Dandelion seeds

Here I am a week onward from our West Highland Way walk and I don’t know where the time has gone. I felt very moved that I got lovely congratulations messages from my three boys as well as lots of family and friends. 

The weather has gradually improved and these last few days have been positively hot! We have spent lots of time outside and I have been back in the outside pool at David Lloyd, in fact that’s where I am right now. I have been for my swim and now I’m relaxing on a sun lounger, it’s bliss. 

I saw my lovely friend Doreen last week for coffee in the garden, and we both remarked on our cultural compatibility! We have very similar tastes in books, theatre and films. Doreen walked the West Highland Way in the early 1980s when there was hardly anyone else there. And when she finished it, her friend hired a helicopter to transport them back to Glasgow - how stylish!

It was Christine’s birthday on Saturday and we were invited to Dunlop for a barbecue, expertly cooked by Gerry. We met Cat’s Uncle Dave who is a really nice gentleman, and enjoyed a warm afternoon in their garden. Cat had baked a delicious three tier lemon and blueberry birthday cake for her Mum, with lemon icing which was very thinly applied down the sides; this style is called “semi-naked” because you can see the layers of the cake through the icing but the cake is covered enough so as not to dry out. We also all went down to their field to plant a Victoria plum tree, which was one of Christine’s birthday presents from Gerry. There was much planning and digging and the tree was duly planted. Ally and Cat went straight from Dunlop to Fort William, where they were going to stay overnight before a day of hill-walking on Sunday.

The next day we had another barbecue with Heather and Ewan as our guests. It was so great to see them and we were discussing plans for a trip to the Western Isles in July. As we sat in the garden in the sunshine we became aware of a huge amount of dandelion seeds floating through the air in their wispy parachutes. The air was full of them, sailing gently across the garden from the east. I have never seen so many at once; it was almost like snow. 

And today (Monday) as well as my swimming, Marjory and Forrest came round in the early afternoon and we drank cool drinks in the garden and compared notes on - guess what? Yes, the West Highland Way! They have completed it several times, once with all three of their children, and it was very interesting to hear about their experiences. 

Reflections on our West Highland Way adventure

It has been such an adventure. I never thought that I could walk 96 miles and I’m probably as fit right now as I have ever been. Except for my poor feet of course.

Here are some thoughts and highlights:

No midges. 

James did very well to plan our trip for before midgie season in Scotland. When I was sitting down in between struggling over the rocks beside Loch Lomond, between Inversnaid and Ardleish, a lady pointed out to me that in a month’s time we wouldn’t have been able to rest without being attacked by midges.

The weather. 

James again did extremely well by booking our walk for the end of May. It meant that the weather had a chance of being decent, but would not be too hot for me. I suffer badly in the heat so I was hoping that it would be quite cool, and spent the weeks before we set off scrutinising the weather forecast in the hope that the temperature would not be too high!

So were we lucky? For the most part the answer is yes. The temperature was about 13 degrees C during our journey, with a nice breeze to keep us cool. We had two mostly sunny days at the start, four grey but dry days, and two days of heavy rain (on days 4 and 8) For a Scottish eight day walk, I think that’s pretty good.

The walkers.

The trail was fairly quiet; I think that the pandemic has made it slow to get started this year. This was quite pleasant for us because hours could go by without meeting other walkers; I think that it will be very busy in the summer. However we did meet a few people on our travels and there was a real camaraderie between us and our fellow West Highland Way walkers. We met and chatted with some really lovely people, and bonded over our sore feet and our excitement about the journey. Some we only met once, others we came across several times. You could recognise West Highland Way walkers in restaurants in the evenings because many were walking gingerly due to their blisters! 

The accommodation.

This trip was my Christmas present, and to make it comfortable and pleasant for us, James had booked via Mac Adventures, who arranged all of our accommodation and transported our luggage from hotel to hotel. They did us proud. Every hotel and b&b was excellent and the receptionists and hosts were friendly and welcoming. I have grown to love the buttery smell of Brodie’s Scottish shortbread, provided in most of our hotel rooms. 

The restaurants.

We booked dinner at some splendid restaurants, ranging from hearty home cooking to fine dining. There were definitely some recurring courses on the menus; macaroni cheese, burgers, steaks and, for dessert, the ubiquitous sticky toffee pudding! 

The blisters. 

