21 October 2007

 Stirling Services

Maybe it was the thought of winter or possibly the fact that we didn't have a Run last month (because most of the regulars were in Germany), but our numbers were up from recent outings and three MGTFs and six MGFs met at Stirling Services on a rather dull and overcast Sunday.  Mind you that didn't stop the hardy ones from going topless and they were rewarded with a dry run to our lunch stop at The Drovers Inn at the top of Loch Lomond.

We tended to be a bit slow off the mark in getting going and by the time we pulled out of the car park it was nearly 11:00am.  To be honest there wasn't much point in going a long run because the weather didn't warrant it, but if we wanted to get seats for all of us at the Drovers we needed to get there by just after noon.  As a slight detour we went up the A9 for a few miles before turning off at Greenloaning to Braco and then over the hill to Comrie.  From there it was along Loch Tay, up Glen Ogle and through Glen Dochart to Crianlarich and from there down through Glen Falloch to lunch at Inveranan.  This place never ceases to amaze me.  It's in the middle of nowhere, but the car park was full when we got there just after 12:15pm and hotels in Scotland don't open until 12:30pm on a Sunday.  Because of our numbers we couldn't all get seated in the main bar so we ended up in one of the back rooms.  It was OK, but it didn't have what the place is well known for - big cosy open fires.  While the decor leaves a little to be desired, the food was up to it's usual high standards.

After Lunch, we traced our route as far back as Lix Toll and from there we went down to Killin and along the side of Loch Tay to Kenmore.  The plan was to have afternoon tea at the Crannog, but it was shut - probably too late in the season for it.  So, we continued along the road to Aberfeldy and from there over the hill to Amulree and through the Sma' Glen to Crief.  and then past Gleneagles to Glen Devon and Muckhart where we had tea and cakes at Mona's.  While we had lost a few of our numbers on the way back, as they pealed off at convenient places to go home, the majority of us said out goodbyes here.

The weather wasn't great (it was October in Scotland) and we had the odd light shower in the afternoon, but nothing to stop us having another good day out.  Those of us that left from Stirling and finished at Muckhart covered around 150 miles.

Again

The Drovers