End of September, beginning of October and it’s off to the game show in Scone followed by two weeks walking in the Trossachs

We have been busy again, reading lots, eating, the odd drink and plenty of walking.

The latter in the Trossachs, communing with nature, with both wind and rain tussling through our gore tex waterproofs. The attire a necessity at this time of year in Scotland as you stride out manfully up the mountainside with rain travelling horizontally.

Fortunately we both retuned unscathed, with several dozen pictures to prove the point that hiking is beneficial to a healthy body and mind.

Talking of mind. I read a very interesting article in the NYTimes, “What Cold-Water Swimming Taught Me About Mindfulness.” 

Personally, l think it’s a great idea as long as you own a winter grade wet suite, including socks and head protection. Along with a Ultra Warm changing gown and a bottle of Highland Park to rejuvenate the chilled inner core. Not prepared to outlay £500 on a whim, will settle for the malt instead.

Winter is coming and l notice that you can reduce the risk of catching a bad cold and flu, not to mention the dreaded covid by taking some simple precautions. Dr Michael Mosley recommends wrapping up well, especially your throat. So the scarf and snoods are out in readiness. In fact they were both worn this week when we visited Glasgow in force nine winds.

Other activities to boost your immune system include a brisk walk, especially through a wood. The resin in the trees supposedly has medicinal benefits. Keeping hydrated, taking zinc supplements and eating purple sauerkraut can all help. As does singing. Although not for those listening to my out of tune renditions.

By the way we have become flexitarian as we aim to be vegetarian for at least two days of the week. In fact we had a friend stay who had moved towards vegan, so we tried quite a few vegan dishes. Managed to obtain a great little book with some interesting and very tasty recipes. Michael Barclay’s Vegan One Pound Meals. Can highly recommend the sweet Laksa, carrot Dal, carrot and red onion bhaji and breakfast Rossi stack with sweet potatoes. Well worth trying out. You won’t be disappointed.

Anyway back to the diary. First stop Dundee.

Great to head East to Dundee, our stopover for our visit to the Scottish Game Fair.

Interesting show, but it seems to be overrun with the so called gentry wannabes, strutting round in fancy dress. Dubarry boots, Harris Tweed breaks, Hawker Gilet and the obligatory feathered fedora.

Superb crossover Salmon fly rod, but at nearly £500, will give it a miss for the moment. There just aren’t enough salmon on our stretch of the water to justify the expense. Perhaps look out for a good second hand single handed rod.

Very interested in these modular houses. Arrive on site in a modular format and habitable within the week. Price very good. Around £110,000 for three bedrooms with insulation that meets the modern building regs. All we need is a flat piece of land with planning permission to install. 

4x4 test drive in the latest Isuzu. Quite a laugh really, as we drove around the course, chaperoned by ex police driver. Scared him to death. He didn’t expect to find a complete novice driving such an animal.l want one. 

Dundee impressed, especially the river frontage with its promenade that seems to go on for ever. Scotland’s fourth largest city seems to be really hitting the spot with all the recent and proposed additions to attract visitors. 

Then it’s up to Aberdeen, stopping off as we head north along the coast. 

Start at Carnoustie Golf Course, then onto Montrose, by which time the heavens have opened up.

Then it’s into Arbroath, famous for its smokies. 

From here onto St Cyrus, stopping at the Visitor centre and nature reserve. Superb walk through the wetlands and dunes, especially as the H2O had come to an end.

Early evening and it’s Dunnottar Castle

Spectacular view of the castle perched on the rugged cliffs 

Stayed at the Premier inn Aberdeen, situated a 20 minute drive from the centre. Yet it wasn’t too inconvenient. They did have one in the city centre, but the price was far more expensive and also charged for parking.

Next time, and there definitely will be a next time, we will travel by train.

Drove into Aberdeen, parked up and set off on the circular walk.

Wind farms and service vessels in the bay.

Fortunately the rain and dark clouds are moving south and away from us

Blue sky’s, it’s expected to clear up as the day continues

Plenty of grey seals on the mud flats in the river Don

St Mary’s Cathedral Aberdeen

Beautiful stained window and wooden roof

Then we drive south to the Trossachs, two weeks in Ian and Caths caravan. A riverside camp site near to Aberfoyle. 

