covering 320 miles in 21 days. Partway through she ran out of pemmican and had to rely entirely on foraged food.
“I was walking the west coast of Scotland and it dawned on me that seaweed is edible and very filling and nutritious so I ate a lot of that.”
Yvette lived on foraged food (Image: FREE )
After walking a combined 668 miles in 48 days Yvette finally reached Knoydart, where she was met by her mum Juliet and sister Louise. But rather than being greeted with enthusiasm there was an awkward silence.
“At the end I didn’t have any phone signal at all so I hadn’t spoken to my family in a few days.
“I didn’t realise but my daughter Katy was in hospital with an infection and was on intravenous antibiotics. It was very difficult for my family.”
Thankfully Katy was discharged from hospital and was recovering at home by the time Yvette reached Knoydart.
“I felt very relieved that she wasn’t ill any more and upset I hadn’t been there. I was so grateful that my sister, who’s a midwife, was on hand to look after her.”
Reflecting on the journey Yvette is proud of what she achieved.
“This is the biggest challenge I’ve faced but I’m glad I did it.
“I learnt that I have an independent spirit that pulls me through.”
To order a copy of Expedition From The Backdoor by Yvette Primrose (£9.99, Book Guild) call the Express Bookshop on 01872 562 310 or visit expressbookshop.co.uk