Green Hills and Red Squirrels

Day 1 RRW: Drymen to Aberfoyle (10.8 miles)
Day 2 RRW: Aberfoyle to Callander (9.9 miles)

What a fantastic first 2 days on the Rob Roy Way trail.  The scenery has already been magnificent and I could not have asked for better weather.  Clear skies and sunshine with temperature in the high 50’s/low 60’s – simply perfect for hiking!

After a very pleasant evening in Drymen (including a spectacular steak pie at the Clachan Arms) and stay at the Braeside B&B, I headed out and started my RRW journey just after 10am.  I had spent a bit of time trying to get rid of weight in my suitcase as the shopping in Edinburgh had taken its toll on my compliance with the strict 20kg luggage allowance.  In the end, I was still 2kg over – oops.  My day pack was also stuffed to the brim – I think I’ll probably be editing it over the next few days!

I’d had a pretty crappy night, waking up at 1am and taking ages to get back to sleep, so a relaxed start was just fine by me (check-in time at my destination wasn’t until 4pm, so there wasn’t much point setting off earlier).   The route from Drymen to Aberfoyle would take me mainly on single track roads and forest paths – compared to the rocky, uneven trails I’d just hiked in Nepal, these tracks were luxurious!!  Not wishing to tempt fate, but there is far less risk of tripping or twisting your ankle when the path underfoot is not actively trying to kill you.  You do still have to be careful that an errant rock or stone won’t get you, but it is a much better path to be hiking solo on.  The grade or steepness of the terrain was also pretty relaxed, with a maximum height of 690ft on the road.  That being said, the long slow upwards climb out of Drymen still took more effort than you’d think – especially after 3 miles of it!

The start of the RRW is shared with the more popular West Highland Way trail and, as I left Drymen, there were several groups of hikers both ahead and behind me.  But, after about a mile, they turned off to the left and I carried straight ahead – and didn’t see another RRW hiker all day!  I was passed by a couple of cyclists and said hello to two people out walking their dogs – but other than that, it was me, Krusty and the glorious open road!   I didn’t even see any murderers lurking in the woods with chainsaws ready to pounce should I stray their way.   For most of the hike, I couldn’t even hear any traffic noise – instead just the crunching of my boots on the gravel, the lazy hum of a bee, the VERY LOUD robins shouting their beaks off and the sound of the wind through the trees.  (Side note – it’s kinda weird to see robins “out of season” as it were – I mean, I get they have to be alive throughout the year in order to pop up at Christmastime – but it still feels strange – a bit like seeing someone you know just from the gym out in the grocery store.  You know they must have a life outside of the the gym, but even still…)

Anyway, I digress.  In addition to the lovely scenery, this first section of the RRW is also known for its engineering innovations when, in 1853, the city fathers of Glasgow commissioned a civil engineer John Bateman to look into options for improving the water supply to the city (which suffered thousands of deaths during 2 recent cholera epidemics).  The works that were carried out were on an impressive scale (requiring an act of Parliament to approve) and included a huge dam to raise the level of the nearby Loch Katrine, an aqueduct 26 miles long to carry the water towards Glasgow, a storage reservoir plus 26 miles of mains aqueducts and 46 miles of distribution pipes to deliver the water to households throughout the city.  All this work was completed in just under 4 years and opened by Queen Victoria in 1859 – and cholera was no more!  The RRW closely follows the route of the original aqueduct (a second one was later added) and it really is remarkable to see it – still in perfect working condition 150 years later!

As I approached Aberfoyle, there was a lot of logging activity which did spoil the landscape a little.  As I entered into the town, I passed the ruins of Kirkton Church which was interesting due to the two “mort-safes” that flank the entrance to the church.  These were heavy iron coffins used in the early 19th century during the time of Burke and Hare (read more HERE) to discourage body snatchers (the idea being it was too heavy to lift, so it would remain in place until the body underneath decomposed enough to render it unusable for medical dissection).  There was also a rather spooky graveyard with lots of old mossy and faded headstones plus a few crows milling about, looking dodgy.  I didn’t linger.  Walking into Aberfoyle, I got the impression of a town that was struggling – there were quite a few bare shop fronts and it didn’t have a lot of energy (or people) – it reminded me a bit of Camelford (albeit not quite so dire).

