We travel to the heart of the Trossachs this week and the picture postcard village of Callander.
The Trossachs are often painted as a "Scotland in miniature", an area of lower mountains and lakes extending west and south from Callander to Aberfoyle, and interestingly reminiscent of the English Lake District. Whether the Trossachs would have achieved their fame without the influence of Sir Walter Scott is debatable; but while for some they are just the foothills of the real Highlands, for others they remain the most attractive part of Scotland.
Callander forms one of the main gateways to the Highlands. It sits at the eastern end of the Trossachs and at the southern end of the Pass of Leny, and is an ideal base for those 
wishing to explore the area. Sir Walter Scott and William Wordsworth both favoured Callander and it lays claim to Rob Roy, Scotland's answer to Robin Hood. Our motive for this visit is not to savor the romance or history of the locale but to use it as a starting point in our continued quest to gain full fitness for our forthcoming cycle excursion around the Western Isles and also the 14 mile cross-country Race the Train foot race that Eric has entered in North Wales on August 15th.
The route today takes us from the Callander through the forested Pass of Leny and along the western shore of Loch Lubnaig towards Strathyre village. The trail distance between Callander and Strathyre is signposted as nine and a half miles which we would mean a return journey of 19 miles which is perfectly feasible for Emma on the bike but would prove to be a tad ambitious for Eric in running shoes. With this in mind, comprise is struck and we decide to run/bike for one hour along the track before returning to Callander.
The weather could best be described as changeable (four seasons in one day) as we set of at a good pace in a cooling light drizzle. We quickly find a good pace and rhythm and begin to eat up the miles along the old rail route beside the River Lenny. The steady ascent of the track proves to be an easy work out as we make seven and a half miles on the one hour mark. Strathyre from this vantage point looks tantalizingly close and we resolve to come back in the near future to complete the full route. The return via the same route is mostly downhill and we rejoice in the comfort of free-wheeling a steady descent in near perfect running/cycling conditions. Alas this tranquil mode is interrupted when Emma takes her hand of the handlebars and her eye of the track resulting in an alarming tumble from the bike as we reach the final 2 miles. Thankfully there are no broken bones or sprains but the fall alerts us to the dangers of being complacent to the dangers of speed and naked flesh against tarmac.
In an effort to condition our legs or more accurately our Coccyx (bum bone) for the long distance cycle trip we have planned for August we travel to the shores of Loch Katrine and Trossachs Pier where we hire a couple of bikes to test our levels of cycle fitness.The challenge we have set is to cover 28 miles in 4 hours from the pier to Stronachlachar and return. Again the weather conditions are unforgiving on the outward 14 miles as it proceeds to rain like a cow peeing on a flat rock. Undeterred we press on through face on sheets of rain that make the road in front of us near impossible to view with both eyes open. The middle section
of the challenge proves to be quite hilly as we need to disembark at some particularly tough upward climbs. Our struggle up these hills is not helped by the ill maintained gears continually slipping, resulting in bruised calves as the pedals repeatedly slip and return to the lower leg with a ferocity that has the air turning blue with profanities.
Reaching the half way mark at Stronachlachar in a respectable 1 hour and 50 minutes we take refuge from the driving rain in the welcoming tearoom at the pier and rehydrate with a couple of soft drinks before climbing back aboard our bikes and return via the route we have just travelled. The weather is a little kinder on the return leg and we manage to take in some of the beauty that surrounds this natural reservoir and again return in 1 hour 50 minutes to accumulate a total time of 3 hours 40 minutes for the 28 hilly miles complete.
Alighting from our ill maintained chariots at Trossachs Pier with no pain and little fatigue we take great confidence in completing the undulating circuit in such adverse and challenging conditions and look forward with excitement to our cycle around the Western Isles of Scotland next month.
Whilst driving through the Scottish border county of Dumfriesshire at 4pm we found it necessary to turn on the car headlights because of the poor light conditions, we also found it necessary to turn on the windscreen wipers at high speed due to the excessive rainfall and eventually we had to turn on the interior car heating control to hot because of the cold air circulating from the outside of the car.
Yip, it is July in Scotland!!!
The meteorologists would have you believe that the summer is Scotland's most unpredictable and temperamental season. Anyone who has spent a number of years in Scotland would beg to differ. For the poor pasty faced inhabitants of this weather beaten country it is entirely predictable that as soon as you turn the calendar page to July it is going to rain and then some.