Oh my goodness, the blisters! I wore light cotton socks for the journey, because I like my feet to be cool, and that has worked well for walks around our local area during lockdown. I always find that walking socks are too warm for me, even the thinnest ones. However the much longer walks this week have played havoc with my feet. By the end of Day 3, the most difficult day for me, my feet had developed several blisters, and I have been fighting a rearguard action ever since. I have a love / hate relationship with blister plasters because although I definitely needed them, they could feel quite bulky and sometimes the blisters kept swelling up painfully under the plasters. The next time that I go for a long distance walk I’m going to do some research about what walking socks are best for me. 

The wildlife. 

We saw lots of wildlife including red deer near Bridge of Orchy and at Kinlochleven and feral goats at Ardleish at the top of Loch Lomond. And many sheep with their wee lambs.

We saw golden eagles above Meall a Bhuirdh, lots of goldfinches, bullfinches, pheasants, ducks and a snow bunting. And we heard cuckoos calling every single day! 

The train journey home.

When heading back south, the train line joins the West Highland Way at Bridge of Orchy and it was fascinating to look out for the path upon which we had walked only a few days before. 

West Highland Way - Kinlochleven to Fort William

We have finished the West Highland Way! Hooray! And what a last day it was. The weather forecast had predicted a mixture of sunshine and rain, but in fact it rained all day. Relentlessly. We had quite a long ascent through the woods out of Kinlochleven at the very beginning of our walk, about 250 metres, and I again successfully used my “listening to music” method to distract myself. James encouraged me to join his Spotify account yesterday so I had a couple of playlists downloaded and ready to play. We were quite sheltered in the woods during the climb but when we reached the top of the path it was very exposed as we walked a long way through the glen. If it hadn’t been so wet and the cloud so low it would have been a stunningly beautiful walk; it was still quite attractive even though it was raining. I couldn’t be bothered putting on my climbing trousers which was very silly of me, because the rain ran down my legs and soaked my socks and boots. Also it didn’t help the path had turned into a stream in the wet conditions, crossed frequently by proper streams. So we just walked as fast as we could, and covered the 25 km / 15 miles in 6 hours and 20 minutes, which is very fast for me (James of course can walk much faster without me!) I reckon that this was about 4 km per hour in quite rough and hilly terrain, with a final steep descent to Fort William. We also didn’t stop at all which is unprecedented for me, and attests to the rainy conditions - it didn’t even look dry under the few clumps of trees so we just kept going. The last couple of kilometres was along the Glen Nevis Road, and I felt so excited as the first houses of Fort William came into sight! Soon we saw our old favourite haunt, Nevisport, and despite our wetness we nipped in there for coffee and soup - and in my case, pancakes with bananas and chocolate sauce. Oh it was delicious!

Then we walked the last hundred yards to the end of the West Highland Way, where a couple of walkers who arrived a few minutes after us took a photo of us and we returned the compliment. Our bed and breakfast, Ardblair House, was close by and as soon as we checked in James ran me a hot bath and made me a coffee and it was wonderful! I felt so clean and above all dry, when afterwards I changed into my jeans and my newly purchased “I’ve walked the West Highland Way” t shirt. We strolled down to another favourite restaurant, The Crannog, for dinner at 7.30 p.m. dinner was delicious- what a lovely way to celebrate completing the West Highland Way and also our 36th Wedding Anniversary. 

West Highland Way - Kingshouse Hotel to Kinlochleven

When we were having breakfast this morning, James pointed out a little snow bunting skipping about on the grass outside the hotel. Its back was black and it was all white underneath; it looked very cute. This was Day 7 out of 8; we were to walk about 17 km from the Kingshouse Hotel to the tiny village of Kinlochleven, leaving Glencoe via a steep incline called the “Devil’s Staircase,” a name which struck fear into my heart!

We walked for an hour before reaching the foot of the hill, during which James heartlessly kept singing “it’s the Devil’s Staircase” to the tune of  Europe’s “The Final Countdown” and then I put my carefully thought out plan into action. Firstly I removed my jacket for maximum coolness, and secondly I used my Apple AirPods for the first time in the holiday so that I could distract myself with music. I rarely use my AirPods when out walking because I prefer to hear birdsong and enjoy the scenery undistracted, but this morning I wanted to take my mind off my nerves.

I don’t know what I was so worried about! Yes, the Devil’s Staircase is quite steep but not remarkably so, and it’s short - only about 200 metres. I plodded up while listening to songs by Madness, and in no time I reached the cairn at the top and rewarded myself with a cup of coffee and an energy bar. I did enjoy listening to the music and it did calm me down so I would try that again in similar circumstances. 

