January Day Trip to the Lowther Hills
I was joined by Willie, Steven and Cornel as well as Isla .. Cornel's daughter's retriever. The forecast had been for fog, but arriving at a snowy Wanlockhead it was clear. We parked at the visitor’s centre and set off on the Southern Upland Way footpath. It was not long before we were in quite thick misty conditions.
We reached the road and after a short distance took the path to East Mount Lowther. At the summit, the viewfinder wasn’t much use in the mist. We then headed back on to the road for the climb to Lowther Hill. While there, the mist lifted and the walk to Green Lowther was in clear weather.
Arriving at Green Lowther, summit photos were taken and then we found that one of the rooms in the NATS buildings was open, which allowed us to get out of the cold wind for lunch. Christmas cake and a New Year drink was consumed before we set out for our descent.
On the way back to Lowther Hill we saw the only other person on the hill, a cyclist heading for Green Lowther. A short time later he passed us on the descent. We followed the road down and took the Southern Upland Way footpath back to Wanlockhead.
Once back at the visitor’s centre, we got changed then headed to the highest pub in Scotland, the Wanlockhead Inn, for a drink before heading home .. a walk enjoyed by all.
Bob MacDonald
7 walkers attended the January weekend trip to Killin. It was a week earlier than the usual January date and that turned out to be a good move as the following weekend the country was at a standstill due to Storm Éowyn and the Red weather warnings.
On Friday, the only walker was Bob, who stopped off in Glen Ogle to climb Meall Buidhe (719m). The others travelled up in the afternoon, and on his journey Steven punctured a tyre going through some roadworks at Doune and had to complete his journey at a reduced speed with a get-you-there tyre. By the time the tyre was changed, and he had got moving again, the roadworks had finished. Everyone arrived at the Killin Hotel in the late afternoon, and after our evening meal the Saturday walking plans were finalised over a few pints of Clootie Dumpling beer and other beverages.
On Saturday, we all set off from the hotel to walk along part of the Rob Roy Way heading east. After a few kilometers Hilary, Tom and Jean turned back and had a walk around the town and out to the old pier on Loch Tay. The others .. Bob, Willie, Steven and Heidi .. carried on past Lochan Breaclaich and made the short, steep ascent of Creag Gharbh (637m), then made a direct descent back to the lochan over rough, heather moorland. The walk back included a short detour to visit the Standing Stones near Kinnel House.
GPS data : distance 19.0km, total time 6hrs 44mins, walking time 5hrs 9mins
On Sunday, we all made the short walk from the hotel to Fingal's Stone. From there, the same group of 3 walked along the Rob Roy Way to the west of the town while the group of 4 made the steep ascent to Sron a'Chlachain and Creag Bhuidhe (521m), then over boggy moorland to Meall Clachach (603m). The return to Killin was made across moorland, an overgrown forestry track, climbing over a deer fence, and finally across some fields.
GPS data : distance 8.3km, total time 4hrs 10mins, walking time 3hrs3mins
With the prospect of a slow drive home, when Steven saw a policeman in Killin, he stopped to ask him about the possibility of getting his tyre repaired locally. After giving him a ticking off for his poor parking, the policeman put Steven in touch with a local lad from the local garage who, as it turned out, had a suitable tyre that he could fit right away. The tyre problem was solved in 30 mins and Steven was able to drive home at his normal speed.
And so ended another enjoyable weekend with good walks, good food and drink, and good company.
Willie Robison
