My guest writer Matt Gemmell recently set out to complete one of Scotland’s long-distance walking trails, the Rob Roy Way. He decided to take his four-yer-old cocker spaniel Cali.
Matt writes: Although I enjoy planning a trip and I can spend hours looking at maps, I am also quite an ad hoc person and happy to leave it to the last minute and adjust depending on the weather and other factors. Theoretically, July is the height of summer and there should have better weather, but it can also be a busy month and too hot for dogs, plus it’s the high season of the dreaded midges.
One of the beauties of being retired is that I can pick my location and moment and have the outdoors to myself and I often avoid weekends for my trips. It’s not that I’m anti people, I don’t mind crowds at urban events, but I prefer solitude in the countryside.
What is the Rob Roy Way?
Just a few days before I left, I settled on walking the Roy Rob Way, one of Scotland’s Great Trails, which runs from Drymen in a generally northeasterly direction to Pitlochry. The route follows places frequented by the famous character often depicted as Scotland’s Robin Hood, Rob Roy MacGregor. Hero or villain? The main difference is that he was real and his exploits are often quite well documented
History of the Rob Roy Way
Rob Roy MacGregor was born in 1671 and spent most of life in the Trossachs, involved in cattle droving and dealing. He also offered protection to cattle owners in return for money. Those who declined often found their cattle had mysteriously disappeared.
These activities, not just by Rob, are believed to have led to the word “blackmail”. Black for the deed, or colour, of cattle and mail from the local word for payment
The Roy in his name is derived from the Gaelic word for red as he had fiery red hair. He also reputedly had extraordinarily long arms.
He was a Jacobite and fought at the battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715. For someone with such a tumultuous life, in such violent times, it is somewhat surprising that he died in his own bed at Inverlochlarig in 1734 at the, for the time, ripe of age of 64.
He was buried at the Kirk of Balquidder and his grave is still prominent and worth visiting, albeit not on the route.
The route takes in more modern history as well, including visible reminders of the Loch Katrine water scheme, which eradicated cholera in Glasgow when it opened in 1859. The Way also follows various abandoned railway tracks, including the famous and spectacular Glen Ogle Viaduct
I was running a bit tight to order the official guidebook online and neither local shops, nor the Tourist Information Office, had copies, so I ordered the Kindle version Rob Roy Way by Jacquetta Megarry and, thus, I had access to it on my phone.
The book does have basic mapping but I considered buying the Harvey Map for the Rob Roy Way but, again, I couldn’t find it locally or even on arrival at Pitlochry. I do have OS mapping on my phone and although it is very good, it brings into question battery life.
The route is waymarked and it was generally very good, even going in the “wrong” direction, as I planned to do. I was rarely troubled by navigation and the junctions were pretty obvious. I mainly used my OS mapping for quick positional confirmations, to check distances or to look for the next water sources.
The route officially runs from Drymen to Pitlochry and includes a gentler start as a benefit. However, because it is a linear route, transport is required at the finish and in the absence of a willing driver, it is probably going to be public transport.
Drymen is well served by buses as is Pitlochry, which also has a train station. I much prefer getting my transport first and then relaxing on my walk, knowing that I don’t have a definitive schedule to make sure I don’t miss my connection. Accordingly, I decided to start the Rob Roy Way at Pitlochry but I held off buying rail tickets until about 12 hours before I travelled because of industrial action.
I started to look at the route which gives an itinerary of six or seven days but I thought I could compress some of these as they seemed quite short. To me, a walking trip is several hours of walking, pitch the tent, eat, drink, relax and sleep before starting again, not lounging about in the early afternoon. I thought I could do it in about four to five days, even with the dog.
A feature that I enjoy on trips is to read a book that is connected in some way. For example, recently I cycled Calum’s Road on Raasay and was accompanied by the excellent book by Roger Hutchinson.
For this trip there was only really one subject and after considering Sir Water Scott’s novel, I plumped for Nigel Tranter’s Rob Roy MacGregor and, again, for expediency and weight saving I bought the Kindle version.
I really enjoyed reading this with descriptions of places I was walking through, which really brought the text to life. I also discovered MacGregor was active within walking distance of my own home in Balloch, Loch Lomond. The book is factual in as much as any legendary character can be, as opposed to fiction, but it is very readable.
Walking the Rob Roy Way with Cali the dog
The biggest consideration and source of most of my concern was, of course, Cali, who is very fit from our daily walks and longer treks, hill walking and running. We also take part in in canicross running and hiking.
