Braeriach above the clouds

Friday 3rd September 2021

At the start of this day the weather was as it had been frequently on this holiday: cold, misty and in this area there were a lot of midges, however I was confident that just like the day before there would be a thermal inversion so all I needed to do was get above the clouds and I would be able to enjoy sunshine and clear blue skies. Setting off from the Glenmore campsite, I walked up the road to the Sugarbowl car park and then down the path to cross the Allt Mòr stream and across the northern corries of the Cairngorm Mountains to the Chalamain Gap. The previous day the sun had come out while I was still at the Cairngorm Mountain upper car park, so I was expecting to see blue sky by the time I reached the Gap, but instead the mist continued while I carefully made my way through the rock-filled pass and down the good path beyond that hadn’t been there when I previously passed through the Gap in 2013. I have passed through the boulder field of the Chalamain Gap many times and enjoyed the tricky conditions that lead to the wonders of the Lairig Ghru on the other side and I was thankful for the new path that took me down to the stream that issues north out of the Lairig Ghru, which is the greatest mountain pass in Scotland.

As soon as I crossed the Allt Druidh I began climbing the steep bare earth bank beyond, which proved to be a mistake. This was really steep and the crumbly soil made climbing very difficult while midges attacked me from all directions until eventually I reached the top of the bare earth bank and discovered a good path that I should have been on. This well-made path took me steeply up the hill, frustratingly still surrounded by mist, as I slowly climbed until finally, at about three thousand feet above sea level, I emerged from the clouds to stupendous views with an uninterrupted sea of clouds to the north. Looking back over the clouds the only points I could see were the Munro and their tops: Creag an Leth-choin (Lurcher’s Crag) was to my right while to my left was the northern slopes of Braeriach while in the distance were the twin peaks of Sgòran Dubh Mór and the Munro Sgor Gaoith. I was looking at a stunning sight and once I reached the edge overlooking the Lairig Ghru I stood there for ages just taking in the tremendous views until finally I tore myself away and continued the climb up the hill towards the top of Sròn na Lairige.

Keeping to the path that bypasses the top I made my way across the col and up the rocky slopes to the edge of the awesome Garbh Coire where I now had views across to the fourth and fifth highest peaks in Britain: Cairn Toul and Sgor an Lochain Uaine while in between them I could see the dome of Beinn Bhrotain. Across the Lairig Ghru I could see Ben Macdui, the second highest mountain in Britain, and the Cairngorm plateau where I had walked the day before. If I hadn’t gone up Ben Macdui with Abbie Barnes I would have approached the mountain via Loch Etchachan and I considered doing that walk on this day, but the thick mist and the sight of Braeriach the day before had convinced me to leave that approach up Ben Macdui for another time. Turning west I made my way up the ridge towards the top of the third highest point in Britain: Braeriach, which I had last summited in 2009, though in misty conditions, so I was now able to enjoy Braeriach in fabulous weather and to make the most of the conditions I set off across the vast, high plateau crossing to the cairn on the 1,235 metre top at the northern end of a shallow ridge.

Turning south I headed across the featureless terrain with little vegetation to the Einich Cairn on the 1,237 metre top, past a third cairn on a negligible top and after passing the Wells of Dee I headed up to the 1,265 metre Carn na Criche. Since I was returning the way I had come I decided it wasn’t worth descending to bag Sgor an Lochain Uaine or Cairn Toul, so I turned north to cross the infant River Dee and climbed back up to the top of Braeriach where I once more admired the stunning views of the thermal inversion. The views were still mesmerising with the clouds looking particularly fluffy south-east between Ben Macdui and Cairn Toul where no other mountains could be seen stretching all the way into the distance. As I slowly made way around the edge of Garbh Coire I continued to gaze out across this awesome view until eventually I turned my back on it and headed down to the col and up to Sròn na Lairige veering off this time to reach the summit before returning to the path to continue my descent. It soon became obvious to me that the mist was higher than it had been earlier in the day, now more than a thousand metres up, so soon I became enveloped by the surrounding clouds and I was robbed of the tremendous views.