My lodgings for the night were a study in pink – a basic, but very comfortable, B&B run by the lovely Margaret.  I had booked dinner at the Faerie Tree Inn (apparently faeries are a thing here) and one functional dinner of chili later, I was ready to call it a night.  I had been lucky earlier on in managing to snag lunch from the Co-Op – they were suffering the effects of a cyber hack (which I learned had also ensnared Harrods and M&S) and many of the shelves were completely empty!

The room may have been exceptionally pink – but I slept like a baby!  Finally!!  I managed to sleep through the night and not wake up at 2 or 3am!  Both me and my FitBit were delighted.  I celebrated with some beans on toast and a couple slices of bacon for breakfast (yes, I am revisiting all my favorite British foods while I am here) and got chatting to one of the other guests in the tiny dining room (it was so small, there was no avoiding conversation).  He was cycling the RRW and totally sounded like Ringo Starr, so it was fun to chat with him.

Today’s walk was similar in length – and I would say was even more scenic than day 1.  The route again took me through forests stuffed with bluebells and over rolling hills, passing by a number of lakes/lochs, and was just spectacular.  It was a fraction cooler today and there was more cloud – but it was still warm enough for me to catch a decent amount of color on my face (and yes, I did put sunscreen on!).  However, the absolute highlight of today was that I SAW A RED SQUIRREL!!!!!!  A REAL LIFE FLOOFY ONE!!  WITH THE EARS AND EVERYTHING!!!!

I had expressed to ManpanionTM just before I left that I would love to see a red squirrel – but also said that I didn’t really expect to, as they are pretty rare these days.  Obviously you all know my predilection for any form of Woodland Creature – so while it was a faint hope, I didn’t really go out of my way to find one other than a vague sense of “there’s some of them in Scotland so I’ll keep an eye out”.  Well, as it happens, I totally lucked out.  My route out of Aberfoyle took me up and out of the town through the Queen Elizabeth Forest Preserve.  As I was following the trail through the park, I saw a sign for a wildlife hide – so I thought I might as well give it a shot.  10 minutes, I thought, then at least I could say I tried to find a red squirrel.  Well, I didn’t even need 10 seconds.  I walk up into the open hide, and one of the 2 people already there looks at me and whispers “there – by the feeder at the back”.  And holy shit.  There he (or she) was.  The cutest most adorable squirrel I’ve ever seen.  The sign had said “there’s a good chance you will see a squirrel and woodland birds” – and it wasn’t kidding!   I don’t know what they put in those peanuts, but the squirrel was loving them.  No chance of any squirrels dying on starvation in these woods!  It skittered off for a few minutes when the forest preserve guys stopped by to refill the feeders (there were at least 5 feeders that I could count  – presumably a similar task to painting the Forth Bridge – never-ending!) but was soon back and stuffing its face again.  I did try and take a video (but unfortunately pressed the wrong button on my camera – doh!) and took many many photos – but also just watched in awe at the little fella and felt incredibly grateful to have had this experience.  I never thought I would get to see one – and I just did!!!

There were also TONS of birds as well – clearly playing second fiddle to the squirrel – but they were also fun to watch.  After about half an hour, I figured I should probably get going as I’d walked less than a mile and it was already past 11am!  But it was time very well spent – and I still ended up getting to Callander by 3.30pm, so all was good.

In contrast to Aberfoyle, Callander strikes me as a much more vibrant town – more shops, restaurants and hotels.  Also a similarly depleted Co-Op (you gotta feel for whoever is going to have to restock all those shelves) – but I managed to snag a cheese and pickle sandwich for tomorrow’s lunch.  My digs tonight are very nice – in a big house on top of a hillside looking down into the town – and very tastefully decorated in creams and tartan.  One thing I am loving – every room so far has had its own kettle, tea and coffee supplies AND a packet of biscuits!   Very civilized indeed.

Supper tonight was a recco of the owner – a place called The Potting Shed, down by the river.  It was a cute little bistro (although I was the only person there) and I enjoyed a mouth-scorchingly hot bowl of tomato and basil soup, followed by ham hock terrine.   Tomorrow is the shortest day on the trail, with a scant 9.2 miles – most of it an easy hike along the west shore of Loch Lubnaig.  The weather is forecast for a high of 63, so I am looking forward to more spectacular views and glorious sunshine.  Who knows – maybe I might even spot a deer tomorrow??

20 miles down, 59 to go!