We promised ourselves that we would be at Flotterstone at 10am latest so us being there and ready to start by 10.30 was fantastic! Even at that time, the car park at Flotterstone was like Tesco on Christmas Eve!
So off we set on our merry way in amongst the throngs of people- I've come to the conclusion that people around Edinburgh have a far greater love of the outdoors than us beings further north- even a wee kid of five made it to the top! We made our way up the path to the beginning of the walk to Scald Law looking up at the height with some trepidation!
The beginning of the walk passed a beautiful bubbling stream and sharply climbed to a wee hill- now once I'd climbed this I have to say I was very doubtful of getting to the top- a virus and thinking I am fitter than I actually am- proved to be a mental hurdle I had to conquer! So on we trudged- in silence, talking was completely out of the question for both of us! very quickly we decided that we would take it at our own pace and stop when we needed. I have to say, that after the initial being out of breath and thinking we'll never do this we kept going and it was fantastic! We made it to the half way point only to be skipped past by the said five year old proclaiming to her dad, "I've come all this way and not had a carry yet!" Oh how appealing a carry was at that point; not sure who would have carried who though! This mid way point proved a suitable point for a photo opporchancity as there were many ancient, funny shaped trees. Now perhaps it was something to do with how I was feeling and the fear that death may be close due to lack of breath but I could have sworn there was an angel in the tree?! 
The next section of the path lulled us into a false sense of security with a much more graduated path allowing us to discuss the beauty and tranquillity of the day, other than the 100s of people who had decided to do our walk! We crested the brow of a hill only to be faced with the steepest incline of the walk, so steep, the thousands of feet which have trudged this path over the years had created stairs in the hill side.
At this point, I felt it was the time to see just how effective the altitude thingy on my new birthday watch was.....300ft incline of blooming steps! You can imagine how we felt once we reached the top- not that we did it in one go of course!
After a lengthy rest we headed off up the the summit and duly placed a rock on the cairn then found a sheltered sheep hole for a chocolate break! We got the map out as we realised that we were not at the summit of Scald Law, we were in fact on the summit of Carnethy Hill, Scald Law was further on, higher up and required us to go down the other side from which we had just climbed, then up the same again. I tried to convince myself that we would do it no problem. So off we trotted, trying to heat up from the icy blast of the summit and sheep hole- sometimes a chocolate stop is not the best course of action!
We made our way down the side of Carnethy Hill to the cross roads of the path which would take us up Scald Law or on some other path round Scald Law; no prizes for guessing the one we took. Why go over when you can go round?! It was fab because suddenly we were alone and lost in our thoughts following sheep paths. I have to say I got lost in the fantasy that I was Bear Grylls or Bruce Parry hard on the trail of the illusive sheep, tracking it's hoof prints and poo! But alas, I lost the scent and we were stranded! I had led us to a dead end so to speak.
So after much deliberation and general farting about, we made our way down this gully (it sounds very grand but was just a wee dip with a wee burn running down it) where I tried to pick up the track of the sheep as we made our way towards the road which we seemed to see for ages but never really got much closer! We chanced upon the remains of a sheep- now this excited Bear Grylls no end and prompted another photo shoot with Bruce Parry doing her best Shakespeare impression!
Bit by bit we made our way down the side of the burn towards the road. We eventually got to the end and joined the burn at the bottom which winds towards Glencorse reservoir. However, this was not without it's trappings as we were at one side of the burn and the road was at the other. We decided to walk along the bank of the burn and marvelled at the opportunities to camp only to be met with a solid rock protrusion into the burn. The only thing for it was the stepping stones- however, the road behind us resembled Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday with walkers, runners, cyclists and motorists passing by. Of course, we had suddenly become the focal point of their walks/cycles/runs/motoring. I can happily report that we didn't provide any Sunday hilarity for the onlookers, in fact I was most impressed with how well we coped with the pressure!!
The walk back to Flotterstone allowed us the luxury of converstation and about 3 miles of roads. The sun was out, the birds were singing and all in all we had a ball!
So to address the burning question as to which is better....each bring their own delights and tribulations!! We had such a good day....I am now typing this up with a healthy rosy glow and a huge smile on my face....all is good in the world! :-)
So to address the burning question as to which is better....each bring their own delights and tribulations!! We had such a good day....I am now typing this up with a healthy rosy glow and a huge smile on my face....all is good in the world! :-)
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