When I worked in an office, nothing annoyed me more on a nice sunny day than when my colleagues would come in, switch their computers on, look out the window and cheerily say, “Isn’t it a lovely day!” My thoughts were invariably, yes – if I was on the other side of the window! To me, a sunny day shut inside is just a wasted day.
Today was definitely a day to be outside and I knew exactly where I was heading – for a walk through Glen Fender and Glen Tilt.
From Tomnaguie Farm at the end of the twisting singletrack road above Blair Atholl, my route was to take me north into the open hill country of Glen Fender – all the while enjoying cracking views of the high Beinn a’Ghlo range. It’s the first week in May and there are still several bands of snow sitting beneath their tops.
A short detour took me down to visit the now roofless stone chapel of Kirkton of Lude, before facing the more strenuous climb to the top of Meall Dail Min. The climb rewarded me with the find of one six-point and one seven-point set of antlers – a fine souvenir.
Clearly not many folk make this circuit, as there are no foot tracks to follow over the hill. From the top, the steep grassy descent took me over into Glen Tilt looking away to Blair Castle. This connected me with the Blair Atholl to Deeside Right of Way. Tempting as a trek to Deeside may have sounded, with my car still at Tomnaguie, I’d need to leave that for another day.
It’s nice to see the wee lambs enjoying the sunshine. At Kincraigie Farm, one anxious mum watches closely her two recent arrivals as they make their first attempts to stand on their own four feet.
Just beyond Kincraigie, I rejoined the road leading back to the start.
