The Ochils At Last
I’ve motored past them so many times but never ventured up onto the Ochils until today. They clearly haven’t been short of company in my absence though: I haven’t seen so many people out on a range of hills outside the Lake District!
From the south these hills shoot up steeply to about 400m from the Forth plain and then you’re in for an easy day of wandering over grassy tops and talking shite about what such and such a mountain further north at the limits of your eyesight might be.
The soil is clearly very rich and I rather think I’ve visited at the wrong time of year. In the summer they must be covered in flowers.
There are photos. :O]
Posted in photos.
January 20th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Ach, if I’d a) known you were going and b) hadnae been required elsewhere, I’d have asked to come along. Windy? Yes, and sheltered spots are few and far between. Busy? Sometimes. I saw 2 folk last time out but I’ve also seen giant conga lines stretching up The Law.
Dinnae be put off btw. They’re great wee hills wi’ loads of interesting bits. And famous for their flowers*.
*They’re no’ really. :o)
January 20th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I’ve just had my uncle on the phone to say that what they’re covered in during the summer is bracken, not flowers. He remembers timekeeping for an international-level orienteering event there in 1952: every other team that came in filed a complaint and the Dutch team ended up on the Clackmannanshire road. Remember, this was at international level.
The course had been designed by two local geography teachers in January when the bracken was down but it was a summer event.
Anyway, I’ll give you a shout next time I’m going, Kev.
January 20th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Oh yes, the bracken. I’m no’ surprised folk get lost in it :o) By all means give me a shout, btw. It’ll be a good incentive to drag myself away from the sofa.
January 25th, 2008 at 12:08 am
SO HAUNTING .. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL . thanks for sharing:)
January 28th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
That looks like fun. I think I’ll have to go there.
Daft question coming up, is it obvious where to park?
January 28th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
The car park I used is marked on the 1:25,000 at about NS 884 975 but I don’t remember it being signposted. There are a few turnoffs right next to each other where you need to come off the main road. If memory serves, the one you want is one of those split Y junctions like the one that takes you off the A827 up to Ben Lawers Visitor Centre, only smaller and not on a hill.
Of course, it might actually have been one of the other junctions and my wee brain is inventing the answer here. The only thing I’m sure of is the grid reference because I’ve just looked it up. :O]
January 29th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Got it, at the bottom of Alva Glen.
That takes me back, as a yound man I installed the heating in the school in Alva. Nightmare it was, barriers and holes in the floor seem to be magnetic to neds and workmen seem to have an invisible target painted on them.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I know the car park you mean. I think it might be signed for the local golf club. I usually park along the road a wee bit at NS 914 974, mainly because it’s handy for the Co-op on the main drag that does sandwiches, snacks and stuff.