Captivated by the Cateran Trail

Given 2014 has been fairly quiet on the walking front, it's really exciting for me to write this post about my recent adventure on the Cateran Trail.

I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to research this walk for work. It was planned for the first week of August, and it came around very quickly! I of course was worried that I wasn't fit enough, and tried to cram in as much walking as I could in the week prior to the walk - as if that would make a huge difference!

I didn't have a great start to the week, being stuck in traffic for an hour and a half after an accident on the Forth Road Bridge. Still, I received a warm welcome when I finally made it to Blairgowrie, and after a wee stroll about town, some dinner, and the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, it was time to get some sleep before the trail began...

From the Cateran Trail website:

The Trail is named after the Caterans – marauding cattle thieves who flourished in the more lawless regions of the Highlands from the Middle Ages until the 17th century. More feared than wolves, cateran raiding parties numbered anything from 5 to 500 fierce warriors. 

Favouring dark nights, and often remarkably well informed about their targets, they would descend on richer neighbours when they were off guard. Weddings and other festivities often provided an opportunity for a raid and many revellers would sober up to find their folds empty and their cattle gone. 

The Caterans raided far and wide but the rich farmlands of Glen Isla and Strathardle were particularly 'favoured'. By custom they would return by a different way from which they came, using ancient drove roads through remote glens.



Day One - Blairgowrie to Kirkmichael - 15 miles

There were two things I was worried about. My fitness, and the weather. Thankfully Monday morning brought blue sky, with a few clouds but no sign of rain.

After a delicious breakfast I got my gear together and headed into Blairgowrie. I was staying about half a mile outside the centre of town, so it gave me a chance to warm up a bit :) It was a strange feeling, trying to get back in the 'long distance trail' zone. When I walked the East Highland Way last August I think I was still buzzing from my West Highland Way adventure, and just couldn't wait to get into the whole routine - two pairs of socks, careful tying of the laces, filling up the water bottles, hoarding biscuits from B&Bs etc. Now I was a year since my last long walk, and felt a bit rusty.

And a bit self-conscious, for some reason. I think because I was walking alongside a main road with all this kit on. I needed to get into the wilderness - and fast.

The Cateran Trail starts from an iron signpost on the main bridge over the River Ericht. It follows the riverside for the first part of the day, an enjoyable stroll. There were a few people out and about on this Monday morning, and most said hello! There is currently a wee diversion on the trail here, due to a landslide, but I was relieved to not miss Cargill's Leap - an impressive spot where Covenanter Donald Cargill is said to have leapt across the Ericht to escape troops hot on his heels.

 

I stopped to chat to a man who was out walking alongside the river, and he gave me lots of great information on the Cateran Trail. I was feeling good, and continued with a spring in my step.

...Which didn't last very long as I soon reached my first uphill section of the day. I was walking on a road, finding the tough tarmac a bit of a toil, never mind the incline. And I was too warm.

I was fair puggled when the road eventually evened out, and I began a long but relatively flat section. Here I really felt like I was leaving Blairgowrie behind, and getting out into the wilderness. Phew!

I spotted a walker ahead of me (perhaps just visible in the photo above) and was delighted someone was blazing the trail in front - I'd just follow them! There was a wee note in my guidebook to 'beware of cattle' in a section I was approaching, so I was glad this walker would get there first! I was so nervous about cows for the whole week...by the fact that I'm writing this I obviously survived relatively unscathed but I guess you will just have to keep reading to find out what happened between me and the big beasts later on in the week...

Further on, I could see my pace-maker kept stopping for brief periods, and I couldn't work out why. However, I soon reached the avenue of wild raspberries, and everything made sense...

From this day forward, I ate wild raspberries on every day of my walk - can't get better than that!

The trail weaved its way round the boundaries of several animal-free fields, then along a wee farm road, up a hill, and into the BEWARE section. There were even scary cow warning signs here, just to add to the tension that was building...

And I did not see one single cow. Hooray! They must have been udderwise occupied this morning, or hadn't heard I'd be around, and I managed to get safe passage over a gate and into a cow-free zone. Hooray!

The next section of the walk took me onto Cochrage Muir, which I have to say I LOVED. This was perfect Scottish walking - bonnie blooming heather, bright red butterflies, views a-plenty, straightforward strolling. Heaven.

Soon I was descending rapidly towards Bridge of Cally, roughly the half way point of the day. Whilst I should have been focusing on the task in hand, instead I was already worrying about Friday. The Cateran Trail repeats an 8 mile section between Blairgowrie and Bridge of Cally - the section I'd just done - on a 16 mile day. Having just come quite steeply downhill, I was well aware that what comes down...must go back up. Or something. I was going to have go back up that hill and I already didn't want to!!

Ah well, I pushed that to the back of my mind, and continued past Bridge of Cally into a wooded section. I was looking for somewhere to stop and eat my lunch, but actually walked for a good 2 or 3 miles before I actually stopped.

On the way, I passed a funny sign. I like funny signs.

Naughty children!!

Soon I reached a comfortable looking stone wall (not a sentence ever written before, I bet) and perched myself down on a flat rock, ready to tuck into my packed lunch. It was nae a bad spot for it, with this view:

I was actually there for around half an hour; I met the walker I'd been following earlier, and we had a lovely chat. She was a very nice lady from Kirkmichael, where I was walking to, who'd been dropped off in Blairgowrie this morning and was walking home. She also gave me lots of great information about the Cateran Trail, and I was starting to think that this walk would feature friendly people and good hospitality in abundance. GOOD!

I did get the post-lunch blues when I started walking again though. I was tired, and I still had a fair distance to go. The weather seemed to be on the turn, with dark ominous clouds appearing above. I reached a very squelchy part of the trail, and spent too much time looking at my feet, trying to put them in the right place.

 

What followed was another lovely section walking amongst the heather - not for the last time I felt very lucky to be here in August, when this delightful carpet of purple spreads across our country.

I had pretty much run out of steam by now though. Looking back, I still had a far bit to go, but at the time I thought I must be close. Mentally I had had enough for the day, thanks very much. It had been a long time since I had walked 15 miles, and it was taking its toll. I was more than ready for a shower (dare I dream for a bath?) and my bed!

Eventually I reached Kirkmichael. It was 4.40pm (I'd left Blairgowrie at 10.05am) and my pedometer read 17 miles. I was puggled.

Thankfully, a shower (no bath today!), beef stovies, a half pint of Thrappledouser (bought for me by a local legend in Kirkmichael!) and bedtime followed in quick succession.


Day Two- Kirkmichael to Glenshee - 10 miles

I awoke this morning to bright blue skies, and this view out the window:

My immediate thought was - "uh oh, I didn't bring any suncream!" but mostly I was looking forward to the walk to Glenshee on such a glorious day.

I needed to build my strength up for the day ahead, and this wasn't really a chore:

After filling every water bottle I had, I made my way to the wee shop in Kirkmichael to buy some more. (A great wee village shop - but sadly no suncream for sale!). I made my way out of Kirkmichael on a farm track, and soon headed into a peaceful woodland section alongside Loch Cottage. I was only half an hour or so into my day, but I stopped for a long rest, and tried to do all I could to be more comfortable walking in this heat.

 

 

I get scared walking through quiet sections of woodland on my own, as my imagination runs wild and every single noise startles me. I'm constantly on edge about what might jump out of the trees or appear from the darkness...and I walk much quicker through woods than anywhere else. However, on this section I felt reasonably at ease, actually enjoying the peace and quiet (as it should be enjoyed) and savouring the tranquility. I wasn't completely relaxed but compared to what I'm usually like, this was progress!

It was a short section, and soon I was into the open again, passing by a beautiful white house before crossing a bridge towards Enochdhu.

I walked past the wee collection of houses at Enochdhu, then joined a farm track uphill. Here I once more enjoyed the selection of wild raspberries on offer:

I made my way through the farm (farms also make me nervous - I always think I'm about to be told off) and uphill again, this time heading for a delightful forestry track. Although there was a gradient on this path, I just got this feeling that I was heading for something very good indeed...

And I was. Well, once I'd managed to climb over the giant stile, that is. The next section of the walk was my favourite of the whole week. There I was, just me, on a lovely path, surrounded by bright purple heather, mountains, the odd sheep, blue skies...it couldn't have been more Scottish. It was delightful.

I was heading for Upper Lunch Hut, a notable landmark, but not one I could see yet. As I continued on this path I spotted a group of walkers sitting by a wee waterfall, enjoying lunch. For a moment I did wonder whether it was family members, surprising me in the middle of nowhere again, but alas, they were genuine strangers :)

I waved hello, and continued round the next bend to find the lunch hut. The hut is provided by the Dirnanean Estate and Queen Victoria stopped for tea here in 1865. It would be an great place to shelter during bad weather - ironically I didn't need to use it given the beauty of the day! However I went in and added my name to the very interesting visitor book. I also loved the 'modern day' visitor book:

As I sat on a rock outside eating my lunch, the group of walkers I'd passed earlier came by, and so we had a wee chat. They were on a day walk, heading 3 miles south of Spittal of Glenshee. I myself was aiming for a spot 2 miles south of Spittal, but as they carried on I didn't think I'd see them again. Little did I know how glad I'd be to see them later in the day....!

I stopped at the Lunch Hut for around 45 minutes, again enjoying the tranquility of the spot, and also putting off the inevitable uphill section to come! When I set off again, I had the 'post-lunch lethargy', just like yesterday!

It was a fairly gradual incline, but tough all the same. I just took my time, stopping frequently for wee breaks. As I got closer to the highest point, I met quite a number of day walkers heading the other way. It was a lovely day for a walk, and a lovely place for it. Looking back to where I'd walked from, the views were amazing:

Soon I reached the high point at Lairig Gate, and started the descent towards Spittal of Glenshee. Once again the views were tremendous, and I was loving this part of the trail.

As always it was a bit tough on the knees going downhill, especially late on in the day, but my spirits were high and I knew I wasn't far from Spittal of Glenshee. When I arrived in the village, I saw the group of walkers from earlier sitting outside the currently closed Spittal of Glenshee Hotel, obviously disappointed there were no pints on offer!

I took the opportunity to overtake them, and continued on the trail in the direction of Glenisla, crossing the main road and beginning a nervy farm section!

It was a strange feeling to realise that I was only on day two of the trail yet I was already heading south!

I was starting to feel quite tired now, and ready for the day to be done. I was so hesitant about traversing the farmland ahead of me; my mind working overtime trying to figure out my escape route should I come across any bovine beasts.

And sure enough, I came over the top of a rise to see a small group of cattle (I can't call them a herd - there were probably 6 of them) on the path ahead of me. SUGAR! (was not the expression that came to mind). Right, I thought, no way, there's no way I'm risking my life walking past these cows. I looked to my right, and there were 3 fields and a river to cross to reach the road. That was by far the preferred option, so I set off, sure in my mind that this was the right thing to do. After climbing over two barbed wire fences (and cutting my knee in the process) I happened to glance back the way (just checking I wasn't being followed, you understand) and I saw 3 of the walkers I'd been following earlier, with dog, passing the cows with no bother at all!!

I wish I could describe the jumble of thoughts that went through my head at that moment - from wanting to shout to them to wait, to not wanting to shout and attract the attention of the cows, to get myself out of this boggy field and back onto the path, to catch them up and walk with them through this section of fear, everything just seemed to happen so quickly and soon I was running back to the path (and realised that I hadn't needed to climb over the barbed wire fences at all, as they came to an end just a few metres further along!!).

