A week is a long time...

..in wet socks, as someone once said. And who am I to disagree ?

As someone once sang.

Monday started not too badly.It's always a bit  soggy going round Cocksburn, but nothing outrageous. The trade route up Dumyat is mainly nice and dry apart from two soft bits. Wide diversions from the path and careful placement avoided the shoes topping over.

The way down to Menstrie was not boggy but slippy in places.



Wednesday was Pendreich Moor. Now I always knew that this was going to be wet, but the few dry sunny days had convinced me that it was unlikely to get any drier before June.I was looking for a wee piece of local history that I had deduced was up there.

It's a tricky little area to navigate with an awkward combination of bogs, fences, thick clumps of gorse and steep slippy gullies.

I squelched around, at times knee deep, for a couple of hours. Didn't find what I was looking for, but worked out a route for further investigation.

Friday. To Tullibody by bus. As I walked along Park Drive (?) I remembered that probably the last time I had been in this particular 1km square had been about 50 years previously when I had attended a four police car party. Sic transit...

My route lay along the top of the golf course with some unusual (for me) views of the Ochils and the Forth

The Red Well. I'm sure it has fantastic story to tell, but you'll have to Google it as I can't be arsed You can't expect me to do everything for you, You'll need to stand on your own feet someday..

And here too, there was mud.

A kissing-gate with a bit of wrought iron embelishment.Probably Victorian, so no tongues, then.

A "bracing" walk along the "sea wall" with views of the Forth and The Ochils. Again.

The cauld on the Devon at Cambus just before it flows into the Forth.

Iron Bridge . No longer in use and recently restored.


And today, Monday. A lovely day with a typically crap forecast for the rest of the week. I fancied a change of mud, so across the valley to Gargunnock.

Up the glen, through the quarry and up onto the escarpment.

The Carse and the start of the Highlands

And again it was really muddy, over the shoe stuff in many places.
Tarmac only for me until June, I think