With canicross, the dog and human both wear a harness and are joined by a stretchy bungie lead to absorb shock. The sport is derived from dog sledding and was a means of keeping dogs fit in the off seasons. The dogs are actually meant to pull when in harness and, particularly when running, good speeds can be achieved.
It is not only great exercise for both human and dog but great fun and a fantastic bonding experience. See Cani-fit
I had no concerns about Cali’s fitness but how would her joints and paws hold up? Would it be too hot? I began to worry that my ambitions might be detrimental to the dog, despite plenty of trekking experience with previous dogs.
The key is to know your dog. Observe them carefully and constantly, looking at their body language, facial expressions, tail and their gait. Plan A was to walk from Pitlochry to Drymen and although I had no detailed plan of B, C or D, that could be worked out on the hoof.
Trains, buses and taxis could all be utilised and, if it was too hot, we could have a siesta. The main thing was that Cali’s welfare came first, second, third and more before my needs.
Gear for the Rob Roy Way
As usual I was camping and that really does help with flexibility and not having to try to book accommodation in July. It probably also helps to avoid detours off the route.
Having my own cooking gear and food means I am more self-reliant and places to eat en route are a bonus, rather than a necessity. Cali’s dog food added to the burden and rather than have problems with unfamiliar food, I carried five days dried food for her, plus a few treats.
I have invested in quality gear over the years so my rucksack, even with plenty of food for both of us, didn’t feel too bad. My plan, as always, was to find water as I went and to use my water filter.
Midges, ticks and clegs (or horseflies) are always going to be an issue especially in July. I tend to favour the barrier method and have a full hooded net midge jacket and mitts. I threw in a credit card-sized Smidge spray, which I rarely use.
Funnily enough, I never used the midge jacket and I wasn’t really bothered that much. I had a few minor bites but no huge clouds of culicioides impunctatus, to my relief.
There were quite a lot of clegs on day two and at camp on day three. Their bite is temporarily painful but for me, not lasting. They are satisfyingly easy to kill immediately after biting, which may be wrong but feels good.
In the end the biggest problem – and really only for Cali – was ticks, which bring a risk of Lyme disease.. I lost count of the number I picked from her while they were crawling and unattached. They tend to migrate to Cali’s head, where they are easy to spot and remove. Despite this and plenty of combing, some managed to latch on but were dealt with by Cali’s flea and tick treatment.
Our vet prescribes a monthly Simparica tablet. After latching on, it apparently takes 24/48 hours for an infected tick to transmit Lyme disease. However, Simparica kills the tick within eight hours, so should provide adequate protection.
I have been lucky over the years and can only remember having two ticks attached on me and on both occasions I was not accompanied by a dog. A clear moral here… always have a tick magnet with you!
Even sleeping beside Cali in a tiny tent I didn’t get any. However, I did start running out of hand gel as I sterilised my hands after every kill.
Start: The Rob Roy Way
A Sunday morning found us at our local train station catching the first of two trains to Pitlochry. As we walked into Queen Street Station, in Glasgow, a man shouted something which I didn’t really hear, then I noticed blood spots on the floor. It was like a crime scene!
As I looked at Cali, her mouth was full of blood, like something in a horror movie. As I scrambled for something to stem the flow, someone brought over some paper towels and I was able to clean Cali’s mouth and then the floor. The blood stopped quickly and I noticed a tiny nick on the end of her tongue. Had she caught it on something or bitten her own tongue? I’ll never know but it was a fright, although Cali was unperturbed. I offered her a biscuit which she immediately devoured.
Even if Cali was apparently healthy but stopped eating, I would take her straight to the vet knowing something was drastically wrong.
After a delay, we eventually got onto an overcrowded train and arrived at Pitlochry without further incident.
We had a quick walk around the crowded streets before leaving for some peace and quiet. We found our bearings and headed towards the 1913 suspension bridge over the River Tummel and after short distance had to take our lives in our hands and cross the A9. Once safely across we headed steadily uphill and our trek began in earnest. It was very hot as we walked steadily up through a forest and as it levelled out, we came across a stone circle at Clachan an Diridh.
We emerged from the forest and started downhill on a narrow track over moors towards Strathtay. The rain came on out of nowhere and having donned waterproofs I was dry but my feet were soon soaked from the wet grass. The trail got progressively more overgrown until we were fighting our way through bushes and long grass and then we popped out on to the road in Grantully.
Grantully seemed a nice wee place where there is a canoeing hotspot with a campsite, which I had wondered about using but it was still too early to pitch up. We carried on along a disused railway line and then a narrower path beside the River Tay.
