Freedom Friday!

Well, on Friday, for the first time since October 2020, the travel restrictions were finally lifted! We can now travel around mainland Scotland, though no overnight stays until 26th April. Previous to this we could only legally travel 5 miles outside of our local authority area, so when the unexpected news of the travel ban being lifted early was announced, I have to admit that I actually cried with relief. It’s been a long haul since October, so finally being allowed to travel a bit further was fantastic news.

We have really missed Loch Lomond, it’s not very far from us, but was outwith the area we could legally visit by 10 miles or so. We have been longing to get back out there both to hike and to canoe, so when Paul finished work at noon on Friday, off we went.

The days are long now, it stays light until around 8.30/9pm now, and the daylight hours are increasing every day.

The weather was reasonably warm for April in Scotland, although there was quite a chill when the wind picked up. Being a weekday, the car park at Balmaha, although busy, was not full, so we got a space with no problem.

First we decided to do the hike up Conic Hill. It was easily done at a leisurely pace in 2 hours (up and back). The gorse bushes were out in full bloom, covering the lower level of the walk in bright yellow.

As we continued along the path, climbing some steps for a fair bit, we passed an adder, just on the grass at the side of the path. Adders are the UK’s only venomous snake, and their bite has been known to kill small children and dogs, although the last known human death from an adder bite was back in 1975. That said, if you are bitten, it is advisable to seek medical attention as soon as possible, just in case! When in the grass adders are well disguised and we wouldn’t even have known it was there had it not been for the girl we saw taking a photo, so curiosity got the better of us, and we got a photo too…

Once you have got past the steps, it’s not too much further to the first great viewpoint, making this is a great walk for anyone who wants fantastic views over Loch Lomond without having to walk far. Otherwise, continue on up to the top of the hill for even better and more far-reaching views…

Once we got back off the hill, we headed to the beach and got our inflatable Intex canoe blown up and our picnic packed, ready to paddle round to Port Bawn on the far side of Inchcailloch.

As we set off out from the relative shelter of the beach at Balmaha, the wind picked up quite a bit, and we had a bumpy ride into wind until we reached Port Bawn. As we rounded the island there were even some “white horses” on the waves. However, our canoe was very stable and felt quite safe. We took the waves head on and just bounced over them, until it was time to turn into Port Bawn.

We made use of the picnic tables that are situated next to the beach, and had a well earned cup of cider with our food.

Next we headed up to the summit of the island, a short walk of around 20 minutes each way, with more fantastic views over the loch. In a few weeks time the island is normally carpeted with bluebells, but it was looking like they were a bit diseased, so we’re not sure if they will come out this year. Hopefully we’ll get back in a few weeks to find out. For now, the woods were coming up nice and green.

Fortunately by the time we were paddling back, and possibly because we paddled back the “other way” round the island, the wind and waves had calmed down a bit, so it was much easier going (just as well as our shoulders were starting to feel the results of our paddle out).

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