A Way Less Travelled
I’VE had a fantastic month exploring Scotland and enjoying the long days that late Spring brings. Taking inspiration from the Focus On Fife section in the last issue of your favourite magazine, I headed to the Secret Bunker, near Crail, with my young nephew Archie and my dad. We spent a fascinating day exploring the vast underground military network, built to house up to 300 people and from where Scotland would have been governed in the event of hostilities during the Cold War.
Decommissioned in 1993, the bunker is an important piece of our recent hidden history – and incredibly sobering stuff.
I also spent time wandering the beautiful but lonely hills of Galloway – too often a forgotten corner of Scotland. Ideal if you crave the solitude so elusive in some of our “honey pot” areas.
I was in the Borders, too, walking the wonderful horseshoe of Hart Fell in superb, sunny conditions. From the high ridges, we gazed down on the Carrifran Wildwood, a “rewilding” project that has seen 750,000 trees planted in an effort to restore the land to how it would’ve been prior to human interference. It’s a young wood, but with the wee trees in bud, we could imagine how the land will look in decades to come when it has become a self-sustaining ecosystem. Already it provides quite a contrast with neighbouring glens, which seem rather barren.
Highlight of the month was a trip to Glenfinnan (pictured) to climb a trio of mountains in one, big day – Druim Tarsuinn, Sgurr Ghiubhsachain and Sgorr Craobh a’ Chaorainn. They’re Corbetts – hills between 2500 and 2999 feet – and much quieter than you’d expect in such a popular area. Perhaps because most people would struggle to pronounce their names!
Collie dog Storm and I travelled up one Friday after work, to sleep in our van at the start of the route. We’d arranged to meet Fi Russell – who you’ll know from the outdoor pages of this magazine. Together, the three of us enjoyed a marvellous day out. The ground was rough, steep and pathless – and the views just sublime.