Stirling to Milnagavie
We were up early this morning and had our bags packed in the car by 7:45. Ate a delicious breakfast at Castlecroft, our B & B, and were on the road by 8:50.
We drove through the transition from east coast and lowlands to west coast and the Scottish Highlands! The difference is stark. Our drive up the East coast to St. Andrews was all about small fishing villages and the ocean. Our drive today was varied; we travelled through the green fields of the farming area in the East to the craggy rock and mountains (well maybe hills - 4440 feet?? - of the west. The land became more remote, the villages smaller, and a view of craggy rocks and mountains coupled with lochs and moors such as Rannoch Moor, filled our vision. It is all so beautiful. This is my country!! I love the sense of wildness, tipped with a little drizzle and mist and hints of kings and queens, battles, and historical characters such as Rob Roy, The sad part is the dark side of Scottish forestry i.e. the clear cutting. It is ugly with no apparent attempt at nurturing a continuous cover model of forestry where a canopy is always maintained. Really?? It's hard to believe. Robin spied two deer on the journey, and we saw several of the iconic highland cattle!
We arrived in Fort William in good time for our train journey to Milnagavie. The trains integrate seemlessly into the lifestyle, and we slid onto the train in Milnagavie around 11:41, changed at Dalmuir for four stops and exited at Westerton; caught the train 10 minutes later for the 10 minute journey to Milnagavie, all as if we were riding the subway. We walked the last 400 metres to our B & B - Best Foot Forward!
We dropped off the bags and went out to check out the town. Walked down through the pedestrian only area in the centre; not too exciting. We checked out the obelisk at the start of The West Highland Way, took a few steps on the route so that we knew which way to go in the morning. We only have to walk 19k and apparently, it is the easiest day of the hike!! Don't know how good that is!! I'll let you know tomorrow.
On the way back from our stroll we stopped of at the Burnbrae Inn Pub & Grill for dinner. Not quite the standard of the other meals we have eaten but it satisfied the hunger pangs. We had missed lunch....well a chocolate caramel biscuit hardly counts as lunch!!
So tomorrow morning we are off on the unknown. The trail looks amazing and we are all excited and looking forward to the journey.
We were up early this morning and had our bags packed in the car by 7:45. Ate a delicious breakfast at Castlecroft, our B & B, and were on the road by 8:50.
We drove through the transition from east coast and lowlands to west coast and the Scottish Highlands! The difference is stark. Our drive up the East coast to St. Andrews was all about small fishing villages and the ocean. Our drive today was varied; we travelled through the green fields of the farming area in the East to the craggy rock and mountains (well maybe hills - 4440 feet?? - of the west. The land became more remote, the villages smaller, and a view of craggy rocks and mountains coupled with lochs and moors such as Rannoch Moor, filled our vision. It is all so beautiful. This is my country!! I love the sense of wildness, tipped with a little drizzle and mist and hints of kings and queens, battles, and historical characters such as Rob Roy, The sad part is the dark side of Scottish forestry i.e. the clear cutting. It is ugly with no apparent attempt at nurturing a continuous cover model of forestry where a canopy is always maintained. Really?? It's hard to believe. Robin spied two deer on the journey, and we saw several of the iconic highland cattle!
We arrived in Fort William in good time for our train journey to Milnagavie. The trains integrate seemlessly into the lifestyle, and we slid onto the train in Milnagavie around 11:41, changed at Dalmuir for four stops and exited at Westerton; caught the train 10 minutes later for the 10 minute journey to Milnagavie, all as if we were riding the subway. We walked the last 400 metres to our B & B - Best Foot Forward!
We dropped off the bags and went out to check out the town. Walked down through the pedestrian only area in the centre; not too exciting. We checked out the obelisk at the start of The West Highland Way, took a few steps on the route so that we knew which way to go in the morning. We only have to walk 19k and apparently, it is the easiest day of the hike!! Don't know how good that is!! I'll let you know tomorrow.
On the way back from our stroll we stopped of at the Burnbrae Inn Pub & Grill for dinner. Not quite the standard of the other meals we have eaten but it satisfied the hunger pangs. We had missed lunch....well a chocolate caramel biscuit hardly counts as lunch!!
So tomorrow morning we are off on the unknown. The trail looks amazing and we are all excited and looking forward to the journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment