Trossachs & Loch Lomond

After picking up my rental car from Enterprise, I navigated my way out of the city and headed to Stirling. I figured this would be a great place to pick up some groceries and have a break from driving. Always good to get orientated with backward driving! Ha ha.
I was actually quite comfortable behind the wheel. No problems with the roundabouts.
I parked up by Stirling castle and had a stretch. On my way up to the castle, there were a few sites. The Old Town Jail, the Church of the Holy Rude (which had a lovely cemetery with lots of large headstones) and Argyll's Lodging. This lodge was a mansion made into a 17th century townhouse to entertain royalty by William Alexander whom helped found Nova Scotia in Canada. On the shield above the entrance had a mermaid, Native American and a beaver. Yes, Canada has made it's mark! It was the first respresentation of the beaver on a coat of arms.
I walked to the castle and checked out the Robert the Bruce Statue (the national hero who won Scotland's freedom) and admired the view of the town and countryside. I could see the Wallace Monument up on a hill, but figured that and the castle will have to keep for another day. I was ready to get going and see some nature. I headed back into town and popped over to Tesco to get groceries, then was off.
I drove to Gartmore and got a pitch at Cobleland campsite. The people in the office were extremely friendly and helpful. They gave me their recommendations on what to see and gave me a free walking map. I decided to stay 2 nights and as I would be hiking alone, they were more than happy to check in on me every evening to make sure I made it back to camp safely. We exchanged mobile numbers so I could message them my location as I jumped from place to place. They were wonderful!
I tried to pick the highest ground along the river and set up my tent. From there, I walked around the area. Looked at a neat little country house with a medieval looking gate, tromped though the wooded area in behind it, called Butler's Walk, talked to some locals out walking their dog, and walked along the river near camp.
The next morning, I drove out to Aberfoyle where I went to David Marshall Lodge Visitor Centre. They have zip lining here, but I just wanted to hike around a little and see the waterfall. They had many posts along Waterfall Trail with facts about the flora and fauna around the forest. It was a nice start to the morning.
I then headed to Ben A'an. A nice easy forest walk up to the top. Once in the clearing of the summit, heather covered the craigs, leaving a warm purple covering over the rocks and soil. Ben A'an is one of the shorter hikes, being 461m, but I still had a great view of Loch Katrine. I was fortunate to have dry weather. Cloudy, of course... but dry. I met a nice lady on the way up and after we rested we hiked back down together. Near the car park is a lavish hotel where she was staying and offered me a cup of tea. Which I gladly accepted. She had what was more like a flat on the ground floor. A good thing as our boots were muddy and we could leave them outside her sliding glass door.
After a short visit, I drove to my next destination back in Aberfoyle. From the Milton car park, I did the 3kms Lochan Spling trail. A loop around a small lake. The moss here was very colourful. Not just green, but a rainbow of green, yellow, red and brown. It was really quite eye catching. Many different kinds of mushrooms as well with all the moisture. Even found a neat little caterpillar crossing the trail and pike fish in the lake jumping to catch bugs. I thought I spotted an osprey, but I had some cyclists come by and the bird flew off, so I wasn't sure. Ach well, maybe next time.
I did plan on heading back to camp after those 3 walks... but seeing how I was already here, I figured... Why not one more walk? So, I did a 6kms walk along Ghleannain Loch trail. The trail follows along Loch Ard before turning away and heading into forested area and a small lake called Lochan a' Ghleannain. Man, was I ever tired after that walk! What was I thinking...
After making some dinner and a much needed shower, I fell asleep pretty quickly. I woke during the night for a bathroom break (why is it that you always have to go while camping, but can sleep through the night fine when indoors?), and it was really raining down hard. I put on my sandals and hopped out of my tent. As soon as I was walking behind my tent, I stepped in a huge puddle. Ankle deep! I switched on my headlamp to take a look around. Was I ever glad I picked a higher level of gound for my tent! The whole grassy area from the back of my tent on was a small pond. The water actually went up under my tent a bit, but luckily was only about 2.5 cm deep. Well, looked like my tent was being put to the test on it's waterproof flooring. I just had to wait until the morning to see if I awoke wet and cold.
I could hear a lot of splashing around in front of my tent as well. I faced the river and I wondered if the local fresh water otters were playing around.
Fortunately, all my research for my camping gear paid off, and I was bone dry. I was very happy with my tent. No water inside. I was glad to pack up my stuff however. Another night of rainfall like that, and I would be swimming in my tent. The water level would just be too high and would meet the mesh lining.
Once all packed up, I went for another stroll but near the campsite. I took the Fairy Knowe trail following along the river. It was a nice flat trail, so relaxing. Good way to wake up. I then went up Doon Hill to see all the tributes people had left for the fairies. Some of the Scottish people believe in fairy culture. Believed that the fairies would take your loved ones who passed on to this hill, where their spirits would be set free with the fairies in the afterlife.
At the top on the hill, all kinds of trinkets and ribbons were tied to the trees with blessings, wishes or in remembrance of someone. A man had just finished his commune with the fairies, and he had a spare ribbon that he gave to me to tie to a tree. That was very kind of him. We talked a little, and then he left to give me my space for my remembrance offering. I picked the largest tree to tie my ribbon on. Thinking of my family's recent losses of grandpa and aunty Ann. I wished for their peace and happiness where ever they may be and that they'd be together.
I read some on the other ribbons as well. People wishing for a baby, for a loved one's health, a little girl wished for a dog, people wishing for help for starving children, true love and happiness, etc. It was touching.
I soon headed back to camp, said goodbye to the staff at reception, whom were so caring, and drove to Loch Lomond. Queen Elizabeth Forest Park has free camping restrictions. Due to it's close proximity to Glasgow, the park has a lot of people coming up for the weekends who trash the place. Leaving garbage and liqueur bottles lying around and cutting trees for wood burning. Some don't use proper fire pits and burn too much around wooded areas so a bylaw was passed that no wild camping was permitted in certain boundaries of the park. Shame that people behave that way. You come out to places like this to get away from the city... not to bring the chaos of what you see in a city to nature.
As a result, I went to the information office and booked one night at Sallochy. It was the cheapest place I could find at £5 a night.
Once I arrived, I picked a lakeside site and put up my tent. A few midges were about, but they didn't bother me too much. Only if I stayed still for too long, then they'd bite me. They're awfully tiny, but do leave a good bite. But again, after having the mango rash, I didn't find their bites very itchy at all.
I found the wooded area much prettier around this area than in the Trossachs. There were many hiking trails, including one following along the east side of the lake, but my throat was a bit sore and my body was very tired. I did a lot of walking the day before so I listened to my body and just rested. Enjoyed the peace and quiet, walked around the beach and went to bed early.
The next morning was lovely. The clouds cleared up and the sun came out. It was fairly windy, so clouds came and went quickly allowing the sun to shine. I was feeling more rested and looking forward to my hike up Conic Hill. I packed up, ate breakfast and drove back to the info centre to park. I popped into the centre to make sure I took the right direction to Conic Hill and asked the rangers if they could be my buddies. Always good to have someone know where you are when hiking alone. I told them I'd only be about 1-2 hours and they were happy to watch out for my return.