We still had a long way to go and it was down, down, down a twisting and gentle track all the way to Kinlochleven. It kind of reminded me of a ski trail! We could see that back of the mountains of Glencoe and plenty more besides, including the Mamores and the Blackwater Reservoir with its dam and huge pipes heading down the hill. Eventually we arrived in Kinlochleven which is very small and quiet, and had a late lunch at the Tailrace Inn before checking in to our guest house, which has fabulous mountain views. The rain, which had been threatening all day, came on in earnest so we had a cosy afternoon reading the Sunday papers. 

Update later in the evening: We had dinner in the friendly Bothy Bar which has stunning views up Loch Leven. The sun was setting and the water was golden. A red deer waded through the shallows of the loch just in front of us; James was the first to notice and then other people in the restaurant noticed us looking, and soon nearly everyone came over to the window to watch the deer. There were more deer further away, silhouetted against the bright water; it was a beautiful sight. 

West Highland Way - Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse Hotel

Day 6 has been a day of spectacular scenery as we started by climbing up the hill behind the Bridge of Orchy hotel to the ridge above Loch Tulla, before descending to the Inveroran Hotel. Then we continued along the old drove road to Glencoe. Apparently this originated as one of General Wade’s roads in the early 18th century but had fallen into disrepair until is was restored and improved by Thomas Telford in 1803. It was the main road to Glencoe until it was replaced by the current A82 in 1933, but is still in quite good condition and is used for the West Highland Way. It ascends gently for quite a long way until it descends past the Glencoe Ski Centre to the A82 and beyond to the Kingshouse Hotel, our destination for tonight. The total distance was 19 km. 

James pointed out to me the mountains that we could see on our way, and the views were absolutely beautiful. We passed red deer grazing on the hill above Bridge of Orchy, and further on we saw two golden eagles circling above Meall a’ Bhuiridh. The weather was sunny with big white clouds and it was such a lovely walk. We chatted to a few people on our journey, some of whom we recognised from the bar last night, and we met two nice young men, one of whom has had a kidney transplant, who are cycling from Fort William to Glasgow to raise money for Kidneys for Life.

When we arrived at the Kingshouse Hotel I was absolutely delighted. It’s the first time that we have visited it since its rebuild, and it is gorgeous; it is of a high standard, both the public areas and the bedrooms. We had plenty of time for showers and baths before dinner, which was delicious. We sat at a table right by the window with amazing views of Glencoe. A mummy duck led 12 ducklings past the window from the river to the pond. It was idyllic.

After dinner we came upstairs to watch the second half of Eurovision *, which has been staged this year despite Covid, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. James is fast asleep by my side! 

* Italy won. The UK got nul points. 

West Highland Way - Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy

After yesterday’s long and winding - and wet - path, today felt like a walk in the park. Day 5 was a gentle 12 km stroll from Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy. The track is broad and well surfaced with gravel and stones, and it follows the railway line on which we will be travelling home on Tuesday. We passed lots of sheep and ate our apples in a sheltered spot beside the railway bridge. There were a few fellow hikers on the path, some of whom were going to Bridge of Orchy like us, but others were going on to Inveroran or even the Kings House Hotel. We met the friendly couple from Day 1 again and had a chat before they headed on to Inveroran - it turns out that their real names are Kevin and Colette.  Today was dry but quite windy, and although we got to the Bridge of Orchy Hotel by lunch time, and could easily have pressed on a bit, it was really good to have an afternoon of lounging about. The hotel here is extremely nice and the dinner has been the best of the holiday so far. 

West Highland Way - Ardlui to Tyndrum

Today was rainy, very, very rainy! It was actually dry for the first couple of hours; we got the first ferry of the day at 9 a.m. back over to Ardneish to resume the West Highland Way. We were well past Beinn Glas farm before the first raindrops fell, but once the rain got started it was relentless for the rest of the day. And it was a long day of 24 km. I had been nervous about how my poor feet would bear up after the pounding that they got yesterday, but when I woke up the ache was gone and I carefully patched up the blisters and the raw bits with Compeed. It worked! I was able to walk without pain all day, and it was only towards the end that I started feeling a bit tired and footsore again. 