It took a while to get close to the river and the path was very overgrown and wet. I saw at least one beaver-gnawed tree stump and what could have been beaver lodges in the river.
We trudged on and by late afternoon we were in Aberfeldy. There are lots of shops, restaurants and other amenities, as well as a campsite but its prices for backpackers, among the caravans and motor homes, were frankly ridiculous.
At Aberfeldy we took the only real detour of the trip to get photos of the famous bridge build by General Wade in 1733 which is still in use by vehicular traffic. Adjacent was the monument to the Black Watch Regiment. Either would have been worth the short detour.
Leaving town, we climbed up the Birks of Aberfeldy along a river gorge made famous by Robert Burns and then crossed over the top of the Falls of Moness. A bench was created with a statue of Burns.
As we continued over moors towards Bolfracks Hill, I began to search for a camping spot, preferably with water but everything I could see on the map had dried up. We eventually cleared the forest and found a spot next to the track and just above a barely trickling stream and settled down for the night.
We had a pleasant evening sitting outside and we were not really troubled by midges although by this time I had already lost count of the ticks I had removed from Cali.
Day 1: 16 miles of walking after a 1pm start.
Day 2 of the Rob Roy Way
We set off early the next morning and were treated to views of Schiehallion and then the Ben Lawers group above Loch Tay.
It was straightforward walking on Landrover tracks which weren’t too harsh on Cali’s paws. Near the impressive Falls of Acharn we stopped for some food and we were treated to a nice exhibition of shepherding skills.
A large flock of sheep came round the corner towards us, bunched nicely through the gate but then spread to the left up onto the hill. The farmer behind on a quad bike, who was no doubt grateful we were out of the way, nodded to me then dispatched one of three dogs riding shotgun. The dog tore off to the left and within seconds the recalcitrant sheep were once more gliding up the path. Cali was impressed.
We dropped past the Falls and the Hermit’s Cave, a folly from the 1760s, and emerged on to the south Loch Tay road and turned westwards. It was a bit of a hot sweaty slog along the road, which was mercifully well shaded by trees.
We stopped at Ardtalnaig and after Cali had a dip in the river, we had a longer than normal rest in the shade, with my shoes and socks beginning to dry in the sun. After another hot road section, we got down to the Loch and found a lovely spot to camp. We had a lovely evening and I caught up with my caffeine intake.
Day 2: 15 miles and a slightly earlier stop in the sun.
Day 3: Wet on the Rob Roy Way
It’s hard to believe how quickly the weather can change but that’s Scotland for you and it rained very heavily during the night and it was still foul in the morning. The surface of Loch Tay looked like a kettle coming to the boil.
I got organised quickly under trees and my socks and shoes, which were now bone dry, were saturated within a couple of minutes. Shortly after Ardeonaig, the Way leaves the road and head on to hill tracks skirting Creag Gharbh (637m) and Meall Odhar (628m).
This represents the high point of the way at around 500m and even though there was not a lot of wind, with the incessant rain and no visibility, I judged that sticking to the road to Killin was a better option.
SMJ or “Sound Mountain Judgement” is about avoiding trouble not just extricating yourself. So, we did a damp but not unpleasant tramp to Killin on a road I have travelled recently by bicycle.
As we popped out at the Falls of Dochart, I decided to forego the fleshpots of Killin and felt that I had sufficient food for another night and morning. A couple of quick photographs of the falls with my phone (camera safely tucked away in multiple waterproof bags) and we turned into the forest and headed up towards Glen Ogle.
I did stop at the honesty box for the Wee Tay Bake and, as I had no change, I got a few things for my £10. Clootie dumpling was lovely as a second breakfast and, later, the rocky road tray bake was delicious.
Glen Ogle is another place I am very familiar with, having run the ultra-race a few times and we were soon scampering down to the famous Viaduct.
I completely by-passed Lochearnhead aiming for the café at Balquidder Station as the rain finally began to relent and a weak sun began to emerge. The Golden Larches turned out to be very dog friendly with great coffee and chips with crispy onion bits covered in BBQ and garlic sauces. Oh my! Soul food for a hungry walker.
Cali was treated to biscuits by the friendly staff. It was very hot inside with the sun now coming through the window and I got some damp things dried, including my wallet and cash.
As we started again, I considered my camping options, which were beginning to be impacted by the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Camping Management Zones and, in any event, there was nothing suitable as we walked towards Strathyre.
To the west, I could see Balquidder where Rob Roy MacGregor is buried and it seemed a shame not to visit but that would have entailed yet more road walking. I have visited a few times in the past, including a fairly recent cycling trip.