It wasn't a difficult walk, but it was very muddy, slippery and windy so I was careful. And what a sight to behold once at the top! A fantastic panoramic view of Loch Lomond and it's surrounding woodlands. I would have loved to have a picnic up there, but with that cool gusty wind so strong, it was best to have lunch elsewhere.
I popped back into the centre to chat up the rangers and let them know I was safe. One, named Dougie, was very friendly and we exchanged numbers. He said he'd like to keep up with me on my journey in Scotland and maybe at some point, he could meet me somewhere and go on a hike together. At the very least, I made a new friend, so I thought it was a great idea. I hopped back into my car and started my drive to Oban at the coast. I drove along the west side of Loch Lomond to Tarbet, where I had a stretch and ate lunch.
Then decided to go west to Inveraray. The view driving along the outskirts of Argyll Forest Park was gorgeous! I loved the green valley. I had to pull over in a rest stop to enjoy it. Just couldn't pass the view up. I had a feeling this was gong to happen a lot on my upcoming journey.
And indeed, I made another stop in Inveraray to look at Inveraray castle. Argyll is Clan Campbell domain, and the Duke of Argyll has had his seat here since the 17th century. I didn't go inside, but this Neo-Gothic building was stunning.

While passing through Loch Awe, I made a pit stop at St. Conan's Kirk. It's a church of Scotland and is situated on a craig above the loch surrounded by trees, ivy and flowers. It was very peaceful and I really like the designs carved into the stones on the outside.
I arrived into Oban soon after. I drove to Oban Caravan & Camping Park and booked a night there. I needed to do some laundry and figured this would be a good place to do it. The campsite was up on a hill beside the ocean shore. Lovely spot. I picked a spot for my tent that had part of the hill blocking the wind and pitched my tent. Seeing how it was time for dinner, I ate, charged my batteries up then went to bed early.
This morning, I hand washed all my laundry, hung it up in the car and am going to spend the day exploring this seaside town my grandmother was from.