So we walked through woodland and up hills and through glens and it was very lovely, despite the grey skies and incessant rain. The green buds on the trees and the grassy slopes were even greener in the soft light. We heard a cuckoo - we have heard them every day of the walk so far. We stopped twice for coffee and snacks but didn’t linger because the rain penetrated even beneath the shelter of the trees. The path up the hill after the Crianlarich turn off was carpeted in very red pine needles. Twice the West Highland Way crossed the A82 and I remembered standing there ushering pupils across the road safely on Duke of Edinburgh school trips. They were happy days but I certainly don’t miss the responsibility! This section of the route was very familiar to me due to those school trips, and it was nice seeing all the old familiar landmarks. Our fellow travellers that we had started recognise and greet were nowhere to be seen today; I reckon that they will now be well ahead of us because they are completing the walk in six days instead of our eight days. But we met some new people; two men from Glasgow who were also on the Ardlui ferry with us this morning and kept overtaking us and being overtaken by us, and two European girls who were a bit slower than us so we didn’t see them again after the Crianlarich turn off. Last night in the hotel we saw two young men who could hardly hobble into the bar due to their blisters. There was no sign of them at the early breakfast sitting this morning.

The last part of the walk was just a trudge for us; we were wet and cold and tired. The receptionist at the Tyndrum Lodges was very friendly and soon sent us to our warm, clean room where we were very glad to take off our wet clothes and I had a nice hot bath. Dinner was just along the road at the Tyndrum Inn and could be described as “hearty” which was just what we needed. 

West Highland Way - Rowardennan to Ardlui

What a day it has been. My feet have never been so sore, not even after my 12 hour day on Ben Nevis. I have blisters on both feet but that’s not the sorest part, the actual bones of my feet are aching. Today we walked from Rowardennan to Inversnaid and then onwards to Ardlui, which we reached by a cute wee ferry across the top of Loch Lomond. The total was about 19 km. The first half of the walk went very well, I was feeling quite confident and enjoyed the beautiful views of the mountains across the loch. We saw an Osprey plane flying down over the water, with its propellers angled forwards. We got to the Inversnaid Hotel at lunch time. The hotel is currently closed but there are picnic tables outside so we sat and ate our energy bars with coffee in the sunshine. 

It was shortly after this that my troubles began. The second part of the route is very hard going and very rocky in places. Up and down over boulders we climbed, it seemed to go on forever! I was horrified that we were making such slow progress along the loch side. Every now and then the path would open up a bit so that we could stride forward but then more rocks would appear. It was so rough that I was really scared of falling, and in fact we heard from some other walkers that a lady had just fallen right off the path at a tricky bit and broken her ankle; she was rescued by a lifeboat! The path may have been treacherous but to be fair it was also extremely beautiful with steep slopes covered in bluebells, the loch glittering with light, lots of broad leaved wild garlic with its white flowers, and sunlight slanting through the trees. James put Compeed patches on my feet to cover my blisters but the pain was much deeper than that, I have never experienced such foot pain and I can only assume that it resulted from the rough terrain and perhaps I was so tense that I tensed up my feet as well? Who knows, but I was hobbling by the time we eventually arrived at the jetty for the ferry to Ardlui. Not even the famous feral goats could distract me! I felt much better after a shower, a lie down and a slap up dinner in the bar later. 

West Highland Way - Drymen to Rowardennan

Day 2 has been distinctly more challenging than Day 1! Not just because the distance was a bit longer (24 km) but because the terrain was much hillier. We started with a long, gradual incline out of Drymen, before approaching the slopes of Conic Hill. Strangely enough it was before we ascended the hill that I got a bit hot and bothered - it was very sunny and the breeze had dropped. I had a wee rest and a coffee, and then, reenergised, walked all the way up to Conic Hill without stopping. When we rounded the shoulder of the hill the wind was fresher and we could see rain sweeping across Loch Lomond towards us. We put our jackets on but it didn’t rain very heavily and soon blew over. The view of Loch Lomond was absolutely beautiful. James pointed out the Highland boundary fault line which runs through Conic Hill and is evidenced by the line of islands going across Loch Lomond. It’s a massive geological fracture which separates the Highlands from the Lowlands, and runs right across Scotland from Kintyre to Stonehaven. The first part of the descent from the hill was very steep and treacherous, because the path is very eroded, so I used my walking poles to assist me and was very glad that I had brought them. Down to the side of Loch Lomond at Balmaha we went, and had a light lunch in the very nice Oak Tree restaurant. The second half of our walk was along the side of Loch Lomond to Rowardennan. It was a bit rainy just after lunch and then brightened into a gorgeous, sunny afternoon and evening. Our path took us through woods filled with bluebells and birdsong, with the loch shining beside us. The trouble was that the path rose and fell again and again and again. Sometimes we climbed 50 metres, sometimes 90 metres, and it added up into quite a lot of effort over the remaining 12 km! We finally arrived at the Rowardennan Hotel at 6 p.m. and I was exhausted. However a refreshing shower soon perked me up and we had dinner in the bar, where the menu was unexceptional but the staff were friendly. I’m now tucked up in bed and the view of the Loch from our bedroom window is lovely. 

