15/01/2022
It was straight out of bed and to the arts and craft table this morning. No time for breakfast.
It had been warmer this week, by warmer, we mean 6, 7, 8°C. Warm enough that it sadly melted all the snow and ice away. It was a dreich day, but we thought it would be safer trying to find The Whangies this morning than it was last week when the Auchineden Hill was covered in ice.
This morning: “Dad, no like roof on, no like this house, roof off Dad”
As we set off, we received a few comments from friendly Glaswegians who were either jealous of Eloise’s arrangement or were hinting we needed warmer clothes. You get quite warm carrying the Heffalump and singing “we’re going on a bear hunt” (the family favourite) continuously for an hour. Plus Eloise does not like a slow and steady walk up the centre of the path, you have to zip from side to side, forwards and backwards to keep her entertained. Otherwise, she stops giggling gets bored and starts ripping your hair out.
It was only a 2 hour, 180m walk and two out of five on the boot hiking rating. Although, it was rated three out of five on bog factor “there are sections which can be very wet. Waterproof boots recommended”. We can confirm it was boggy. We could sense we were getting close to finding the mysterious Whangie.
As we approached the entrance to The Whangie, we decided it was now a good time for Eloise to burn some energy.
This might be one for the slow television enthusiasts.
They say there are “wonderful views towards Loch Lomond, the Highlands and the Campsies”.
The Whangie’s turned out to be a great playground for Eloise, although we had to be mindful of the big drops. We found a clearing where we could deploy Darryl.
Sophie, Liam and Lachlan were very hungry at this stage. Queen Eloise I was doing great, her royal highness had all the snacks she could dream of in her hiking carrier. With a hit of Dad’s head, another snack would appear at request. We skipped quickly down the hill and rushed home resisting the temptations of hot drinks on the way. It is nice having short walks like these only six miles away.
“The Whangie in the north of the Kilpatricks is of particular interest to geologists and casual walkers alike. It consists of a slice of the hillside that has been separated from the main slope. This has created a narrow chasm up to 10 metres (33 ft) high and about 100 metres (330 ft) in length through which visitors can walk. It has commonly been explained as result of glacial plucking, but more recent research indicates that a translational landslide was the cause. During an ice age, a glacier slowly undermined the crag, opening up cracks in the rock and causing this chasm to form. The etymology of the Whangie’s name is obscure but it might derive from the old Scots for slice (as in whang o’ cheese). Local folklore suggests that it was created by the devil flicking his tail as he flew past.”
Exhausted, we flicked on the TV to see the Go Jetters searching for Nessi at Lach Ness. Lachlan was sad they did not invite him.
It must have been a big day with both kids fast asleep in their beds by 19:30.
Great seeing these lovely walks Sophie and Liam. Thankyou for the Scottish translation! Dreich! Also lovely to see Lachlan and Eloise growing week by week. Thankyou for your efforts to keep this blog coming. It has quite a following.
I am impressed by the budding mountaineer and guide. Clearly keeping mum and Lach safe on those slippery paths. Eloise is quite the “Dora the Explorer”. Lucky she had her donkey when things go tough. But clearly treating him mean and keeping him keen was her game. Perhaps the donkey could have had a slice of the Whangie cheese to keep him going. Keep up the great blog, loving it! Lachie is certainly growing and animating.Love to you all!