Sentinels

Driving through The Sma' glen, you come to a roadside car parking area next to the River Almond. It was a good day for a walk, so I parked and togged up to brave a very cold wind. The Almond flows under the Newton Bridge at this point.

I turned sharp left onto a very good track signposted to Auchnafree and Killin. The hillsides rise very steeply here and a small farm nestles at the edge of this high grassy hill. Looking up, the bare larches seemed to take up their stances as sentries to the glen. I liked the way they seemed strong yet flimsy at the same time.

The wind was blowing against me, and it meant that any chances to take photos came with a buffeting and a suspicion that all my photos would be blurred! The path keeps close to the Almond which is surprisingly shallow along this part of the walk. The river banks are edged with old alders and several had succumbed to the very strong gales we've had recently and had lost limbs leaving behind jagged bits of tree.

Apart from several flocks of sheep happily nibbling, I felt as if I was alone in the world, everything else sensibly hunkered down out of the icy blasts. I was keeping an eye open for mountain hares, an increasingly rare sight - sadly, no sign at all.