The weather of Scotland is governed by its northern latitude, the season of the year, the sea and the wind direction. These factors create a 'Temperate Cold Climate' in which the country receives a great deal of rain, especially in the West. The predominant sky condition for Scotland is overcast or partially cloudy. The amount of sunlight varies across Scotland with the south and west being cloudier than the north and east.
In Scotland (because the weather is so changeable), we half-joke that we get four seasons in the one day and that it is an absolute gem of a day when you see the rain clouds in the distance instead of them being permanently above you.
These long spells of limited sunshine give the Scottish pallor a deathly white appearance which turns to light blue in the winter months. An aesthetic misfortune that the criminal fraternity have picked up on resulting in vast amounts of laundered money being sunk into Suntan parlours which have opened up in abundance in the High Streets of every town in the country.
Scottish people and sunshine has never been a happy relationship, as soon as the sun makes any attempt at longevity the populace rushes to shed its clothing and parade their abundant pink flesh to an unforgiving sun which burns with an intensity that the Gobi Desert could not hope to emulate. Sales of Calamine lotion rocket as the fair skinned clear the chemist shelves of all sunburn medications swiftly followed by an overnight change of bed sheets as the duvet and bedcovers become congested with a sticky mix of peeling skin and lotion.
We should for reasons of accuracy point out that this large yellow object in the sky is a rare occurrence and only viewed between long bouts of overcast and/or damp conditions and if spotted for more than two days is regarded as a heat wave resulting in an immediate hosepipe ban amidst threats of dwindling reservoir levels.
We have no Antipodean worries today regarding heat stroke or forest fires as the rain is tipping it down with an intensity that keeps us car bound as we travel south to the town of Moffat and Grey Mare’s Tail.
Grey Mare’s Tail is a "hanging valley" waterfall: the valley was scoured out by glaciers during the last ice age leaving the outlet burn from Loch Skene falling about 300 feet down a sheer and dangerous cliff face making it the 5th highest waterfall in the UK.
Sir Walter Scott wrote in Marmion:
Where deep deep down, and far within
Toils with the rocks the roaring linn;
Then issuing forth one foamy wave,
And wheeling round the giant's grave
White as the snowy charger's tail
Drives down the pass of Moffatdale.
The overcast and wet conditions make the effort of bringing the camera with us a futile gesture and damningly we have had to acquire an image from the Internet (above) that brings to life the full splendour of the falls which we found impossible to capture on the day.
Seeking sanctuary from the adverse weather conditions we travel slightly north to Peebles and the Peebles Hydro.
Part of the Hydro chain of Hotels built at the end of the 19th century for the wealthy industrialists of the day it now sadly has a feel of Gods waiting room and spookily has a passing resemblance to The Overlook Hotel from Stephen King's The Shining. We tentatively enter the Hotel treading carefully so as not to arouse any potential eye rolling, axe wielding resident proclaiming loudly ‘HERE’S JOHHNY’.
Although slightly dated we take great delight in the Hotel grounds and Victorian elegance before climbing back in to the car and put an end to a thoroughly damp day.
A local indulgence this week as we climb along the ridge of hills surrounding Erics home town, the Vale of Leven.
There are 5 towns and villages in the Vale - Renton, Alexandria on the west side of the River Leven, Bonhill and Jamestown on the 
east side, and Balloch which straddles the Leven close to where it leaves Loch Lomond on its short and fast journey to Dumbarton where it empties into the River Clyde.
To access this ridge we join the Balloch to Cardross hill towpath at Stoneymullen Hill which offers breathtaking views of the south end of Loch Lomond and the majority of the Lochs 60 islands. Once the summit is reached we turn left and trudge through acres of boggy ground as we follow the ridge along to the highest point, which offers us an outstanding vista of Loch Lomond to the east and the River Clyde as it transcends from River Clyde to The Firth of Clyde to the west.
With two outstanding photo opportunities in the one location we quickly capture a couple of panoramic shots before setting of downhill towards Carman Hill and then onwards to Balloch via the local cemetery (Boot Hill) and thereafter we follow the fast flowing River Leven to its source at Loch Lomond.
We found this to be an eventful little walk that many locals have never attempted nor contemplated.
A shameful indictment of the apathy emanating from a populace that fails to appreciate the beauty that lies on its doorstep.
wishing to explore the area. Sir Walter Scott and William Wordsworth both favoured Callander and it lays claim to Rob Roy, Scotland's answer to Robin Hood. Our motive for this visit is not to savor the romance or history of the locale but to use it as a starting point in our continued quest to gain full fitness for our forthcoming cycle excursion around the Western Isles and also the 14 mile cross-country Race the Train foot race that Eric has entered in North Wales on August 15th.
