The Four Lochs

Friday 4^th July

This is another of those rides that I did years ago and thinking about it inspired me to do it again.

The last time I did this trail was with my son Duncan in the winter of 2009, when I was training to become a Trail Cycle Leader. That year the four Lochs were frozen over which was a very memorable sight.

                                                    Duncan aged 17 in 2009

                                                        Loch Lumford in 2009 

                                                 

I parked the car at the forest lodge. As I got out the car I was attacked by midges for the first time this year. It’s the fastest I’ve ever got my gear ready as I was only wearing shorts and a cycle top, not much protection from these little shits.

Following the trail up towards Loch Harrow the midges became a distant memory as they disappeared. They only came back a few times during the ride when I stopped at certain stages to take pictures. As I got to Loch Harrow I was surprised to see the water level a lot lower than it was in 2009. From Loch Harrow I then worked my way over to Loch Lumford, which again was very low on water.

                                                                Loch Harrow

                                                              Loch Lumford

I then made my way round towards Craigmaharb and back towards the forest lodge where I came upon a statue of a Highlander in full Highland dress.

                                          The statue of a Highlander at the forest lodge

Continuing along the forest track I made up hill to Loch Dungeon which has totally changed since my last visit. It now has a new embankment and sluice gates. This is where I had my first coffee break. (no midges)

                                                  Coffee break at Loch Dungeon

                                                               Loch Dungeon

I then decided to continue uphill to a memorial stone that was marked on the map. This memorial is to the memory of Ralph Forlow who was a 17 year old shepherd boy who lost his life in the hills during a storm in 1954.

                                                    The Memorial to Ralph Forlow

                                                   The Dedication to Ralph Forlow

From the memorial I backtracked to Loch Dungeon then on to Loch Minnoch, again the water level was very low. From Loch Minnoch it was mainly down hill and what a fantastic down hill it was. (very fast on loose stones) The down hill section took me back to the forest lodge where I had parked the car.

                                                               Loch Minnoch

The only down side to this ride was the midges. If I do it again I think it would be early April or Winter so that I would miss the midge season.