I tried to approach the cows calmly, and walk past confidently, as I'd seen the walkers do. And it worked! Success! I made it safely through the gate, and had I just done that half an hour previously, I would've been safely at my B&B by now!! Oh well. A lesson learned. Much though I was tempted to turn round and give the cows a rude gesture once I was safe on the other side of the gate, I thought that would bring bad karma for the fields to come. And actually this incident was completely of my own doing - the cows didn't bat an eyelid at me. It made me realise how powerful fear is.

When I caught up with guys ahead (two from Edinburgh, one from Detroit, and their dog Bree) I was so relieved to be in the company of others. We had a nice chat, and thankfully one of them was sympathetic to my cow fear :)

We actually passed by some hairy Highland cows, although sadly I didn't manage to get any decent photos as I was too eager to keep up with the guys and not have to face any real (or imagined) dangers that day!

I wasn't with them for long before I reached Glenshee Lodge, which was where I left the trail to reach my B&B. I had a mile or so of road walking to do, and I was so relieved to reach Dalhenzean Lodge and all the comforts it brought.

It had been a much harder day than I had anticipated. The heat had made for difficult walking conditions, let alone the drama of the end of the day. According to my pedometer I'd walked 13 miles but of course I had added in my own diversions!

I was given a lift to Dalmunzie Castle Hotel for my dinner that night (currently the only place to eat in the vicinity) and that was an experience in itself!! I was introduced to the delicious Sunburst by Inveralmond, and had the smallest and most expensive steak pie I'd ever eaten!

 

Day Three - Glenshee to Kirkton of Glenisla - 12.5 miles

In dramatic contrast to yesterday, I woke up to heavy rain and dreich skies today. This was going to be another tough day, but for completely different weather reasons!

I retraced my steps back to Glenshee Lodge and Inveredrie Farm, then picked up the trail, again nervously weaving through and around fields.

As I made my way towards a ford over the River Shee, I startled a couple of buzzards who flew majestically just metres away from me. It was quite a special moment.

I enjoyed the chance to get so close to the Shee, and thought this must be a marvelous wee spot for paddling on a nice day.

 
The trail then makes its way past Dalnaglar Castle, which proved to be quite an impressive sight.

 But:

And at this point I joined a minor road that I'd be on for the next 2 miles or so. I said goodbye to Perth and Kinross, and entered Angus. As I did so, the heavens opened and the rain hammered off the tarmac. I quickly put my waterproofs on, and despite my face, I actually quite enjoyed the simplicity of the road walking and the weather. Nae fussing, just proper Scottish rain.

 

Before long I had reached a familiar road junction. On a trip to bag 3 Munros in Glenisla last year, we'd passed Forter Castle and this wee settlement. It brought back happy memories, and the Castle (although private accommodation like Dalnaglar) makes for an impressive picture.

The rain had almost stopped by now, so I took the waterproofs off. Although the track initially climbed, I enjoyed this open moorland section.

I soon got my first glimpses of Auchintaple Loch too, which made for a lovely sight on this dreich day.

In contrast to this open section, I was then heading into up and over another giant stile into the woodland. I startled some sheep here (I've found that my fear of sheep is much improved since the fear of cows took hold!) and walked quickly through the woods, hoping to stop for lunch soon.

 

When I reached the next giant stile, I decided it was time to stop for lunch. It wasn't quite a peaceful spot, as there was someone logging on the other side of the loch, and it wasn't quite a wildlife-free spot, as here I encountered my first midges of the week. So annoying!!

However, the views were lovely:

The trail then left the woodland and headed into another open section. I picked my way through the heather, over numerous boggy bits, and onto a track towards Loch Shandra. I'd been looking forward to this all day. I knew when I reached the loch I wasn't far from Kirkton of Glenisla, and I also knew it would be a scenic wee spot. It didn't disappoint.

I stopped at a picnic table by the loch for around 20 minutes, and ate my Tunnock's caramel wafer - just what I needed to get the energy going for the final push into Glenisla!

As I continued on a farm track, I met a couple walking their dog, and realised it was the first people I'd met all day - it was 3.15pm! I thought I still had over a mile to go, but they told me I was 10 minutes away - great news! It was downhill all the way, and it wasn't long before I reached the village.