Although I had now descended below the cloud level, since I had an excellent path to follow and I was in a good state of mind I was happy for this to happen having thoroughly enjoyed my traverse of the Braeriach plateau. However, in my eagerness to descend I tripped and went sprawling across the rocky ground grazing my arm. Since this seemed to be the extent of my injury I brushed myself off and continued the descent taking the excellent path all the way down into the Lairig Ghru and after a short descent beside the stream, up the very good path that climbs up to the Chalamain Gap. At this point I started having problems with my right boot that seemed loose no matter how much I tied the laces. I had brought an old pair of walking boots with me and they were slowly disintegrating. I had been worried they might fail on the walk up Ben Macdui the day before, but had held up until now as on closer examination I saw that the sole had worn all the way through and may have contributed to my earlier fall. Having a loose boot made crossing the boulders in the Chalamain Gap tricky, but once I was on the good path beyond I had no problem and I was easily able to descend all the way back to the campsite where I had some trail shoes to change into and the boots went in the bin.

Unfortunately my problems were not over as soon after leaving the Chalamain Gap I realised that the back pocket on my trousers had been torn during my fall and my wallet was missing. It was too late to go back for it, but it wasn’t a disaster. My train tickets were on my phone and a week later my wallet arrived in the post curtesy of a fellow walker who had also enjoyed the stunning views above the clouds from the top of Braeriach. The thick mist that persisted in the valleys all day, and my deteriorating boots, had put a dampener on what otherwise was a great day. I was fortunate to see such a stunning thermal inversion on this walk and when I look back over the whole fortnight of my holiday it is astonishing to realise how good the weather was every day. It hardly rained the whole holiday and to have that happen in Scotland is amazing and my final three days in the Cairngorm Mountains capped off a thrilling fortnight.

Ben Macdui with Abbie Barnes

Thursday 2nd September 2021

I have enjoyed watching the YouTube channel of Spend More Time in the Wild by Abbie Barnes for several years and particularly enjoyed her films of her walks along the West Highland Way and the Coast to Coast Walk, and I found much solace in Abbie’s live streamed videos from the start of this year during the darkest part of the lockdown even buying a Spend More Time in the Wild hoodie in March when they became available. Then Abbie announced last summer that to raise awareness of mental health issues she was going to cycle from the top of Scotland all the way down to Land’s End in Cornwall and on the way she would be walking up to the highest point in all fifteen National Parks in Britain. When the dates were revealed for the walks, I realised that the ascent of Ben Macdui in the Cairgorm Mountains would be while I was there and when I had already planned to go up Ben Macdui. My plans for visiting the Cairngorm Mountains, made at the beginning of 2020 put on hold for a year, had centred on a desire to return to Ben Macdui after previously reaching the top in 2005.

When Abbie put out an invitation to join her on the walks, I decided I had to sign up for it and follow her, not only on YouTube, but in person up Ben Macdui. The time that Abbie had specified for us to meet was 7.30 in the morning, so I got up very early and set off up the road to eventually reach the upper car park beside the Cairngorm Mountain ski resort. The weather was poor with a thick mist, but a temperature inversion was forecast so once we got above the clouds we were promised lovely sunshine. At the car park I soon found someone wearing a Spend More Time in the Wild hoodie and when she saw my Stay Wild t-shirt we knew that we were both walking with Abbie. Rachel introduced herself and said there was one other person, John, who soon joined us as we waited for Abbie and her partner, Anna, to arrive. We had to wait a while, and even after Abbie arrived we had to wait even longer before we could start, during which I got very cold, which prompted me to put on my fleece and waterproof until eventually after an hour stood waiting in the car park, we set off.

Along with the three of us who had signed up to join Abbie, there were two camera men helping Abbie make a video of the walk, a qualified mountain leader and two rangers from the Cairngorms National Park. Soon the mist had begun to clear and we were out in the sunshine walking on the path that crosses in front of the Northern Corries of the Cairngorm plateau with our shadows creating faint Brocken spectres in the mist. I have seen this optical effect several times with the best one being on An Stac in Moidart in 2016. This spectre was poor in comparison, but others were far more interested, perhaps never having seen one before. In the sunshine, I soon warmed up so eventually I decided that I had to stop and take my fleece and waterproof off, which prompted everyone else to do the same, with some of us, including Abbie and I, walking in our Stay Wild t-shirts. The views behind us were stunning with the mountain range that I had walked over the day before, Meall a' Bhuachaille, appearing as an island above a sea of clouds. The views got better and better as we climbed up the ridge marked on Ordnance Survey maps as Miadan Creag an Leth-chain towards the top of the cliff above the Lairig Ghru where we stopped to let Abbie conduct an interview with the National Park rangers.

