We’d tried to walk these hills last year but a strong wind made me worried that Jazz’s ears would catch a strong gust and she’d end up on the Antrim coast. Now we were back, but still the wind was pretty strong. Only later did I discover that Curleywee comes from the Gaelic cor na gaoith meaning “point of the wind”. So it would be a windy day – but the good thing is: it would be a warm wind! Incredible to remember that only a fortnight ago we were in multiple layers in the snow: today it was shorts+T-shirt with SPF15 liberally applied. Continue reading
Tag Archives: 7 Stanes
“Talking Head” of Ae
After all the recent rain we decided a nice dry, well-maintained path was the ticket this weekend: and the Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) are just the people for this. So we headed down to the wonderfully named Forest of Ae. Ae is apparently the shortest placename in the UK (couldn’t sensibly be any smaller) but the forest, at c.100km², is one of the largest in the UK. The village was built in 1947 to house forestry workers – now why didn’t I take up forestry? We’d viewed the forest from the Queeensberry Hill walk, but this is the first time we’d been in. It’s remote, but turns out to be a hive of activity because the FC have turned it into a mountain biking hot-spot. But don’t let that put you off… Continue reading
Rig of the Jarkness
What a superb name for a hill! This is a lovely circuit of a walk starting off from the Bruce Stone car park at the head of Glentrool. It is a great walk with lovely scenery and no people. Continue reading