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Total lethargy after a draining week coupled with a terrible forecast made me think twice about more ambitious plans for the weekend. But I was under orders to get out on the hills each weekend for knee recovery. Not fancying a big drive for a day in the clag and rain I looked for options closer to home, settling on the wee hill Miekle Bin in the Campsies
I was in no hurry to leave my bed and pottered around making breakfast and getting gear ready before finally getting in the car and heading up the road. Although dry in Glasgow I very quickly encountered rain and more rain
Arriving at the very busy car park at the end on the Carron Valley reservoir, I slotted my wee car into a space and booted up. Although it was very overcast, surprisingly it wasn’t actually raining so off I went.
Heading along the forest track I stopped for a few photos along the reservoir – although the cloud was down it was quite atmospheric.
However, before I had gone 10 minutes down the track it started to rain. Hoping it wouldn't come to anything I persevered for a bit longer but sadly it was getting heavier. Still believing it wouldn't last, and trusting the water resistance of my trousers to keep out a shower, I added my jacket and continued.
Although just a track through a forest it was relaxing to be out, despite the weather, and I was glad that I'd made the effort
Finally reaching the footpath up Miekle Bin itself, I was out of the relatively sheltered forest and the full force of the wind hit me. I'm sure on a clear day it would have been a lovely view but I could see only a few metres ahead of me
Onwards, I passed a few people coming back down who said that it got worse further up. "Excellent," I replied and continued up with a slightly maniacal grin
They weren't kidding - when I'd squelched my way to the top I was greeted by more rain and wind but no views. I was also regretting my laziness as my legs were soaked. I picked up some rubbish and took a few photos but it was not a day for enjoying the summit.
I have a big dislike of out-and-back walks, of which this is generally one, so when looking at the map the night before I devised a plan. I followed the "path" which continued over the summit and it petered out completely just before some more forest....
At this point I bashed my way into the trees and discovered that there was something of a route through here that didn't involve too much crawling through the undergrowth
Breaking out the other side I had a quick map check and realised that I had come out a little further east than I had wanted to. Some real off-roading was required here but I managed to vaguely follow a line of fence posts to the stream which was crossed easily onto the beginnings of a track.
From here it was just a case of following the track back to the car park, but I deliberately took the longer way round to take me along the shores of the reservoir before eventually rejoining the outward track, picking up more litter (another of the same bottle I'd picked up at the top... grr
) and returning to the car.
Fortunately I had a pair of shorts in the car so, in a very dignified manner, I got changed at the side of the road before heading home. It was still raining
