Category: Europe

Chocolate box lids

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.

Fuelling up for the big hike

We’re now in Drymen, near Loch Lomond, joined by two UK friends, ready to hike the Rob Roy Way for the next eight days. Dinner tonight was at a pub originally owned by Rob Roy’s sister, a thematic start to our adventure.

Wee Willie Winkie’s resting place

Our walk today held quite a few surprises. At the Glasgow Necropolis we happened upon the grave of William Miller, the ‘laureate of the nursery’ and author of Wee Willie Winkie. Behind it, Glasgow Cathedral dominates the skyline.

Saturday night in Glasgow

OMG, etc. Glasgow (Scotland) is hopping tonight. We arrived today and were originally planning on a quiet beer and a light bite for dinner, but the city had other ideas. We took the opportunity to ride the delightfully diminutive subway to a slightly quieter neighborhood instead. As a kid, I absolutely loved riding the Glasgow subway, and I still do.

Glasgow gear swap

Over the years, we’ve learned to travel light with just carry-on backpacks, even for month-long trips. For our Scotland hike, we’re bringing hiking poles, which must be checked. Dwight found a sturdy, 3-ply box in our building’s recycling area, which turned out to be just the right size despite my doubts. In Glasgow, we’ll swap the poles for our noise-canceling headphones and other items we won’t need on the trail, then mail the box to a post office to collect at the end of our hike.

Mapping the real Rob Roy MacGregor

Later this month, we’ll hike the Rob Roy Way in Scotland. I abandoned Sir Walter Scott’s Rob Roy, irritated by the convoluted prose and historical inventions. Instead, I found a solid history book and used it, along with Wikipedia, to map out some actual locations (as blue pins) from Rob Roy’s life. Red pins mark our hotels. The Clachan Inn, once owned by his sister, is the only Rob Roy pin on our trail, so we will have to sample it.

Mapping a Scottish hike

Since I was a child I’ve had a soft spot for British Ordnance Survey maps; the 1:25,000 detail is perfect for the inn-to-inn hike we’ve planned for Scotland this April. However, after struggling with the Ordnance Survey website today, I switched back to Grough Routes. It’s a much more professional mapping application that uses the same high-quality mapping data.

Hiking the Rob Roy Way

Next year, we’re joining two friends in the UK to hike the Rob Roy Way in Scotland. We’re thankful we can still manage a long-distance trail, even if it means more hotels (I booked nine today) due to shorter daily sections as we get older.