This was a stunning location looking across the deep pass of the Lairig Ghru to the mountains of Braeriach and Cairn Toul and north down the pass into the valleys that were still filled with cloud. I wouldn’t normally stop for as long as this, but in this fabulous location I didn’t mind as it allowed me to absorb the tremendous scenery of the high mountains and the cloud covered valleys. I travel very quickly over mountains and never stop for more than a moment or two to take in my surroundings, so I appreciated the opportunity that our slow progress up Ben Macdui was giving me. When the rangers started heading back down we resumed our climb towards the hidden top that doesn’t lend its name to the range despite being the highest. A featureless terrain had to be negotiated that was relatively easy given the good weather as we crossed the boulder field until eventually we reached the top of Ben Macdui where we had extensive views in all directions including to the west where Ben Nevis could be made out on the horizon. Mist clung to the southern valleys, but had cleared to the north, though while the camera men used their drone to take dramatic shots of the summit my eyes usually strayed to the west.

For our return, the mountain leader decided to take us via the top of the cliffs that overlook Loch Avon where we had amazing views down the length of the loch. I walked beside Loch Avon in 2013, but I had never seen this sight, which is truly spectacular. From the top of Hell’s Lum Crag we crossed over to the top of Coire Domhain where it was decided that we would climb over Stob Coire an t-Sneacha to a barely perceptible 1141 metre top where we descended the ridge of Fiacaill a’ Choire Chais back down to the car park. This walk was a very different experience for me as I have almost always walked on my own and with all the camera work being done it was a very slow one. It was also a very weird experience walking with two people I have seen many times on YouTube, so there were occasions when I forgot I was looking at Abbie for real. Abbie seemed to be completely genuine and just as I had seen her on YouTube. It was wonderful being part of Abbie Bikes Britain and join her in going up Ben Macdui, which will be something that I will remember for a long time. We had stunning weather for this walk as we climbed to the highest point in the Cairngorms National Park and passed some astonishing scenery.

Meall a' Bhuachaille and the Allt Mor Trail

Wednesday 1st September 2021

I had planned to come to the Cairngorm Mountains in May 2020, but those plans were put on hold until this point in my holiday late summer 2021. My first goal in those plans was to climb Meall a’ Bhuachaille, which is a Corbett that overlooks Glenmore towards the Cairngorm massif. This is an easily ignored mountain, as I have done over many years, as it is much smaller than the main Cairngorm Mountains and lacks the crags that adorn the northern corries. The most direct route from the Glenmore Campsite ascends beside the Allt Coire Chondlaich burn, but first I wanted to take a path that I remember enjoying on my previous visits to the area and is marked with blue posts. I particularly remember, in 2013, doing the walk as soon as I got to the youth hostel, leaving my rucksack behind I headed straight out onto the path. From the visitor centre it passes the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre climbing a wide track through a conifer plantation that isn’t a promising start, but soon passes into more open and delightful woodland while the path narrows and weaves an interesting route around the trees. In 2013, it was May and the ground was littered with many colourful wild flowers that delightfully decorated the path, but now the only flowers were those of heather, though bright red mushrooms did provide some extra colour to the scene.

It is still a great path, but woefully short, and soon I was descending to the Ryvoan Pass and the shore of An Lochan Uaine. The weather initially on this walk was overcast with low clouds and although these would eventually lift, they were slow to do so. Taking the clear track through the Ryvoan Pass, I ignored the path that heads south towards the Lairig an Laoigh, and instead headed up to the Ryvoan Bothy where I turned left onto a clear, well-made path that climbs steeply through heather while the views opened out towards the Cairngorm Mountains, although they were persistently holding onto their cap of clouds. Slowly, I made my way up the path plunging into the clouds and eventually reached the summit of Meall a' Bhuachaille, which is a Corbett meaning it is a mountain in Scotland between two and a half and three thousand feet high. I was surprised to see a large group of people at the summit and some of these seemed to follow me, sometimes ahead of me, sometimes behind me, all the way over and down the mountain. The clear, well-made path descends to the top of a pass where it turns left to descend back down to Glenmore beside the Allt Coire Chondlaich burn while I and a group of young men continued ahead on a sketchier path up to Creagan Gorm.

