Day 4 - John Muir Way - Kilsyth to Falkirk

After being dropped off this morning the route climbs up Croy Hill which was shrouded in most and you can see spots of the Roman forts and it was quite spooky like a centurion might appear out of the swirling mist before you, especially with the church bell tolling in the distance. (I was gong to add a video clip but it took too long to upload)

Today started out in splendid fashion by meeting two of the most amazing people. Libby at Allanfauld farm B&B was a fantastic host and has possibly the best B&B in Scotland, not only did she provide first class accommodation and breakfast but also donated to my fundraising and gave me a lift to the JMW to pick up the path again. Then on the towpath heading out of Kilsyth I met an amazing guy called Ben Smith who is running 401 consecutive marathons!!! He gave me inspiration and apparently vice versa as he mentions www.the401challenge.co.uk in his blog

After following the towpath through to Bonnybridge the route passes through another Roman fort before dropping down to the amazing Falkirk wheel and visitor centre. There is also a mini Kelpies structure to view before heading out to the real thing at Helix park. The Kelpies are absolutely immense and take your breath away and particularly beautiful in the evening sunset.

Had to run out to the Kelpies to get the best of the fading light and after running back it was time to search out more European football and dinner , unfortunately or fortunately as they lost 5-0 on aggregate I couldn't find Spurs game live so ended up watching the scousers vs the mancs. Dinner was taken at Johnston's restaurant and bar and very nice it was too, the experience was made even better by the guys serving who were both chatty and friendly.

So day 5 and onwards Eastwards to my shed at Bo'ness

#the401;challenge #Johnmuirtrust #justgiving #VLM2016

Day 3 John Muir Way - Milngavie to Kilsyth

Having had to divert to Milngavie yesterday, Brendan my host last night dropped me back to pick up the JMW route across the couple of miles to Strathblane. The first part of the walk takes you past the Milngavie riding school and I have loads of horsey pictures but all in my camera, so they will have to wait for another day.

Once out of Strathblane you hit the cycle route heading East and you follow this for best part of the day past Lennoxtown and at Milton of Campsie the old platform and bridge is still in place which is  shown in the picture below.

When you get past this you head towards Kirkintilloch tto pick up the canal towpath  unfortunately large amounts of rubbish are strewn over the paths and in the canal, although they are improving the path and tarmac in many places. Finally you reach Twechar and head up to the Roman fort at Bar Hill which gives great  360 degree views, finally decending down to the end of the days walk and an overnight stay at Allanfauld farm.

This evening Stevie joined me for dinner which made a welcome change to solo dining 

Don't forget you can support me by donating to the John Muir Trust by following this link 

justgiving.com/michael-ward55/

 #justgiving.com/Michael-Ward55/ #ukrunchat #walkinghighlands #VLM2016

John Muir Way - Day 2 - Balloch to Milngavie

Well definitely had the best of the weather yesterday, today was a lot cooler. A lot of road walking today took me out through Balloch park and out towards Gartness although still plenty of views out towards Ben Lomond to the North.

As the views to the West and North fade the Campies start to loom Eastwards and the path continues to follow the cycle route for a good number of miles  before joining the South bound West Highland Way down towards Killearn and Glengoyne distillery. Wheter it's your lunch stop or not it's well worth dropping into the lovely Beech Tree Inn. The foods great and in very pleasant surroundings  and they have an aviary on site and sell wood carvings and long distance walk memorabilia including a John Muir Way T-Shirt of which I am now the proud owner.

The path continues to follow the WHW until the  B821 and then turns off towards Strathblane. I carried on South into Mugdock country park and followed the WHW all the way to its end as there was no accommodation available in Strathblane. Tomorrow I head for Kilsyth. Goodnight from a weary traveller.

#justgiving.com/Michael-Ward55/ #ukrunchat #walkinghighlands #VLM2016

John Muir Way - Day 1 Helensburgh to Balloch

6

So on a beautiful Spring morning I took the train out to Helensburgh via Glasgow and started on my way East towards Dunbar. Here is the start on the front at Helensburgh.

The route starts by taking a gentle climb up the suburbs of Helensburgh leaving the views of the Firth of Forth behind you and heading East out along the cycle path where it passes through Bannachra Muir. Again a steady climb, this time through the woods leading to stunning views over Loch Lomond and Ben Lomond.

Before descending down towards Lomond Shores and Balloch.

Wonderful views most of the way down giving great views ahead

All of the shots on the walk will be from mobile until I can get the camera shots uploaded.

And finally after a great day a sunset to match looking out across the shores of Loch Lomond in the West. 

Tomorrow a much tougher challenge with one of the   the longest sections at over 20 mileI have now reached £900 of my fundraising total and you can boost it further via my Jusgiving page Justgiving/Michael-Ward55/......until tomorrow and another 20 miles 

 #justgiving.com/Michael-Ward55/ #ukrunchat #walkinghighlands #VLM2016

John Muir Way commences via Aviemore, Inverness & Glasgow

Good morning from a sunny Glasgow (Yes sunny!) A great weekend up at the Hilton in Aviemore without a spot of rain! Did a short 6 mile walk from the Boat of Garten out through the pine forest and had a wander around the town with a nice lunch stop on the way at the Wee Puffin.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g190790-d6840831-Reviews-The_Wee_Puffin-Grantown_on_Spey_Aviemore_and_the_Cairngorms_Scottish_Highlands_Sc.html

Then on from Aviemore heading North to Inverness for my first half marathon of the season and I was looking for a target time of 1hr 45m and got exactly that, so I was pleased as punch and a great start to the running year. Spring had definitely sprung with a very warm day breaking through into double figures for a welcome change. A great turn out in Inverness and I came 392 out of something like 1800 runners (exact number not known at the moment)

Then the long drive back to Glasgow for a gig at the ferry to see the Italian Genesis band "The Watch" who were of course as brilliant as always.

A long day but a great day with a lovely sunset to boot and a weather forecast with at least a couple of days of good weather to come :-) So I am now packing my rucksack and heading of to Helensburgh within the next hr. See you there ..............

Final warm up run & pre race massage

Will be heading North tomorrow after a few miles first thing and a massage with Lorraine at Natural sense East Kilbride. I always go there before my big races as she does at great job at loosening up the body.

www.facebook.com/NaturalSenseBeauty/

Local & national press coverage :-)

Just a quick update to give you a link to some fantastic press coverage I received this week in the lead up to my John Muir Trust 2016 Triple Challenge.
Via East Kilbride News & the Daily Record
Click on the link below to view  ......see you again next week at the start of my John Muir Way walk
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/east-kilbride-marathon-man-take-7478063#3ZrAYgRSqRVl9Tir.97