West Highland Way - Milngavie to Drymen

Today has been Day 1 of our West Highland Way walk, which is my Christmas present from James. I have been both excited and nervous about the trip; excited because I have wanted to do this for many years, and nervous because of my fitness (or lack thereof!) I have been eating more sensibly for the last couple of months and as a result I have lost some weight (15 lb) and I have also been doing some walking and lots of swimming. 

This morning Cat very kindly gave James and me a lift to Milngavie. We could have taken the train but it would have meant getting to the station with our luggage very early and also having to change trains. I felt much more relaxed with the car and Cat understood that. We arrived in Milngavie at 8.30 a.m. and handed in our luggage to a waiting van. It will be transported from hotel to hotel by van each day, so we only have to carry our small rucksacks. And five minutes later we were on our way!

After the obligatory photo session at the official start of the West Highland Way, which is in Milngavie shopping centre, we set off into leafy Mugdock Park which was looking pretty with lots of bluebells and then onwards to more open countryside beyond Carbeth, skirting Dumgoyne Hill. We could hear birds singing and heard the unmistakable call of a cuckoo. There were other walkers heading north; we met a group of ex soldiers who were doing the West Highland Way to raise money for army veterans with PTSD. One of them was an amputee and they were all very friendly, especially after James found the walking poles that one of them had left beside the path accidentally, and ran after him to return them. And we saw a couple who were a bit ahead of us but walking at about the same pace; by the end of the day we had overtaken each other several times so started saying hello. We walked northwards to the Beech Tree Inn where we had an early lunch before pressing on along the disused railway track. The last few kilometres into Drymen were on a road, but luckily a very quiet and pleasant one, lined with a long beech hedge which was very neat; the farmer must cut it with a machine. When we arrived at Drymen we checked in to The Winnock Hotel, which is right on the main square. After a short rest we went out to explore the attractive and tiny village, which didn’t take long! And then we went to the Clachan Inn for a drink before dinner. How civilised! At the end of the first day I feel tired but happy - but still a bit nervous because today was quite gentle; there are many more challenging days ahead of us. 

Celebration

Glasgow Rangers actually won the Scottish Premier League back on 7th March, but yesterday was the last game of the season, when they would be presented with the trophy. This meant that there was great excitement among the fans, even though they can’t attend matches due to Covid restrictions. 

Nowhere was this excitement greater than at Casa Anderson, where Alasdair festooned the front room with Union Jack bunting and a huge Rangers flag. He, Cat, and their friend Iain wore Rangers strips and scarves, and they organised copious snacks and drinks including Buckfast, Midori and lemonade, Dragon Soup and MD2020. 

I was swimming when the match started at 12.30 but I joined them all for the second half, to find that things were going very well for Rangers - they beat Aberdeen 4 - 0 and were very happy. Also very happy were Alasdair, Cat, Iain and James. After the game was over some of the thousands of Rangers fans who had gathered outside Ibrox stadium (despite being told not to by both the club and the police) attempted to climb over the gates to get inside, and failing at that, they marched from Ibrox over the squinty bridge to George Square where they wreaked havoc. Although predictable, it was very annoying because it was stupid and thoughtless and dangerous, and gave plenty of (justified) ammunition to Rangers’ detractors. I recognised a very familiar face in one of the photos taken outside the stadium but discretion forbids that I identify the culprit! 

Back at Casa Anderson, the celebrations continued all afternoon, with the result that Ally went missing and after a short search was discovered in his bed taking a nap before teatime! He managed to get up in time for his curry and a convivial evening. 

Hill-walking Club Reunion

Yesterday was a very happy occasion; a mid-week walk at the Falls of Clyde with our hill-walking club. Now that restrictions are easing, fifteen people are allowed to meet for outdoor exercise. In fact it wasn’t the first meet up of the club since lockdown, there was a day walk a fortnight ago while we were in Ullapool. This was the first one that James and I have been able to attend and it was delightful. 