The young men stopped at the summit cairn while I kept going along the ridge, but like the fabled hare and tortoise, they would eventually overtake me again. The undulating ridge passes over several tops and these young men seemed to stop at everyone while I kept going until I reached a cairn near the top of Craiggowrie where I decided to stop for lunch even though it was not quite noon yet, but I had been walking since before eight. While eating, the sun finally began to appear so that by the time I climbed up to the top of Craiggowrie I had clear views north across the Abernethy Forest and Strath Spey under gorgeous blue skies, though behind me mist still lingered around the Cairngorm Mountains. Turning left I began to descend long peaty slopes under warm blue skies thoroughly enjoying the gentle descent that reminded me of other great walks, even though it was very boggy in places. Eventually the young men caught up with me again as the tortoise and hare routine continued just before we reached the bottom of the hill and entered the conifers of Glenmore Forest Park.

Now a long walk-out ensued whereby I, and the young men, who were coincidentally going in my direction, followed forestry tracks past Badaguish Outdoor Centre back to Glenmore in the warm sunshine. Although the walk had taken me six hours, which is a decent length of time for a walk, it was only two o’clock, so since it was still very early, I decided to walk along another trail that I remember with fondness from previous visits (and also to see how long it would take me to reach the Upper Car Park). I have fond memories of a path called the Allt Mor Trail, so I set off up the road eager to make its acquaintance again. Immediately after crossing the Abhainn Ruigh-eunachan, I turned left onto a slender path through the trees that didn’t seem to be well-used and is not marked on local maps, but was clear and eventually brought me to a car park and the Allt Mòr burn. However, there I found a sign that said: “The Allt Mor Trail is no longer maintained by Forestry & Land Scotland: It may be difficult underfoot & is not safe beyond Utsi’s Bridge”. This was disappointing, but I persevered to see what it was like and soon discovered that the path had been severely eroded by flooding, though was still passable with care.

Beyond that point the path was good including on the boardwalks that climb steeply up the hillside, but after crossing the road the path seemed very overgrown and more signs of erosion could be seen as the path drew alongside the burn again. I remember being delighted with the Allt Mor Trail previously as, to quote my blog from 2009: “The path climbs through a wonderful, wooded valley that has been totally given over to nature with absolutely divine results,” but nature doesn’t do neat and tidy and so the path is now in a poor state and is not worth maintaining. Nature has completely taken over the path and in some places there is not much of it left. When I reached Itsi’s Bridge, I decided to climb up to the road rather than attempt to proceed any further up the path. Signs warn that the path is not safe due to erosion and land slips and I remember it not being good many years ago. Back on the road, I continued to climb, but soon came off onto a track marked on my map that seemed to be an old road and provided me with a convenient off-road route that cuts a corner until I came back onto the road for the final walk into the car park beside the ski centre.

Behind me, I now had very good views towards Glenmore with Meall a' Bhuachaille and its ridge emerging from above the trees of the forest park. In the fabulous weather, this was a great moment as I gazed across the awesome landscape with the Cairngorm Mountains tantalisingly close, though hazy, looming above me. I could have kept going up, but I was happy to have reached this far, at the top of the road, and I now knew the best route up which would be helpful for the next day when I would be back there very early and then I would climb onto the Cairngorm Mountains. For now, I was content to head back down the road and ignored the Allt Mor Trail to slowly descend all the way back down to the campsite. It is a pity the weather was not at its best when I was at the top of Meall a' Bhuachaille, but it more than made up for it later in the day and I still had a great walk over the mountain.

The Old Logging Way to Loch Morlich

Tuesday 31st August 2021

When making my plans for my holidays in 2020, my Scotland holiday was going to be in the Cairngorm Mountains, but I was never sure what else to do while I was in Scotland. The main goal of the holiday was the heart of the Cairngorms including Cairn Gorm itself and Ben MacDui, the highest point in the Cairngorm Mountains. The reason for this was that it had been many years since I was last there and I felt like I had unfinished business. I first visited the area in 2005 and came back in 2009, but when I returned in 2013 there was so much snow on the mountains, despite it being the end of May, I was unable to visit the highest peaks. When I came back to the Cairngorm Mountains in 2016, I went around Cairn Gorm and its neighbouring mountains, and I had not been back since. That is why the main goal for my holiday in 2020 was to return to the central mountains of the Cairngorms, but then the world was hit by Covid-19 and the holiday was cancelled. This year, with my 2020 plans resurrected, I still had the problem of what else to do besides the Cairngorm Mountains and eventually I decided on the Fife Coastal Path, so after a week in the Kingdom of Fife I set off towards the Cairngorm Mountains.