Despite the weather, I'd actually really enjoyed today's walk. It was scenic, and atmospheric.

That night, I discovered my new favourite craft beer - Inveralmond's Inkie Pinkie - at the Glenisla Hotel. What a great place after a long day's walk!

 

Day Four - Kirkton of Glenisla to Alyth - 10.5 miles

Another morning of waking up to beautiful sunshine!

The main challenge of the morning was to find my way out of Kirkton of Glenisla! Sounds silly, but I started out on the road, then doubted I was going the right way, went back, struggled to find any way out, asked a local (who thankfully said I wasn't the only one who had difficulty!), then went back along the road and finally reached the sign.

I had to pick my way through an overgrown bit before reaching an iron bridge over the River Isla, then through a muddy section before reaching Cairn Hill. I struggled with the morning heat, but a wee detour to the top of the hill was well worth it for the breeze! (And views!)

 

 

I enjoyed the spot for as long as I could, before making my way towards a short woodland section. As I came to the end of the woods, I panicked. I could see the Cateran Trail ahead of me, heading straight toward....yup, you've guessed it - a field of cows! Nooooo!!

With nowhere to go, I realised I'd have no choice but to get on with it. So I took the collective advice of everyone I'd chatted to over the past few days about my fears, put my head down and carried on. Not quite 'keep calm and carry on' but as close to it as I could manage. And it worked! The cows paid me no attention, and I safely made it out of the field. One down!

I did feel fortunate that the cows were positioned in the middle of the field. Had they been anywhere closer to the trail I'm not sure I'd have managed, but it gave me a boost to have coped with this first challenge of the day!

As the trail continued, it was obvious I had a few more farms to come today.

At the next farm, I actually stopped to chat to a very nice farmer chap. He opened a gate for me, and assured me I would definitely meet cows further along. Thanks!!

However again I got lucky, with the cows being further away in the field and no bother to me at all. Two down!

After a long section of tarmac, passing a small village, I soon reached another field. I did count this as field number three I survived, but to be fair there were only two cows in it and they were a long way from the trail - but still! Three down!

I really enjoyed the next section, mostly because the path ran alongside the fence of numerous fields, and I was on the safe side!

I didn't enjoy the section that followed though, as once again I was skirting around a field - this time on the dangerous side!

In fact I could feel my heart thudding as I descended a wee hill and realised that I was about to have to walk around 200 yards from stile to stile through a field of cows. Once again I deployed my earlier tactic of keeping my head down and getting on with it, and a wave of relief washed over me when I reached the other side of the stile. Once again though I was lucky in the positioning of the cows, for had they been any nearer the path I would have been seriously concerned! I actually recently read someone else's Cateran Trail blog, where their photo of this section clearly shows the cows on the path. I'm just so relieved they were where they were - four down!

I soon reached Ardromie Farm, after a very overgrown section, and I stopped just near the farm to enjoy my packed lunch. What had started off as a lovely day was now turning into a rather cloudy one, and I wondered whether I would regret not bringing my jacket today!

From the farm, I walked down to and alongside the main road for a while. Whilst still on the farm road, up popped a wee stoat from the undergrowth, who scuttled off before I could get the camera out. Nice to see!

When I reached the path towards Alyth Hill, I was warned about wildlife I definitely hadn't been expecting:

but thankfully I didn't see any!!

The walk towards and between Hill of Loyal and Hill of Alyth was pleasant, and I once again enjoyed some wild raspberries. It did start raining lightly, but thankfully not enough that I would've put my jacket on - if I'd had it with me!

I was almost tempted to detour to the top of the Hill of Alyth, but felt it would be better saving it for another time, when I hadn't walked 10 or so miles to get there. I began the descent towards Alyth, struggling a bit with the downhill gradient, and unfortunately stopping numerous times to pick up litter as I went.

I'd never been to Alyth before, one of only a few places on the walking trails I've done that I hadn't seen in some way prior to walking there. It enjoys a lovely setting alongside the river, and is the only sizeable town on the Cateran Trail after Blairgowrie.