Eventually positioned the van out of the way, under huge trees, yet close to the facilities. 

That evening settled down to red hot noodles for tea. Started my new Robert Calbraith, Troubled Blood. Exciting.

Finished the evening with a dvd, Finding Neverland with Jonnie Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie and Dustin Hoffman. A story about the troubled life of James Barrie and his journey to discover Peter Pan. Absolutely brilliant.

First day of walking, well, just getting used to what’s available on our doorstep.

Heading off to the showers in the rain. Shorts are quite appropriate in this weather. Just pleased it’s not too chilly. The showers are lovely and hot, just the ticket to start the day off.

30th Sept

Into Aberfoyle and head up-to the visitor centre, check out the walks and the Go Ape experience. Zip lines and tree climbing. Not that l would ever consider going on a zip line.

 Whilst in the town of Aberfoyle, found a special item to go onto my Christmas present list. Hopefully Judith took notice of my hints.

A box set including Opinel pruning, grafting and garden knife. 

Saturday 2nd a total washout. 

From the comfort of our bed, coffee in hand we watch the red squirrels putting on a performance only feet away from the window. 

How decadent, eating pain au chocolate, drinking freshly brewed coffee whilst reading a good novel, listening to the pebble dashing of rain on the caravan roof.

Can it be decadent in a caravan?

Just amazed how many people are still heading out in their motor homes or caravans at this time of year. They just keep turning up. As one leaves another replaces it. The caravan site must be happy, fills the coffers up.

  

Another walk into Aberfoyle, this time via the river bank and fairy hill, coming back on the cycle path, with a few additions. Little false routes, the wrong fork or missed sign. Just too busy chatting when we should have been concentrating. We are on holiday.

Decorations or are they offerings to the fairies?

View from the top, rather obscured by the tree cover, but some lovely glimpses of the surrounding hills shrouded in mist.

A bit too high up for a traditional wishing well, so it’s a wooden mushroom for people to hammer in a coin instead. Unfortunately due to covid we didn’t have any cash. And let’s be honest, how many of us walk round with a hammer in our pockets.

Door to the the fairy kingdom

Sunday, and it’s been raining all night. Head out and it’s still pouring down. But according to the forecast on our favourite app, it should brighten up by 11am. 

In fact it didn’t clear up until 2pm. Never mind. We are warm and dry in our waterproofs. In fact rather too warm once the sun made an appearance.

All prepared, umbrella in hand.

Bloody big insects round here

At long last the blue sky’s take over and the sun makes an appearance

Rob Roy’s Cave and hideout. One of the 100 reputed sites advertised up and down the glens in Scotland. Busy chap.

Amazed at the amount of fungi around. Then again the conditions are just right. Humid and damp.

Just wish l had the knowledge necessary to find the edible ones. My New Year resolution is to research fungi that is prominent in Scotland, to see what is edible, but also the look alike that are poisonous.

Monday 4th

Back to Aberfoyle and into The Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. Initial walk was to the mast on the Lime Craig trail and then back to the exhibition centre for lunch before heading out on the Craigmore trail. Unfortunately the latter had to be cut short due to the dampness of the track. In fact the tracks had become flowing rivers.

Stiff climb up to the top, but it’s well worth it

Tuesday 5th

The weather is cold but bright as we head out on the three Loch trip. When Judith had been talking about this route a few days earlier, l imagined a rather different scene. One with canals and barges, with plenty of Locks.

Just goes to show how much l new about the Trossachs.

In fact the 7 mile long Forest Drive takes you past three picturesque lochs – Lochan Reòidhte, Loch Drunkie and Loch Achray, with plenty of walks and paths along the way. 

As per usual, the majority of people tended to stay in their cars, leaving the paths practically deserted. Peace and tranquility. Plenty of views and the opportunity to see the local wildlife. Once again, due to the climate, it was overflowing with fungi.

Ben A’an in the distance at the back of Loch Achray. Tomorrow’s walk, hopefully.

Wednesday 6th up early to climb Ben A’an, followed by a walk to the top of Craigmore, weather permitting. 

Ben A’an, a mountain in miniature, but with fantastic views. Nevertheless a stiff unrelenting climb with some tricky bits on the loose stone in the last third, especially when wet.