Finally leaving Leven and Silverburn Park where I had been camping for over a week, I caught a bus to Markinch where I caught a train to Aviemore. I considered catching a bus from Aviemore to the Glenmore Campsite, but with the good weather that I had enjoyed in Fife continuing, I decided to walk even though I was carrying a heavy rucksack and had proved to be a big problem for me on the first day of the Fife Coastal Path. Soon after leaving the railway station in Aviemore, I saw signs for the Old Logging Way, which is a cycle and walkway that parallels the road all the way to Glenmore, which is the most direct route to take. On previous occasions, in 2009 and in 2013 in the other direction, I took a route through the Rothiemurchus Forest via Loch an Eilein. This is a great and picturesque route, but it is not the quickest way to go, so since more than half the day was already spent, and I was carrying a very heavy rucksack, I thought I’d give the Old Logging Way a try. When I first came to the Cairngorm Mountains in 2005, the Old Logging Way had not yet been built, so I had walked beside the road all the way to Glenmore which was really tiring, especially as I was carrying two shopping bags.

The Old Logging Way was a delight taking me out of Aviemore over the River Spey and initially just kept to the pavement beside the road, but then after leaving behind the last of the buildings in Inverdruie, the path moves slightly away from the road to pass through Caledonian pine forest. The landscape was dominated by purple-blooming heather though there was also some in-seed broom and many bright red mushrooms were dotted around on the ground. Slowly, I made my way towards Glenmore passing through more established conifer plantations and moved well away from the road on clearly marked tracks where my biggest difficulty was keeping out of the way of cyclists. After joining a wide track, I came near to the road again beside the shore of Loch Morlich for the final stretch of the Old Logging Way that took me to the Glenmore Campsite. It had taken me about two hours to get there, which was much quicker than I had been expecting as the Old Logging Way is six and a half miles long and I’d heard reports of it being seven miles, so at the slow speed I had been walking it should have taken me much longer, however this was very important information for me as I would need to return along the Old Logging Way at the end of my holiday to catch my train home.

After putting up my tent, having a shower and eating my dinner, I decided to do a walk around Loch Morlich to get my bearings. On the far side of the campsite I found a sandy beach that looked fabulous with the backdrop of the Cairngorm Mountains in the distance. Walking between the road and the shore, I enjoyed the views over the loch as I made my way over the tree roots until I reached a car park where a path emerged marked with red-topped posts. These mark Forestry and Land Scotland’s Loch Morlich Trail and were a reliable guide around the loch when otherwise I might have got lost. They directed me onto a track over the River Luineag and seemed to take me further and further away from Loch Morlich, but it was a lovely walk as I kept going through the conifer plantation while the evening light faded. The red posts never let me down, even when I did as I was convinced that all I needed to do was keep turning left, so when I reached a junction where a new trail of white-topped posts marked left while the red-topped posts turned right, I decided to follow the white-topped posts.

I soon discovered that the white-topped posts had taken round in a circle back to the red-topped posts at a footbridge over the Abhainn Ruigh-eunachan and I could have saved myself some time by keeping beside the red-topped posts. Later, I spotted some caravans hidden amongst the trees, which seemed odd until I realised it was my campsite, so I passed them and returned to my tent. The weather on this day was largely overcast with some blue sky around, but not near the mountains, which was not a problem as I was not climbing mountains on this walk. This day was mainly about travelling from the Kingdom of Fife to the Cairngorm Mountains, but I was still able to get some good walking done. The Old Logging Way was a good route to do even with a heavy rucksack and the Loch Morlich Trail was a wonderfully relaxing walk to do in the evening. At the end of the week, I packed up my tent and set off once again along the Old Logging Way to return to Aviemore and I was once again able to enjoy this very convenient and quick route between Glenmore and Aviemore.

