Rob Roy Way
You’re a bit lame!
Day 5 – Aberfeldy to Pitlochry
Wednesday 5th March 2025
Rob Roy Way day 5. Allowing myself a lay-in to recover, plus I wanted to visit Munros, an outdoor shop over the road. I wanted to grab some walking poles as my hip, although a lot better, was still a little sore and I didn’t want to exacerbate it. I popped in as soon as they opened at 10am.
The gent at Munros couldn’t have been more helpful. Not only did he help me pick out a good set of poles, he even configured them to match my stature as well as providing me with some tips on how to use them. I felt dumbfounded as I had no idea there was so much to learn about walking poles!
The town was quite busy. Not only that, it felt like it took an age to get away from the built-up area. After some time, I made it onto a walking track following the River Tay. Its waters noticeably black, sucking in all light as it pushed along at quite some pace. You would not want to fall in here.
“You’re a bit lame” a gentleman exclaimed as I marched towards him down the dismantled railway, now arched by bare deciduous trees. We chatted for some time. I reciting my hairy night on the hills, him reminiscing of bygone walking adventures he’d undertaken with his wife. This is one of the things I love about these adventures, swapping stories with nameless individuals. A temporal relationship formed and then dissolved. A sense of connection remaining.
With time on my side, I took the opportunity to rest at The Grandtully Hotel and inhaled a coffee. Opposite the hotel, a bridge over the River Tay, I bumbled over and ascended up into the hills for a final time. Prior to this, I’d packed away my poles. My intention was to use them throughout the day, yet I couldn’t get on with them. I like my hands free.
Thinking there would be some sort of structure to shelter behind, I paused for breath at what is described as a “Church (rems of)” on the OS map. However, all that remained was a faded stone engraved with a cross. Pushing on, I made my way into the Tay Forest Park but not before looking back at the valley I’d travelled through, mentally pointing out my route and taking in the landscape one last time.
I moved along the forest track, detouring to visit the Clachan An Diridh Stone Circle. In truth, I walked straight past it to begin with and had to double back. Small, yet interesting. I hadn’t expected it to be where it was: in a clear-felled part of the forest. The setting took away some of its wonder and mystery. I know the stones were there long before the forest, but it made the stones feel almost incidental to the landscape.
Meandering down the forest, it was calm, quiet and peaceful. Welcoming and soft underfoot. A contrast to the woodlands at the start of this journey. A fitting end to the way. I made it through the archway in Pitlochry at 2:45pm on the 5th of March.