A short walk past the village of Strathyre is Immermoulin Campsite and we quickly booked in, got the tent erected and everything hung out to dry. It was not very tidy nor elegant but very effective.
Cali promptly went to sleep in the sun.
I checked Cali very carefully and she seemed tired but fine. She was licking the pads on her paws but although slightly tinged with red they didn’t look too bad. Tomorrow was another day and there were plenty of options.
We had another lovely evening sitting out and chilling. The midges were not too bad, although there were quite a lot of clegs but they couldn’t spoil it. A shower was lovely, too.
Day 3: 21 miles walked.
Day 4: Rob Roy Way
Day four, Wednesday dawned bright and although there were a few midges, there was enough breeze to keep them at bay. I monitored Cali very closely as we walked about the campsite and, initially, she looked a bit stiff but soon appeared more normal. Her pads looked absolutely fine.
This was the only location I had no signal on Vodafone, so before leaving I used the campsite’s free Wi-Fi and noted down some options.
My gold plan was to by-pass Callander and head past Loch Vennacher and over beside the Menteith Hills to Cobleland Campsite near Aberfoyle. That would leave us with only about 10 miles to finish at Drymen the following day.
That was obviously dependent on Cali being okay but there were plenty of options including stopping at Callander or using it as a transport hub. I bought some more food at the village shop and we headed along towards Loch Lubnaig.
Any fears about Cali were soon put to rest and she stormed along. I was actually having more trouble slowing her down than anything. I don’t suppose dogs understand the concept of pacing themselves.
It was another nice day and getting quite warm and Cali had a swim in the loch just before we arrived at the café at Strathyre Forest Cabins. I was just in time to order the vegan breakfast and coffee which were lovely. It is another very dog friendly place and dogs were welcome inside or out.
Suitably refreshed we headed on and I was beginning to be comfortable with by-passing Callander and we were soon at the shores of Loch Venachar. There were a few family sized tents pitched both in the permitted and prohibited sections and after Cali had yet another dip, we headed up the hill track.
A long climb on a land rover track took us past a fishing lochan and on to more level ground to the east of the Menteith Hills. To my further horror, there was a lot of bracken tightly enclosing the path across the open ground. Bracken = ticks!
However, we were soon across and descending towards Braeval, where I picked up the track to Cobleland once again eschewing the delights of town, this time Aberfoyle.
On booking into the campsite, the guy asked if I had been before and he was delighted when I replied: “Yes, almost every weekend about 30 years ago with my kids.” I hope he was watching when 20 minutes later the dog was fed and watered, the tent was up and I had my first coffee in my hand. Aaaaah !
We had now walked some 73 miles and had 10 more miles to go. We had another lovely evening sitting out until about 9.30pm when the midges began to get their act a bit more together. They still were not that bad and I never saw clouds of them the whole trip.
Day 4: 19 miles.
Day 5: The final section
It’s not over till the fat lady sings and the weather turned, as forecast, during the night and it was wet when we got up. It actually wasn’t that bad when we struck camp but it stayed persistently damp for the rest of the morning.
Waterproofs were donned inside the tent and stayed on for the duration. We left Cobleland past a pool in the river my kids used to play in and entered the forest. I know this part of the route like the back of my hand and I ticked off the landmarks as we went. Cali was still on great form and would have bounded ahead if I had allowed her.
We passed the Corrie aqueduct and then a domed ventilation shaft, part of the Loch Katrine water scheme and then turned from the waterworks road onto Drymen Road with 3.9 miles to go.
Fortunately, the road was quiet as we ascended towards the high point at Bat a Charchel before a long, gradual descent into Drymen. As we entered the village opposite the premises of Lomond Mountain Rescue Team, I was disappointed that there was no “Drymen” road sign but the painted mural on the wall of the shelter at the bus stop in the village square more than made up for that. Job done. We only had to wait a few minutes and we were on a bus home.
Day 5: 10 miles walked.
Conclusion: The Rob Roy Way
I enjoyed the Rob Roy Way and if you prefer things a wee bit quieter than, for example the West Highland Way, you would be in for a treat. I counted less than a handful of walkers coming towards me who looked as if they could be doing the route and no-one else like me going the “wrong” way.
The walking is straightforward and undulating but not unduly difficult. A lot is on former railway lines and roads, which were reasonably quiet in terms of traffic.
There are plenty of places for accommodation, food and drink but would involve minor detours. Carrying camping gear adds to the weight but allows a bit more flexibility and less forward planning.
Travelling with a dog adds some challenges but we found plenty of water sources to keep Cali cool even in July. The route itself is well marked and easy to follow and I would recommend it.