A Stirling effort

 Sunday 20 September

The TV was working ok last night, but typically there was nothing on that I wanted to watch - thank goodness for iPlayer! The day dawned cloudy and stayed murky for most of the day, with a little watery sun in late afternoon, so not the best day for pics, especially during my post-breakfast walk when it was quite misty, with cobwebs of dew still on the ferns and vegetation in the forest. 

I headed along the shore walk and up through the woods that skirt the Balloch Country Park into the Faerie Glen, where I met with a babbling brook and a mini waterfall. Every now and again I came across a dog and a walker (always in that order), but it was very quiet. I followed the marked trail up to Whinny Hill woods, where the going got a bit tougher and the comfortable ash track petered out into mud - and eventually watery marsh, to my cost, or rather to the cost of my walking shoes and socks. 

The tourist map of the trail was way out of scale (though to be fair I missed the icon showing the marsh) and although a circular route it was quite long - 8 miles in fact, though I'd estimated it to be about half that. I walked for over two and a half hours and at one point did feel a little panic as the trail markers disappeared and I found myself in a part of the wood with multiple narrow trails, but I reasoned with myself that I had to keep going downhill towards Loch Lomond and all would be well! It was a really good walk though - a very solitary one for the most part. Thankfully my hotel was at the end of it, so I went to my room and recuperated a bit before heading out again.

By this time my old bones were creaking a bit, so I got in the car and drove off towards Stirling so that I'd see a different bit of the Trossachs. I swung by the Port of Monteith (sadly the promised priory was closed) and had a quick pitstop in Callendar which is quite a busy little town on a small body of water. The approach of a seagull led to me abandoning my very disappointing salmon sandwich, and I drove on to Stirling.

Stirling is very grey and the centre is mainly one big hill with the castle at the top. The new town centre is pretty much like any other - lots of shops were closed, and I'm not sure whether that was Covid or Sunday-related. The much-lauded Victoria arcade was pretty but almost completely closed, providing only a thoroughfare from one street to another - this very weird niche chocolate shoe shop  wasn't available for closer inspection either.

I had coffee and cake at The Burgh coffee house at the foot of Baker Street, the incline of which encouraged lots of pre-pubescent boys to skateboard or scoot down its length - fortunately they appeared to be quite adept at avoiding pedestrians but it would probably have scared your granny. I walked up through the old town which has old town charm though again mainly closed, including the Albany lodgings, though I could have visited the jail if I'd felt so inclined. 

The castle square has fine views of the surrounding area and you can see right across to the William Wallace monument. I toyed with the idea of visiting it but realised that it would be more uphill walking and really wasn't sure my poor old pins could stand the strain! I couldn't really get a decent photo of the castle itself as it faces away from the square - I'd already decided against visiting as I hadn't really left enough time. A momentary diversion was a handsome coach driver in a kilt - you can just see his leg at the front of the bus in this pic, but I was treated to a skirt-swishing full view as he dutifully disinfected touchable parts of his bus.

I headed back down to the new town and the car park and set off for Balloch via a different route alongside Loch Venachar and through Aberfoyle - very winding but very pretty. I enjoyed driving the Golf once I got used to the brakes. By the time I got back to Balloch it was almost 6pm and most of the day trippers had gone home. It's a busy place and although it's inevitably somewhat commercialised, it's nicely done and whether you're hale and hearty or not, it's a great and very pretty place to walk. 

The hotel is really more of an inn with rooms, and although I had some quibbles over the facilities, the staff were friendly and the food was good. I enoyed a roast turkey dinner and then went back to my room to pack with a last holiday glass of wine.

I'm writing this on the train going home. (I've just realised I've written it totally in the past tense, whereas other blog entries have been in the present - I guess because usually written on the same day.) I'm looking forward to being there, and feel like I've been away ages. I've driven over 700 miles these past two weeks. It's been a lovely break with some stunning scenery and places to remember and I'm lucky to have been able to get away. 

Travelling solo is quite freeing but I do miss company over a drink and an evening meal, and the current restrictions don't necessarily make it easy to strike up conversations with strangers. Also - doing all the driving, hauling luggage unaided, making all the decisions and doing all the thinking is quite tiring! I'm glad I've experienced the Hebrides, though am not sure I'd return - it's probably a little too culturally-bereft for me (though Covid has probably put paid to a number of opportunities I would normally have had), and with such soggy weather more likely than not, I'd rather return to the Trossachs I think, taking a closer look at Glasgow again. See you again next year Scotland - at the Edinburgh Fringe I hope.