Hills and views

We woke up early… well, John did. And at 6.30 he started talking to me so I was awake too. As we drank our cup of tea, we could see the mist in the valley, through the trees, so we decided to get up and go for a walk.

It was freezing outside but we were soon hot and stripping off our hats, gloves and coats as we zigzagged up Drummond Hill to Black Rock viewpoint. From here, the view over Loch Tay and the town of Kenmore was lovely, especially with the mist still hanging around further up the valley.

After breakfast, we had a scenic drive to Aberfeldy planned, with the option of a couple of walks en route. Our first stop was unplanned though… as we drove through Killin at the far end of Loch Tay, we spotted the stunning Falls of Dochart and couldn’t resist parking Bertie and getting out for a better look.

The falls were beautiful and I wandered around the rocks in my wellies taking photos and I was made up when a heron perched beside me. Unfortunately he didn’t stay long… I think I put him off finding his breakfast! We also saw a mill and read about the ancient Clan MacNab who have an island burial ground in the town.

Later in the day, we had a walk up Ben A’an, a small but perfectly formed conical peak overlooking Loch Achray and Loch Katrine. The path to the top was steep, with lots of huge stone steps to climb, reminiscent of doing box step ups at the gym. It was worth it though because the views were beautiful at every meandering turn, all the way to the top.

There are two rocky knolls on the top of Ben A’an, both with spectacular views over the lochs and glens below and the mountains in the distance. We’ve been really lucky with the weather again too.

We had planned another walk from Aberfeldy but, unfortunately ran out of time. Instead we’ve driven for an hour and a half to Lanark where we’re now staying at a lovely CAMPRA aire. CAMPRA aims to set up overnight stopovers in the UK, similar to those found in Europe. The one we’re now at has been accredited by them, and we’ll definitely be using more in future. Tomorrow we head for home, which we’re a bit sad about. However, we’re already talking about visiting this part of Scotland again… it’s been great.