We parked at the Buzzard's nest car park, which is an easier starting point for the girls (and me!). It was very busy and I was happy to see so many young kids out with their folks. After a bit of faffing around with my gaiters and my backpack, and trying to stop Nethy tying herself in knots around the bikes we set off. It's a very tough start as you have no warm up, just steep uphill from the very beginning. You only have to run a few hundred yards on the fire road and then there are two branches off the road - one for the mountain bikes and one for walkers. Although mtbs are not strictly supposed to ride the walking trail I guess it's just too tempting for some of them, so unfortunately a lot of the route was churned up by the tyres.
We were soon deep in the forest, and it was very dark and chilly. For the first few miles you can occasionally hear a biker whooping or shouting in the distance, but before long the sound disappeared and Nethy and I were well and truly alone. The trail takes you in and out of the forest cover and when we did run out into the open we caught amazing glimpses of the valleys and hillsides below. The only person we met on the trail was a woman coming in the opposite direction a few miles in. She'd lost her two dogs. I said I'd keep an eye out, but although I wanted them to be reunited safely I was hoping I didn't come across them as I couldn't work out how I'd get them back to her safely. Nethy is nervous of other dogs and would not have been happy to share her space with them. As it turned out we never saw them and the woman was still looking when we got back to the car park :(
On the way around the trail I noticed that Christmas decorations had been hung randomly on some of the trees. It was very pretty and Nethy and I kept our eyes peeled for the rest of the run to try and spot as many as we could. We finally reached the highest point of the trail at Shieldgreen Kipps and from here there is a lovely long decent to the Shieldgreen centre. This was where Nethy and I got lost last time we ran here. We ended up running aimlessly in circles for half and hour before we got some directions from a couple of walkers! The problem is that the path double backs on itself at the Shieldgreen Centre and we missed the marker. This time it seemed much more obvious and I cursed myself again for not seeing it last time! The track is pretty undulating from this point on. You run through some more forest on single track, and then finally you're back onto the fire road which heads uphill gently (but by this time my legs were like lead!) back to the point where the path splits at the very start of the route. Then it's downhill to the Buzzard's nest and back into the crowds of mountain bikers.
I was exhausted by the time we got back to the van. It wasn't long before Matt and the girls returned looking very pleased after a good ride on their bikes. One of the great things about having a camper van is the mobile cafe you have with you 24/7. Hot tea and grilled bagels with hummus and Swiss cheese soon got me feeling human again. I watched in pity as the poor buggers with cars stood around eating soggy sandwiches and drinking water from their muddy bottles! haha
A trip to Glentress is never complete without a cake at the cafe. I like the swanky new set up but I still have fond memories of the old 'Hub' which was essentially a portacabin with a veranda. Still, it was warm and friendly and the food was in plentiful supply, plus the cakes were a lot better than the offerings in the new Forestry Commission cafe. I noticed on the drive out that the building is no longer there. Some call it progress but I'm not so sure :(
Despite the fact the run was relatively short (9km), the steep hills and the rough terrain makes it a tough circuit. I could have opted for a 12 miler out in the local East Lothian countryside, but give me a forested hill any day! Bliss!
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