The 2010 Challenge, day 7: Bridge of Gaur to Kinloch Rannoch (1)

Well, after breakfast, we said goodbye not just to our hosts, but to one another as well. The three of us all had different routes to follow. My own route was via the track up the Allt a Mheanbh-chruidh, round behind Leagag and through Rannoch Forest to Carie, and then by road into Kinloch Rannoch. I took this photograph looking towards the West end of Loch Rannoch just before the bridge over the River Gaur.

I passed the school and soon came to my track. It was obstructed by a gate, which was chained and locked. Nae bother - I quickly scrambled over the gate and proceeded up the track, which ran through rich, lush pasture. To my right there was about three metres of grass and then a multi-strand barbed wire fence. Ahead of me, cattle were grazing peacefully.

As I approached, it became apparent that the cattle who were grazing peacefully were not just cows. There were calves with them. And a bull.

My grandfather was a dairy farmer and I know a bit about cattle. I know that a bull in among a herd of cows is not likely to be dangerous, unless he feels threatened. The problem was, there was a calf ahead of me, sound asleep on the three metres of grass between the track and the barbed wire fence. And that was a problem. Because if I were to pass between him and the herd, then the bull might see that as threatening. But there was no way I could pass between the calf and the wire fence. And equally, there was no way I could get across that fence without risking serious lacerations.

As I said, my grandfather was a dairy farmer and I know a bit about cattle. So I turned around and retraced my path to the road. There is a track up the Allt Camghouran, and I reckoned that my best bet was to follow the road as far as this track, and to get into Rannoch Forest that way.