Helen Rose Hill Diary
Recently I went on a day walk with the Bearsden and Milngavie Ramblers www.bearsdenandmilngavieramblers.org.uk to Glen Finglas. I have been a member of the Ramblers Association for eighteen years and I did my first fifty Munros with this group. There was a period when the walks were all fairly easy but times have changed with new members joining and looking for more challenging walks. I am now the slowest person on the longer walks.
Glen Finglas is part of the Woodland Trust Scotland www.woodland-trust.org.uk and is billed as ‘a glen for all seasons’. We had lovely clear weather and stunning views all day as a winter walk. The glen is just beyond Brig o’Turk village on the road from Aberfoyle in the Trossachs. The walk was called The Mell and is a distance of 15 miles on landrover track..woodland-trust.org.uk
The walk starts from the car park through the forest to Drippan and up to the dam on Glen Finglas Reservoir. From there, the track runs alongside the Reservoir and forks towards Glen Meann. This is the point where we meet the path back on the return as we will walk in a loop around Meall Cala. One of the members of the group described it as a lollipop shaped route! Some parts of the path were still icy but the going was good. We had to keep up a fair pace as it would be dark by 5pm.
The time given was seven hours for the walk but we completed it in six and a half hours much to my surprise as I am a slow walker. We progressed north up Glen Meann with Meall Cala on our left and spotted a herd of deer on the right towards Ben Vane. We climbed toward the trail summit at 600 metres with fairly thick snow underfoot. The lunch stop offered lovely views of the north side of Meall Cala (The Mell). We continued down the path to Glen Finglas and eventually walked through the ancient woodland pasture. We were fortunate to see a buzzard flying around overhead.
We crossed over the bridge at the Reservoir outlet where the water was very icy. There was no wind during the day so we were warm from walking. On our refreshment stops we were fortunate to have clear views over to Ben Ledi and beyond. It was a delightful day out in good company with a very competent leader.
This route is also suitable for mountain biking.
Coming attractions: Pitlochry and Beinn a'Bheithir
Contact me at helenrose52@hotmail.com
Photos taken on a mobile camera.