These boots etc
So, last year I became thoroughly bored with the gym and desperately needed to get myself into some sort of shape.
But what could I do instead? For someone who really needs regular exercise to avoid turning into Jabba the Hut's unfit younger brother but more often than not finds the whole process painfully dull, this was a toughie.
Then I started gazing off into the distance while out and about in the car, and it took me a while to work out why. It was the hills. Scotland is covered with hills. Hundreds of the buggers. Thousands, even. Big ones, small ones, soft rolling ones, big craggy dangerous ones. I decided I wanted to see what they were like up close. Could I walk all the way up one of those things - right to the snowy bit at the top?
Armed with a new pair of hiking boots, a rucksack and a chubby canine companion, I started my hillwalking adventure here, in Alva Glen..
... which, as it happens, was a great way to start. Just half an hour's drive away, it pops you right into the most scenic setting after only 10 minutes of walking away from semi-rural Stirlingshire. That first walk - especially the small amount of rocky scrabbling involved - showed me just how out of shape I was, but whetted my appetite for more. Glen the dog seemed to enjoy it, too.
After a few more Alva outings, Glen and I set our sights on a new challenge: The Meikle Bin. The biggest of the Kilsyth Hills, the Meikle bin again had the advantage of being relatively local, but required considerably more effort than Alva Glen. For one thing, it's a walk of about 45 minutes before you even reach the hill itself. Look, here it is in the distance...
From the foot of the hill, it's another hour or so to the top - with a very steep ascent up a very windy hillside on the final leg of the journey. It was about this point I started to consider just lying down and rolling all the way back down, but Glen was already several hundred yards further uphill, mocking me with his spritely gambolling as I wheezed, gasped and phlegmed my way to the top. Still, it was worth it. Look:
That's the view from the waypoint at the top, with the wind farm in the distance. The feeling of achievement at the top, plus the quiet, the solitude and the general sense of perspective was pretty astounding
A few more trips to the top of the Bin and I didn't quite feel like I was going to need a helicopter airlift to get back down. Glen and I were already noticably more trim.
After consulting with a colleague who happens to be a keen climber and mountain rescue team member, our next target was identified - Ben A'an, known by many as 'the best little hill in Scotland'.
As soon as you start this particular walk, you can see why Ben A'an has such a good reputation among walkers. It's simply gorgeous. The walk uphill is through a steep but not too taxing woodland path. With bark underfoot and mossy glades either side, it's like taking a trip through the Middle Earth tourist guide.
I'd been told about the first view of the hill itself, but it was still a big buzz to emerge from the clearing to see this very Indiana Jones-ish sight...
That pointy thing is Ben A'an itself, and Glen and I climbed it. The climb itself was the most challenging so far - a real test of balance, endurance and dog control up a combination of steep rocky steps, loose shale and slippy rockface. Sadly, the camera ran out of batteries before we made it to the top, but here's a taste of the stunning views on the way up...
And I was hooked. Through September, October and November - with a few weather-permitting outings in December and January, too - Glen and I have been out striding as manfully as we're able up Scotland's less challenging peaks ... with a few mishaps along the way. More on those in a future instalment.
But what could I do instead? For someone who really needs regular exercise to avoid turning into Jabba the Hut's unfit younger brother but more often than not finds the whole process painfully dull, this was a toughie.
Then I started gazing off into the distance while out and about in the car, and it took me a while to work out why. It was the hills. Scotland is covered with hills. Hundreds of the buggers. Thousands, even. Big ones, small ones, soft rolling ones, big craggy dangerous ones. I decided I wanted to see what they were like up close. Could I walk all the way up one of those things - right to the snowy bit at the top?
Armed with a new pair of hiking boots, a rucksack and a chubby canine companion, I started my hillwalking adventure here, in Alva Glen..
... which, as it happens, was a great way to start. Just half an hour's drive away, it pops you right into the most scenic setting after only 10 minutes of walking away from semi-rural Stirlingshire. That first walk - especially the small amount of rocky scrabbling involved - showed me just how out of shape I was, but whetted my appetite for more. Glen the dog seemed to enjoy it, too.
After a few more Alva outings, Glen and I set our sights on a new challenge: The Meikle Bin. The biggest of the Kilsyth Hills, the Meikle bin again had the advantage of being relatively local, but required considerably more effort than Alva Glen. For one thing, it's a walk of about 45 minutes before you even reach the hill itself. Look, here it is in the distance...
From the foot of the hill, it's another hour or so to the top - with a very steep ascent up a very windy hillside on the final leg of the journey. It was about this point I started to consider just lying down and rolling all the way back down, but Glen was already several hundred yards further uphill, mocking me with his spritely gambolling as I wheezed, gasped and phlegmed my way to the top. Still, it was worth it. Look:
That's the view from the waypoint at the top, with the wind farm in the distance. The feeling of achievement at the top, plus the quiet, the solitude and the general sense of perspective was pretty astounding
A few more trips to the top of the Bin and I didn't quite feel like I was going to need a helicopter airlift to get back down. Glen and I were already noticably more trim.
After consulting with a colleague who happens to be a keen climber and mountain rescue team member, our next target was identified - Ben A'an, known by many as 'the best little hill in Scotland'.
As soon as you start this particular walk, you can see why Ben A'an has such a good reputation among walkers. It's simply gorgeous. The walk uphill is through a steep but not too taxing woodland path. With bark underfoot and mossy glades either side, it's like taking a trip through the Middle Earth tourist guide.
I'd been told about the first view of the hill itself, but it was still a big buzz to emerge from the clearing to see this very Indiana Jones-ish sight...
That pointy thing is Ben A'an itself, and Glen and I climbed it. The climb itself was the most challenging so far - a real test of balance, endurance and dog control up a combination of steep rocky steps, loose shale and slippy rockface. Sadly, the camera ran out of batteries before we made it to the top, but here's a taste of the stunning views on the way up...
And I was hooked. Through September, October and November - with a few weather-permitting outings in December and January, too - Glen and I have been out striding as manfully as we're able up Scotland's less challenging peaks ... with a few mishaps along the way. More on those in a future instalment.