Journeys 3.1

It’s day 7 of 8 on our Rob Roy Way hike. We’ve settled into a comfortable routine: arriving at our destination by mid-afternoon, just in time for a pot of tea and some cake. ​Today we reached Aberfeldy after a day of stunning views and more waterfalls than we could count. A cuppa and a slice of cake were exactly what we needed before checking into our hotel for a pre-dinner nap.

“£20 for an early check-in,” they said, at a resort in Kenmore at the foot of Loch Tay at the end of day six of our hike. Or, about £14 for beverages from the bar while enjoying this view of Loch Tay from the patio. We opted for the obvious and saved £6 while waiting.

​We climbed up to this loch, which was created by a dam. From here, the water rushes downhill through a tunnel to a hydroelectric plant. Throughout the journey, I’ve been impressed by the scale of the engineering; yesterday, we followed an abandoned hillside railroad, and on another day, passed a Victorian aqueduct built for Glasgow’s water supply. While this dam dates from the 1950s, contrails stretching across the sky offered a nod to even newer technologies.

This isn’t the kind of weather we reasonably expected in the Highlands at this time of year: blue skies and temperatures rising to the low 70s as we hiked to Killin for the night. With no rain forecast for our entire trip, our rain capes remain in our backpacks, and we’re left to enjoy the superb scenery.

Our entire hike today, from Callander to Strathyre, was on a rail trail. We followed a fast-flowing river and a long loch surrounded by wild hills. Along the way, we passed waterfalls and mossy banks. Large slices of cake and a pot of tea sustained us at the end of the trail before we checked into an inn for the night.

The terrain was wilder today as we walked from Aberfoyle to Callander: all moorland, lochs, and rolling hills with great views. We agreed that some of our photos look like something off chocolate box lids, almost too picturesque, but that’s how it looked.

Glimpsed layers of countryside from an often wooded trail on day one of our Rob Roy Way hike along the southern edge of Trossachs National Park. Tonight we’re in Aberfoyle with seven more days of walking ahead. We can still walk as far as we ever did, it just takes us a few more days.