One of many reasons for
moving to the area we did was the opportunities for walking, cycling
and outdoor pursuits in the area, so it was imperative that we got
out and enjoyed while the relatively good weather lasted!
Last Tuesday (24th
July) was a bonus day off for me in lieu of working 6 days the week
prior and after waking up on the Monday to constant heavy rain, blue
skies and sunshine gave me the boost needed to spring out of bed and
pull on my walking boots. To encourage locals and visitors to make
the most of the beautiful scenery around the town, there are several
way marked walking rounds, either circular or linear with the option
of catching a bus back.
Making the most of a
clear morning, I headed along the Lady Mary path, which follows the
banks of the River Turret, or through the river where it has burst
it's banks with all the heavy rain, under a canopy of trees. There
was a lovely smell of damp woodland as it dried out after several
days of rain and the sun shone through the trees creating sun beams
and dappled patches of light. At the way mark I turned off the Lady
Mary walk to join the Laggan Hill walk. A steep, muddy path climbs
out of the river side woodland before entering more woodland at the
top of the hill and there are great views down to the town of Crieff
below. The path winds it's way through more woodland until it comes
to another cross roads of paths, where I opted to follow the Currochs
Path as I had made good time and even though I'd lost the blue skies
and sunshine, it was still dry and warm. Following a rough path down
the edge of a farmers field, I created quite a lot of interest from
the resident sheep. Deciding it was best not to scare them, I moved
further off the path away from them, turning in my ankle in the
process, only to find the sheep were actually walking towards me. A
flock of sheep shouldn't cause too much alarm, but with visions of
Wallace and Gromits and Close Shave, I beat a hasty retreat through
the kissing gate at the bottom of the field, through a housing estate
and across the busy A85!
The Currochs Path winds
around the hillside at the opposite side of the road from the
Glenturret Distillery. The start of the walk gives amazing views over
towards Ben Chonzie and further afield into the Lomand and Trussochs
National Park. Other than the rushing water of the River Turret, it
was truly peaceful with rabbits happily bouncing around in the fields
and Red Kites soaring above. Following the path across the small
road, it follows behind the distillery, where there is a tempting
detour to go sample some whiskey, but as I planned to cycle to Comrie
in the afternoon I resisted and instead followed the path back
through MacRosty Park and home to refuel before pedalling off.
The afternoon cycle was
really a mission to get to Comrie Croft and try out their new Tea
Garden for some cake. It had stayed a lovely afternoon, even though
there was a slight headwind, I made it to Comrie Croft in good time
and sat under the veranda in the sunshine enjoying some of the best
Carrot Cake I have tasted and planning future walks and off road
cycling with a map purchased from their shop. On the route home I
continued up the A85 to Comrie before taking the 'back road' home to
Crieff which is a lot quieter than the busy main road... although
that didn't stop a huge 4x4/ pick-up type thing trying to run me over
while I was stood off the road on a grass verge taking pictures of
the cute curly coo's! Even with maniac drivers there was plenty of
wildlife around, a pinemarten was so engrossed in running up the road
it didn't seem to notice me peddling towards it, until I had to
change gear and it suddenly looked up confused as to where I had come
from! A dead crow hung on a post by it's legs near a duck pond
baffled me... any suggestions as to why this might be here?
2 days later we both
enjoyed a cycle, starting the same way as I had on the Tuesday on the
back road to Comrie, but deciding to turn off onto one of the even
smaller back roads that looked like it might be a nice ride. I learnt
a lesson that evening... however bad I though hills were in Jersey,
there are nothing compared to hills in Scotland! While the hill up
towards Balloch was not particularly steep it went on and on and on,
leaving me with no gears left and sweat dripping off my nose. I would
say the views from the top made up for it, but by then we were in
woodland and as soon as we stopped I started shivering, so I am
ashamed to say I put my head down and steeled myself for the descent.
Single track road with
mossy parts, gravelly bits in the middle and some sharp hairpin bends
means I will probably need some new brake pads but the sound of a big
shot gun not too far away and knowledge we are now in stag stalking
season was a good incentive to keep riding, until we found a great
road, straight, slightly downhill with a few little bumps for fun,
before heading home.
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