Bog Trotting and Hill Topping



The view from Flanders Moss: Evening light on Ben Lomond

At the end of our first week in Scotland (May 6) we were treated to a tour through a Scottish National Heritage site – the Flanders Moss. This is the largest raised bog in Britain and is an endangered ecosystem. Our guide through this wetland was Kate Sankey, an organic farmer, owner of West-Moss Side, and one of the guardians of the bog.

We travelled up from Glasgow with Irene and Al Whitney to stay with Kate on her farm. As we trotted through the bog Kate and I discovered what a truly small world it is as we have many colleagues and friends in common.

The bog was a delight of subtle colour and sound – meadow pipits and skylarks made the evening sing. But for me the evening dance of light on the Scottish hills was the spectacle I had hoped for.

Dinner that night was memorable – not only did Kate treat us to a tasty barbeque of organic sausages and steaks from cattle raised on the farm, but the dinner conversation was wide-ranging and engaging. We talked about the SNP’s (Scottish National Party) surprising victory in the recent Scottish elections, personal responsibility and “mountains without handrails”, and different approaches to heritage and conservation. When Kate brought out the selection of single malts the discussion really got lively – so lively I can’t quite remember the topics – but rest assured they were deeply important!

Scenes from the Flanders Moss Bog

        

Mike and I got to spend the night in very deluxe accommodations – a yurt. Kate has three on the property and they are available for booking.

Our home away from home

 
The next day Al and Irene drove us back to Glasgow and on the way we passed through a group of low hills to the north of the city – the Campsie Fells. Again, the light was beautiful – rain and sun highlighted the green that is Scotland in springtime. I was particularly fascinated by one hill – Dumgoyne over the Glengoyne distillery. I resolved to hike up it as soon as possible. A few days later Mike and I were on top.

It wasn’t quite as easy a trip as I had planned for our first hiking foray – the Glasgow bus system is very convoluted. When we got to the town of Milngavie (pronounced Mull Guy), it seemed, as they say “you can’t get there from here” – or at least you can’t get there for the bus ticket you have in your hand. No worries though – we decided to walk on the West Highland Way. The trail starts/ends in Milngavie and so off we went. Things progressed so swimmingly that we just kept on going until we got to the approach for Dumgoyne. We looked at one another, said “What the heck – let’s go”, and up we went. 25 km later we were back where we started – another day seized in Scotland.


Mike on the West Highland Way - headed to Dumgoyne (hill on the right in the sun)

More pictures of Flanders Moss Bog
More pictures of Dumgoyne and the first part of the West Highland Way