An 80-year-old woman completes her annual 600-mile trek with her pony and dog. Every year, Jane Dotchin packs her panniers and embarks on an epic journey from her home near Hexham, Northumberland, to Inverness, Scotland. Since 1972, 80-year-old Jane has undertaken this annual journey with her 13-year-old horse Diamond, covering 600 miles on horseback.
This time, she began her journey on August 31 with her disabled Jack Russell, Dinky, as her companion, as she covers between 15 and 20 miles a day. During the journey, Jane carries everything she needs on her back, including her tent, food and some important personal effects.
After that first trip, she developed a taste for the open road, and has been visiting friends near Fort Augustus, close to Loch Ness in the Highlands, every autumn since. Her epic journey usually lasts around seven weeks, depending on the weather, and Jane takes the opportunity to drop in and say hello to the people she’s met over the years.
She eats porridge, oatmeal and cheese and doesn’t need much electricity, as she has an old cell phone whose battery lasts six weeks.