I was on holiday today, before starting my new job on Monday. I had planned to run with John K on the Gleniffer Braes in Paisley, but John had a slight niggle on his hamstring so has sensibly decided to rest for a few days. As an alternative I decided to drive up to Tyndrum and do a WHW run, the first for quite some time.
I arrived at Tyndrum just before 12, had a quick bowl of soup in the Green Welly, then headed south along the WHW towards Crianlarich. It was a good day for a run - the colours were lovely, and the hills around Crianlarich looked fantastic with a light covering of snow from about 2,000 feet. There were very few people about, although I did surprise one elderly walker when I came round the corner to find him doing the toilet at the side of the path :) After a bit more than an hour I reached the deer gate at the Bogle Glen and decided to head right down the hill into Crianlarich, before turning round and coming back the same way. I reached the turning point (exactly 7 miles) in 1 hour 13 minutes, then came back slightly faster. I saw quite a few deer, all of which were considerably larger than the deer that live round about us. Wonder why that is? Are they different types of deer? Please leave a comment if you know the answer.
Anyway, I worked hard all the way back - it's a different type of running on that terrain compared to the roads, and it takes a wee while for your legs to get used to it again. There was even a snow shower at one stage, and it got quite cold at the higher points with the biting wind. I arrived back at Tyndrum just before 3, had a panini for lunch in the Green Welly, had a look in their whisky shop (and noticed they had a 43 year old Bowmore for sale with a price tag of £495 - gosh), then enjoyed the fantastic drive home through Crianlarich, along to Lochearnhead, along the length of the loch to St Fillans, on to Comrie, over the hill and home. It's one of my favourite drives. All in all a cracking day out, which has reminded me once again what a brilliant place Scotland is, and how lucky we are to have such fabulous scenery right on our doorstep.
ps - after finishing this post I've just noticed that my previous one was saying how lousy I felt because of my stinking cold. I'm sure you've probably guessed, but I do feel a lot better. I still have a bit of a cough, and I didn't sound great today when I stopped running (but then again, I never do), but I'm definitely feeling a lot better. Unfortunately I seem to have passed it on to allybea, who isn't particularly pleased to have inherited it :(
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4 comments:
Good to read you had such a good run. I'm so looking forward to getting back on the whw route again soon. It is such a special place to run and one of the reasons I'm keen to do the race again.
Hi Ian, glad to hear that you've shaken off the cold.
The deer you saw was almost certainly a Red Deer, and they are *big* beasts. We saw one up in the forests between Bogle Glen & Tyndrum when we were last up there. The deer around you are probably Roe or Fallow deer. Have a look at http://www.bds.org.uk/deer_species_overview.html.
Hey Ian,
Did you stop to hug a tree ;-) Just messing. Sounds you had a lovely day out. I wonder why there was no one out today...I think it might have something to do with the sub-zero temperatures. Only the hardy or crazy, eh? I think my eyeballs have just about defrosted.
Have a nice weekend. Debs
Hi Ian,
As Tim said, they must have been Red Deer. Magnificent animals. You might be surprised to learn we have them down here in the south. There is a large colony in Richmond Park where I run occassionally.
Dave
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