For a start, we were very lucky with the weather; it was sunny all day which was indeed fortunate in the run of rather mixed weather that we have had recently. But more importantly it was lovely to see our walking chums again, some of them for the first time in about eighteen months. There were thirteen of us on the walk and as we strolled along we were chatting with everyone and catching up on their news. We did the full circuit from New Lanark up to Bonington Lynn and then right down to Kirkfieldbank where we crossed the bridge and walked back up to the village. The café in the visitor centre is open again - oh the normality! - so we had a restoring stop there before going our separate ways. 

Dining and Voting

I didn’t feel very motivated to go for my swim this morning but once I got into the pool I enjoyed myself. It was raining quite hard and the raindrops sent up little splashes as they hit the water. It was beautiful. 

It was just as well that I took some exercise because James and I then went out for a rather lavish lunch. Heather and Ewan gave me a voucher for Six by Nico for my birthday, which was a lovely gift, however we were then in lockdown for the next four months so the restaurants were closed! Six by Nico has a sister business called Home by Nico but the voucher was valid only for the restaurant. I booked the meal as soon as I could, and oh boy it was worth the wait!

The current theme is “The Circus” and the six courses all had elements of illusion and the unexpected, and were imaginative and delicious. It’s very difficult to pick out my favourite course but I think that I would have to choose the herb gnocchi with samphire, crushed artichoke and caper and raisin purée - I don’t know how the chefs know that these amazing flavours go together so well. Alcohol is not allowed to be served indoors at the moment, so mocktails were offered instead, and they were very good - especially the candied apple mocktail. 

We stopped to vote in the local elections on our way home. We had been informed on the radio that we needed to bring our own pencils *  but apart from that, and of course wearing masks, the voting process was just the same as usual. Civic duty done, we headed home to see the kitties. 

* it turned there was a basket of pencils provided, probably because many people around here would forget! 

Changeable weather

The Scottish weather is always full of surprises and this week so far we have had heavy rain, sunshine, and even hailstones. Further north there has been snow on the hills. So Springtime has taken a step back for now. 

We have been visiting some cafés now that they are open again. On Monday we went to Costa Coffee with Marjory and Forrest and on Tuesday Suzy and I went to Vin Café. There’s definitely a pleasant feeling of things slowly going back to normal. The David Lloyd Club is fully open now and it’s very different from the quiet, “outside only” version that it has been since I joined in March. There are lots more people there for a start, and the changing rooms are open so I don’t have to get changed at the poolside any more. The café is open too and I had lunch there with Catherine, who came with me today.

Later on at home I had coffee in the garden in warm sunshine - until another shower of rain sent me scurrying back indoors. 

Staycations, Lunch, and Line of Duty

As we drove south from Ullapool on Saturday we noticed that there were lots of cars heading northwards; the summer season in the Highlands has definitely begun. According to news websites it is expected that many more people than usual are planning to have “staycations” in the UK this summer. Although foreign travel is expected to be permitted soon, the countries which are considered safe can change very quickly, so holidays are home are currently a safer bet. 

I follow an Ullapool Facebook page and it’s clear that the people in the north of Scotland are conflicted about the rise in tourist numbers. On the one hand they do want the revenue that tourism brings, but on the other they are very wary about overcrowding on the roads and in the villages, and damage to the environment by some irresponsible wild campers setting fires and leaving litter.

When we got home the cats were pleased to see us; Ally and Cat have gone on holiday for a week (a staycation!) so they must have been wondering where we all were. Or perhaps cats don’t think in those terms, but they must have noticed that the house was unusually empty overnight. 

Today we went for a lovely walk in Lenzie with Heather, Ewan and Andrew. I’m always impressed with the beautiful countryside on their doorstep, and on this sunny afternoon the green fields and the River Kelvin looked particularly attractive. We ascended a coal bing near Woodilee, largely grassed over, and were treated to 360 degree panoramic views all around from its flat top. We stopped there to have coffee before returning to Lenzie and having lunch in The Grove. It felt delightfully normal to sit with our friends for lunch - like before the pandemic and the lockdowns. Alcohol at restaurants is still not permitted indoors, which didn’t bother any of us. However many diners had booked their lunch on the restaurant’s roof terrace, braving the slightly chilly breeze to have a drink with their lunch.

Last week we watched the latest (and perhaps final?) series of Line of Duty. We have watched all of this very popular police drama over these past few years, and this evening was the concluding episode. Perhaps inevitably, because of all the hype, the episode was a bit of an anticlimax. The identity of the mysterious “H” aka “The fourth man” was downright disappointing. I was left with the feeling that it was nowhere near as good as the wonderful Engrenages.