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The title is a bit of a play on words with the old Police song, "Don't stand so close to me"
When anyone reads this in a few years time they will think - what!! The 'world' is in the grips of a new style war, this time without bombs, guns etc, the killer this time is virus Covid 19 or how it is generally called Corona Virus.
We are now in the month of March and the virus first became known was in China in November, the rest of the world appeared to take a back seat and think thank goodness we aren't involved. Now we are on the brink of going into lockdown which effectively means we are all ordered to stay indoors.
With the above in mind and lockdown just around the corner I suggested to George and Parminder we head out to clear our heads and put the world to rights. George is not long back from a week in the sun in Spain and I know what days Parminder is free so a Tuesday outing would be ideal. After Parminder's recent struggle with cramp and George not having been out for months I suggested we tackle a wee hill. I opted for Earl's Seat as it is a good leg stretch with enough ascent to get the heart and lungs working.
I volunteered to drive and we met at the P&R in Inverkeithing at 8am and the drive would take just over an hour, definitely much shorter than some of our recent outings.
Limited parking in the layby very close to Glengoyne Distillery
Parminder keeping his distance as usual
Good initial track
Road recently tarmac'd
Evidence of a recent landslip, caused by excessive rain/water
Enough solar panels to boil your kettle
The large house that possibly benefits from the panels, there maybe lot's of females within who like leaving the lights on?
George striding out confidently, the lump in front is Dumgoyne.
A couple styles to negotiate, before a bit of going up commences
The way ahead, we opted to save Dumgoyne for the return leg and it did look steep
Looking north
George and Parminder stopping for a chat on the steep ascent, it looked much steeper when we were descending
All those humps in the distance have to be climbed
The view south with Dumgoyne on the right
Dumgoyne again, very distinctive
Old ruins or a random pile of stones or as Parminder says 'stanes'
Earl's Seat in the distance, do we go direct over/through the peat hags or skirt round to the left keeping most of the height gained. We opted for the latter
Peat hags wouldn't be much fun after the heavy overnight rain
Parminder leading for a brief period
George playing catchup
Getting a bit nearer
Trig now fairly obvious
Here they are - all smiles now
Video taken on the summit of Earl's Seat
Looking NE towards Stronend, Parminder and I were up there last year
This was our lunch stop, nice shelter from the wind. George was totally unaware of the great view behind him
Looking down on Dumgoyne on our way back. The rain was just starting (as forecast), we discussed whether we fancied the brief struggle up Dumgoyne. Our unanimous decision was to give it a body swerve, especially as there was no blue balloon for the struggle
Final photo of Dumgoyne
Bonus photo - Earl's Seat taken from the summit of Stronend last year
As usual this was a superb day, really enjoyed catching up and the exercise was very welcome. We even managed to find a café open and enjoyed a nice relaxing coffee. Thanks to 2 chums for the fantastic company. The day must have been good as Parminder even took ONE photo - that nobody will ever see.
The future is looking gloomy and our lives are now in the hands of the decision makers and their advisers for what looks like at least a couple of months. I am hoping to tackle Craignell in D&G on Saturday on my way back home from down south. Keep your fingers crossed.