After some average fish and chips, me and my now-sunburnt face had an early night!


Day Five - Alyth to Blairgowrie - 7 miles

Decision time! It was my last day on the Cateran Trail and I had the option of walking 8 miles to Bridge of Cally, then repeating the 8 mile section between Bridge of Cally and Blairgowrie that I'd done on Monday, or taking a much shorter route through Den of Alyth and Drimmie Woods.

Well, the title of the day is a bit of a giveaway to what I ended up doing, but I did spend a long time thinking it over. I didn't want to repeat a long section I'd already done (nice though it was!), but the alternative was considerably shorter and I knew I'd feel guilty about cutting the day down so much.

Had I being staying in Blairgowrie that night, I would have done the longer route, to find out more about the section between Alyth and Bridge of Cally. However I was jumping in my car that same day and heading back to the Borders, with a wedding to go to the next day. The sensible option was to shorten the day - I'd seen so many highlights of the trail up to this point and I was ready for a simpler day. I also do think this will be (and is) a popular choice, with plenty of people not wanting to repeat a section they've already done.

I was glad to be joined on this final day by Dad, and don't think he minded (too much!) my decision to take the shorter route.

Once again it was a lovely morning, and I made it the third day out of five with shorts on - nae bad!

The Den of Alyth is a lovely, tranquil spot, which I wouldn't have seen if I'd chosen the longer route. We said hello to a number of walkers and dogs, before joining a minor road towards a farm.

 

I felt fearless now seeing the cows, knowing I was no longer on my own, and Dad would surely chase them away if need be?!

 

After a short wooded section, we emerged onto a minor road, and realised it was just a short downhill stroll to Blairgowrie.

Although we walked for a good couple of hours, this day of course felt much shorter, and it was early afternoon when we reached the banks of the River Ericht, where my journey began on Monday.

And, unbelievably, when we crossed the river and started walking along the path, I bumped into the same guy I had chatted to on Monday morning! So bizarre!

Dad and I had some lunch in Blairgowrie before an unsuccessful attempt to find either Sunburst or Inkie Pinkie (had to make do with some also-delicious Thrappledouser!). Then it was back in my car to what proved to be a long drive home - Friday's weather turned out to be horrible and traffic was chaos on the M90. I joined the queue at junction 3 and all the way to the Forth Road Bridge it was awful. Then at numerous spots on the bypass it was bad, and it was 7.15pm by the time I eventually got back to the Borders. Not a good start or end to the week, and I yearned to be back out in open spaces without all these people!

I thought I'd be shattered on Saturday, but actually I think my body was prepared for one more day of exercise - we had a brilliant time at the wedding, and thankfully it was a beautiful sunny day. We danced all night and it was only when I woke up on Sunday morning that the pain set in....

And it lasted a good few days! It took a while to recover from the walk and the wedding. Although I was worried about my fitness prior to the walk, I was reassured every day that I was able. I didn't find it easy, but I'm relieved it wasn't too bad.

The Cateran Trail really does offer a taste of Scotland. Not just lochs, glens, mountains, sheep, heather etc. but also great Scottish hospitality (everyone I met was so friendly and so willing to help), good Scottish food (excluding that aforementioned steak pie) and great Scottish craft beers. We don't just do the "classics" well!

This is a much quieter trail than many of the others - most days I barely saw anyone else, and those I did see were day walkers. If you are looking for solitude then this walk has it! It is also very well way-marked, so no navigational difficulties at all. The only slight problem I had was the guidebook being 10 years out of date, but there was nothing too major.

I was generally lucky with the weather, although Wednesday was a very wet day. I didn't encounter too many midges, and I did see lots of other Scottish wildlife. I was lucky with the cows, thankfully!

Most of all, it was just great to get back out there and be back out in the wilderness again! It's been too long. Although there are so many things I'm anxious about when I'm out there, with each step I prove to myself that I CAN do it.

24 hours later!!