In the afternoon it was up Craigmore, a boggy, slippery climb with great views south over Aberfeldy and the valley.

P

If you look closely, you can see me climbing up the far bank. A little orange splodge in the distance

Thursday, and it’s a trip by bus into Stirling to see the new James Bond movie. Great entertainment. Thoroughly enjoyed the film.

Also a good excuse to have a double sausage and egg McMuffin with a waffle and coffee for breakfast.  Dinner of steak and thick cut chips with battered onions, washed down with my favourite pint of Brewdog Punk ipa on draught.

Friday 8th. 

We head over to Callander, but it’s a bit of a washout. The hills were cloaked in cloud and mist and the river was bursting at the seams. Initially walked the high street, visiting charity shops. In fact the high street was predominantly made up of either charity shops or eateries. Purchased a local walking map from the visitor centre and headed off out into the woods. Our second choice, a circular walk. Yet considering the continuous downpours it was our safest bet. No point in climbing up into the mountains with visibility down to a few yards.

At this point realised we had missed a turning and ended up five miles adrift. Retrace our steps, to find that the last post had been vandalised. The direction marker had been removed completely. 

Decided to call it a day, and returned to the warmth of the caravan and a couple of glasses of the wee hard stuff.

 

Saturday 9th. Awoke to even more rain. So finished off my book before heading out into Aberfoyle. The river had overflown during the night and the lower part of the campsite was under 6 inches of water. It was a good job we left the car on higher ground the night before.

Walked into town via the forestry commission path, making the odd diversion to miss out some of the floods. Nipped into the graveyard and checked out the Mortsafes. Quite unusual to find two in a small places such as Aberfoyle. They were a protection against body snatchers.

Then back partly by the cycle path, until we were able to cross the bridge and overflowing river.

The forest was filled with all manner of fungi. I will have to do some research when l get home. Determine which we can eat and the ones we need to leave well alone.

Used to have a little hand book that was perfect. It showed edible fungi alongside lookalikes that were poisonous. Highlighting all the visual clues, as well as explaining were they could be found and at what time of year. 

God knows were it is now. But it shouldn’t be hard to compile a crib sheet for our area, extracting the information from books and the internet. Love mushrooms. Eating, that is.

Autumn colours really showing through now

Sunday 10th and we are heading for Glen Finglas, situated between Aberfoyle and Callander. Turns out to be the nicest walk of the whole trip. 

A real mixture, wetlands, lochs, heath, high level paths, great ever changing views.

Monday 11th and it’s another trip on the bus to Stirling. This time to visit the castle, and it’s dry. Makes a change, but then again it is Autumn heading into winter.

What a great day out, and l must say l found the experience far superior than that of Edinburgh Castle. Mainly due to the staff in attendance, who brought the history to life through their knowledge and ability to put it across in bite sized theatrical chunks.

Very enjoyable indeed.

Commanding view from the battlements, looking South towards England

What a view. Not good for the vertigo 

What a brilliant holiday, thanks to the loan of Cath and Ian’s caravan. 

Back home, and guess what. Yes it’s still raging. But then again it is throughout the U.K.

A friend from Devon is on his way up, so we are getting everything ready for his stay. He has been trying to become a vegan, so we are trying to accommodate his tastes. Especially as we have a leaning towards eating healthier, plant based meals.

Bought Miquel’s book, Vegan one pound meals, which is really inspiring.

Try out his breakfast Rosti stack  

You can get it online through AMAZON, either in book form or on Kindle.

A great buy.

Anyway, move on. Martin arrived and we had a great time, walking, plenty of eating and drinking. 

View from the top of the hill at the back of our house, looking towards Bute and Arran

Finishing off his trip with a day in Glasgow. What a day. Visited the Cathedral and acropolis, then viewed some of the street art. Then it was a long walk down sauchiehall street, through the park and onto the Kelvingrove museum. From here through the University grounds North to the Great Western Rd and along to Byres Road. From here we headed south and ultimately back into the city centre.

Over 30000 steps. Deserved a drink after that. And you do to, after working through my diary.

Nothing left after diving into the Churros

Only went in to get out of the rain. honestly

To finish off. You must read this letter sent by a 96 year old to her bank manager. It’s truly amazing.