Callendar

Today was proof that one CAN go Rambling in Central Scotland in autumn and not get soaked, unlike last week. What was also remarkable (to me at any rate) about today's walk around Callendar Park and Callendar Wood in Falkirk was that fewer people turned out than went out on last week's drenching in Denny. Odd people Ramblers!

However, today was not without its challenges. We turned up for our walk to find the car parks full and closed, the reason being that there was a schools' cross-country championship taking place. There hadn't been any signs up on the approach, nor were there any signs around the park when the walk leader did her 'recce' at the weekend.

When we did assemble at the designated meeting point we found that we were sharing the park with several hundred primary school-age children - with the resultant decibel levels reaching ear-splitting proportions - and some last-minute re-routing of our planned walk was required. However, once we left Callendar Park and got into Callendar Wood things got a bit quieter, in all senses of the word. An excellent walk ensued.

We managed to grab a post-walk coffee at the kiosk just as the next batch of young people started to arrive for the secondary schools' competition. We made a swift exit and it was probably the fastest we had moved all day.