More Snow

It’s a long time since I have had a “snow day.” The directive from Glasgow City Council for Thursday was that all schools were closed and that teachers were to work from home. This was not straightforward since my planner and resources were all at school, however I did my best by drafting some reports and doing some lesson planning for Term 3. Meanwhile James was also working from home. He was ensconced in the Study where he was involved in a conference call which took three hours. I took him in a wee cup of tea at one point.
By mid afternoon we were both ready for an excursion. James suggested an innocuous sounding walk to nearby Dechmont Hill. On went the snow boots and off we set. James decided that we should go via the golf course, which has a public right of way around it. This was certainly much more attractive than walking on the road, however the snow was very deep in places and I found myself walking in James’ footsteps in scenes reminiscent of the journey of Good King Wenceslas and his faithful servant. I tried not to laugh too loudly when James plummeted through the snow up to his waist into a hidden stream! Luckily his trusty boots, gaiters and waterproof trousers kept him dry.
It turned out that James’ rather circuitous route to Dechmont Hill (via the golf course and several fields, and then back via more fields and Gilbertfield Road) was in fact a hefty 12 km, much of it trudging through snow! And of course we also ended up climbing over several farm gates and fences. It was very windy at the top of Dechmont Hill and it snowed on and off during our journey. The views from the top were tremendous; we could see all around, from Hamilton and Motherwell all the way to the west end of Glasgow. It was good fun though, and I was pleased to get the exercise, although less pleased that my Apple Watch ran out of battery power half way through the walk so it didn’t record the full distance.
As we walked along Gilbertfield Road near Dechmont Barracks, we saw a wee cairn that we have never noticed before, in memory of the soldiers who walked down Shepherd’s Lane from the barracks to Newton Station on their way to war. The plaque reads:
“This cairn is to commemorate all the soldiers who walked this path to Newton Station to go to the 1st and 2nd World Wars. And those who didn’t return. We will remember them.”
We popped in to see Grandma on the way home; she was in good spirits and was shocked at how far we had walked.