New car & Ben Vane

Hill walk up Ben Vane, 12 July 08

Last weekend we had picked up our new car from my dad, who very kindly gave us his old one - a very nice Audi - and had sold our old Rover to a dealer. Mic was really keen to get out on a walk today– I think he just wanted to give the car a good run! I checked the Met Office for the weather report, then we filled up the tank of our new car and were shocked to see it was £61! Per litre we are now being charged £1.18 to £1.20!

Michael putting his boots on in Iveruglas car park - Sloy Power station in the background

We headed for Inveruglas, a village on Loch Lomond about 60 miles from Stirling, intending to climb Ben Vane, one of the mountains in the ‘Arrochar Alps’. On the way we stopped off in Callander to check out the outdoor wear discount shop but it was disappointing –no new boots for Mic and no trousers for either of us. I was also disgusted at being charged 20p to use the public toilets in the village and £1.80 to park the car for an hour – I tend to agree with Michael that it’s a bit of a tourist trap.

This was a supposedly an ‘easy walk’ according to one Callander walks website– I think they rather exaggerated (I think Michael thougth I had been fibbing!) – it was really quite hard with very steep rocky sections, loose rocks and steep drops. The directions to find the route weren’t that accurate either- we were lucky to find the start of the path! On the plus side we had good weather – sun and cloud – no rain all day, a miracle. Mic even got a bit sunburnt. It was a pleasant temperature for walking - about 14c with a nice breeze.

'Don't take my picture' - Michael avoiding the lens. Ben Vane in background.

On the way up we passed the Sloy hydro-electric power station (largest in Scotland) and the sub-station which was buzzing ominously. We were a bit disappointed that there were so many huge pylons ruining parts of the view – could be why the walk was pretty quiet when there are so many unspoilt ones to choose from.

View of Loch Lomond and beyond from Ben Vane

Mic found it hard going and decided to call it quits at a cave on the way up (although he did well to get as far as he did considering he’s had little practice). He amused himself there while I decided to carry on and see how far I could get alone, but after 2 false summits and encountering a steep rocky section with no path I decided that I didn’t want to see the view from the top that much and what looked like the summit was in a cloud anyway! It had already been a bit hairy with lots of loose rock on the track. I had seen some good views anyway and seen the huge hydro-electric dam.

The old Cat boots Mic was wearing hurt his feet as usual and he was disgusted to hear that my feet felt absolutely fine after the walk. I can thoroughly recommend the pair I bought – Raichle in leather – just like slippers and need no breaking in.

The lone ascent - avoiding looking back at how steep it was while taking a self-portrait

One of the other 'Bens' next to Ben Vane

On the return journey, we stopped off at the Lade Inn near Callander so Michael could experience the real ale and I had a tea with shortbread. We had thought about having fish and chips here but at £9.50 each we decided not to bother (even the starters were a fiver)- the food might be nice but it’s very over-priced for a wee Scottish village!

Mic was very pleased with the new car and enjoyed driving it on the country roads so much so that he turned down the offer of a pint at the inn and stuck with a half so that he could finish the drive home. I can see I’m not going to get a look in here!