The Top of Criffel

The alarm went at 5:45am this morning and somehow I managed to get all the showering, shaving, breakfasting and packing-the-car stuff done in 45 minutes so that I was driving up Dundas Street by half-past six.

Dumfries wasn't as far away as I thought and I was at the Royal Infirmary by 8:30am. The training course was smooth and good-humoured. One participant was even nice enough to write on her evaluation form: "Neil is a natural presenter!"

We were done by 4:30pm. And because by then the weather had improved quite a bit, I decided to climb Criffel, an 1800ft hill about 10 miles south of Dumfries.

Criffel was not a pushover! It was steep and boggy. A real "squelch squerch" ascent. But I was up in in an hour and back down in 45 minutes, so maybe I'm not a complete and utter physical wreck. Not yet anyway.

The views across the Solway and towards the Lake District were totally excellent. A real feeling of air and space.