Glen Finglas ~ Sunday 30/05/10

Fully recovered from yesterday, an early start again for a Sunday as we were on the road by 8.30 a.m. and heading to Glen Finglas at Brig O Turk, not far from Callander. The weather was being kind to us. Dry and warm but not the intense heat of the week before, thankfully! We arrived at Glen Finglas car park at 9.45 a.m. and wasted no time in getting started. Our route for the day, a 15 mile circular trail around Glen Finglas. These type of routes, circular ones, we have found are better than the ones where you walk out to a point and then have to turn and walk back the way you have just come.

This walk began with a walk (climb) through woodland around Lendrick Hill before emerging at the viewpoint where we enjoyed some amazing views. Wow, Scotland sure has the most beautiful scenery. We are very lucky! Continuing on the woodland path we eventually joined with a private road which led us into the heart of the estate. We then headed into Glen Meann on a hill track, which climbs over the back of Meall Cala and reaches a height of approx 1800 feet. The track was undulating, although there were some very steep climbs too. Underfoot the path consisted of rough stones which meant keeping an eye on where we were stepping. Apart from a couple of small groups of walkers it was relatively quiet compared to the Pentlands. Only cows and sheep for company. Michelle, with camera in hand, as always, was keen to photograph our friends, as you will see!!!

At the sign post for Balquhidder, just over 2 hours into our walk, we had a quick 20 minute break for something to eat. It was incredible how quickly we cooled down with the short stop and when the temperature dropped slightly too. Energy levels replenished we continued on our uphill climb. At the trail summit we placed a stone on the cairn and had the obligatory photograph taken as proof!! A fairly steep descent followed and caution was necessary ~ not only to avoid going over an ankle but also to avoid the many 'cow pats'!!

After the descent we stopped at the edge of Glen Finglas Reservoir to refuel. We found a beautiful picnic spot and basked in the warm sunshine. Shame actually that we couldn't linger for longer but as we still had a couple of hours walk ahead of us so we had to forge on! It wasn't too far or long to go before we joined the estate road that brought us to the last stretch of woodland path that led us back through the woods to the car park. It was 4.45 p.m. when we reached the car park and Michelle had the camera out to capture the moment! No time to worry about how we looked and neither of us felt it mattered anyway. It was a good feeling that all our months of training and preparation for the West Highland Way were completed and we're ready to face the challenge ahead of us!

The countdown has definitely begun ~ Sunday, 6th June ~ 9.00 a.m. will see us begin the 96 miles from Milngavie to Fort William. We will post our route on the blog (dates and miles) for those wishing to keep track of where we are each day. We will also be updating the blog, daily, God willing, whilst we are away so please log on to follow our progress.

Steph, in the words of your McFly song, "It's All About You" and with that focus at the forefront of our minds I know we will do it!

R.I.P. My No. 1 Daughter!