Letham Glen and Kennoway Den

Monday 30th August 2021

On the day before this walk I finished the Fife Coastal Path after seven days on the trail, but I still had another day in the Kingdom of Fife. When I had planned my accommodation in Silverburn Park, near Leven, I had intended on starting the Fife Coastal Path on the Tuesday and with hindsight that would have been better, but instead I actually started the trail on the day before while travelling from Edinburgh to Leven. I should have spent more time in Dalkeith Country Park and Edinburgh before heading to Silverburn Park so I could arrive there on time and not tried to walk along the trail while carrying a heavy rucksack. I had been thinking I could use this spare day to do some walking elsewhere in Fife, perhaps over the Lomond Hills, which are the highest hills in the county. In the end, since the Fife Coastal Path had completely worn me out, I didn’t want to do much walking on this day, so I decided to do something around Leven. From Silverburn Park, I headed past the golf courses to the outskirts of Leven where I turned right along a footpath beside Scoonie Burn that took me into Letham Glen Park.

Initially this was your typical ornamental park with many flower displays, but the path soon passed into dense woodland with surroundings that were more wild and so more appealing to me. I had an enjoyable walk through the woodland of this narrow valley until I reached the end whereupon I turned around and headed back through the glen. It was lovely to be walking through natural, wild scenery, which is something I have increasingly appreciated over the previous eighteen months. It has been vital for my mental health to get out into wild landscape during this time as it provides such a calming and relaxing effect on me at a time when I was forced to spend so much time at home. When I reached the end of the woodland walk I climbed out of the park onto Sillerhole Road. While wandering along this road that becomes Linnwood Drive, I checked on the internet for other walks in the area and found a reference to Kennoway Den, but since I had not planned anything for this day, I didn’t have a map of the area so I was reliant on Google Maps to guide me.

At the end of Linnwod Drive I crossed a road onto a path that passes a large number of warehouses that reminded me of those I have seen at distilleries and Google Maps confirmed my suspicions as the warehouses are labelled Diageo Global Supply. This was a very relaxing walk on a tarmac path between the warehouses and farmland with the sun that had been hiding behind clouds now starting to break through. After swinging away from the warehouses, the path heads to Kennoway and passes alongside the community until it reaches a point where I could come off the path and onto a road near a sign that marks the start of the Kennoway Den walk. Initially this walk was not very promising as the path followed a small burn with a farmer’s field on the other side, but soon the valley deepened with wooded sides that developed into a pleasant walk that simply got better and better. Rock faces appeared with short caves as the valley turned left and right through the gorgeous woodland landscape. I had a really enjoyable walk through the delightful natural surroundings of Kennoway Den as the burn slowly climbs with an excellent footpath that always provided me with easy access through the dramatic scenery.

Eventually the path began to climb above the stream that now plunged into a deep, dark ravine until the path reached a road near Auchtermairnie. Realising that the path goes no further, I turned around and headed back down the valley, much to my delight, enjoying the walk once again despite the earlier sunshine having now gone leaving gloomier skies. Veering to the east of the stream I came out onto a grassy area near some houses and keeping beside the stream I walked along the edge of the grass and returned to the main road where I had started the walk through Kennoway Den. These had both been very enjoyable and relaxing walks through wonderfully wild wooded glens, but it was now only twelve o’clock and I had no idea how to fill the rest of the day. Returning to the path that I had been on earlier, which at this point is an old railway line, I turned right heading down this path under a road and near to an area identified by Google Maps as Cameron Wood where there used to another old railway line, but I don’t recall seeing any sign of it. Instead I crossed over the River Leven and walked along the top of a pipeline that parallels the river until eventually the pipeline crosses the river and I was left to find my own way through the overgrowth and past a recent housing development.

With a faint path to follow I ploughed on until stopped by a tall fence surrounding a water treatment works that forced me to turn right and climb up to the road opposite a bus depot. I was now able to make my way back into Leven where I had my lunch, but I was preoccupied with some blisters that I had recently acquired on my toes. As I headed off again I was in quite a bit of pain so I returned to Silverburn Park where I tended to my injuries while sat beside my tent. Since I refuse to waste an afternoon, I got out my walking pole and hobbling like an old man I made my way back onto the beach using the pole for support and gradually it became easier for me to walk as I crossed the sands up to the sea. Despite the overcast skies, it was great to be back on the beach and I was reminded of the walks I had done during the previous week on the Fife Coastal Path, so as a memorial to that trail I headed along the beach until I ran out of sands and crossed the rocks to the mouth of Kiel Burn below Lower Largo. Unable to keep going along the coast, I climbed up into the village and continued to climb up to the main road where I turned left and followed it all the way back to Silverburn Park. This walk ended a fabulous week in the Kingdom of Fife where I enjoyed some fabulous walking with great weather every day and I appreciated the chance to relax on this day to recover from my exertions of the previous week.