Neither of us are in good physical fitness so all day hikes or bike rides are not really practical or fun. We are trying to get out and about though, and found a lovely 5 mile there, 5 mile back ride on the quiet single track, dead end road heading past Colintraive. The road just follows the loch shore line and stops at a farm someway down loch Striven. We have made a mental note of this lovely spot for a future picnic and dip location.
Even cycling 2 miles down the glen on a summer's evening is bliss.
Bingo night at the Glendaruel village hall was less of a success. Unfortunately it was on the same night as Scotland opening the Euros against Germany, so the turn out was just 6 of us. Instead, we had a cup of tea and homemade biscuits and a natter with the local ladies. It resulted in the promise of a nordic walking group and a book club being re-established in the near future - so not a waste of time!
Our trip to The Giant Chair is actually a hang over from when we first came up to collect the keys for the house back in November 2022 when John dragged Liz up to the steep hill just a few miles down the road. The climb was covered in wet, slippery leaves which made it treacherous under foot, and the descent was even worse.
The view from the top was really beautiful in all it's autumn glory of browns and muted greens, with the loch in the distance and the low sun in the sky. It made the effort worth it.
It's amazing how much has changed in 18 months - John going from fit and healthy to struggling with the most mundane of tasks like buzzing the hoover around.
In June we finally got round to walking through the glen along he riverside. We started at Glendaruel campsite and headed back towards home, walking about a mile along the bank through the demarked fields of sheep, cows or neither. As we crossed one little wooden bridge between fields I (Liz) caught a movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to see a poor cow staring back at me. It was knee deep in silt and unable to turn in the narrow ditch, with no way out. Luckily we knew the number for the right farmer and called them to let them know to come and rescue it. Shona answered and said she would send someone out straight away. Stephen promtly arrived on his quad bike, assessed the situation and returned with a digger to dig a channel to allow the cow to walk itself out and back to the herd. So glad it had a happy ending for the cow...for now!
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