Galloway Forest Park.White Laggan.Millfore.

This is one from mid October I've not got around to posting until now. Seeing a good weather window of two days Alex fancied a bothy he'd never been into, White Laggan , in the middle of Galloway forest park.This is the largest area of wild land in Britain south of the Scottish Highlands but you could say the same for the whole of the southern uplands. Having no Munro's this region tends to be much quieter than the highlands nowadays, particularly in the peak summer months.
The view above was taken on the track to the bothy looking towards the Silver flow and Craignaw.
Alex suggested taking the bikes and cycling in from Clatteringshaws Loch so this is what we did.

It was almost dark by the time we arrived and I took this picture of the moon. Quite impressed with a pocket camera just braced against a tree that I managed to get a good zoom of the craters on the moon so clearly but it was huge and vast, an autumnal giant hanging above the forest. This is of course a dark skies park.

White Laggan is a bothy I've been into before a couple of times. Its well situated for the surrounding hills and is basic but has everything you need for a few nights in the wilds. Its also just off the Southern Upland Way making it a handy stopover for backpackers. On the cycle in I soon discovered I didn't have any brakes at all on my mountain bike for some reason but I got by using my feet either side of the pedals as emergency stops which didn't do the soles of my boots any favours on the rough land rover track but kept me from picking up too much speed on the downhill's. Luckily the gradients were not that steep.
In the bothy we met Jordan and Kate, a young couple from Manchester who were exploring the district. This couple we shared the bothy with and one other girl we met on the hill were the only people we spotted in the area over two days. Not bad. Must have been a mad rush towards the area on those two days.

In ancient times this area had a much bigger population when it was even wilder and more remote than it is today. No land rover tracks and few paths ran across it when the tribes of Galloway occupied it and they had a deserved reputation for being even fiercer fighters than the highland clans. I tried to find a good link to this but couldn't find one that gave all the information needed in one article so here's my half remembered version instead.
They demanded and received the dubious right to be first into battle during every war fought and old accounts tell of near naked Galwegians running into battle with a collection of arrows sticking from their torsos yet still actively hacking arms, heads, and legs off the enemy until they eventually succumbed to blood loss. The word berserker comes to mind. The King of Galloway (Fergus if I remember it correctly)  was also reputed to have once chewed the nose off a messenger sent by the King of Norway who demanded that Galloway fall under his control or he would send a thousand long ships to decimate the area. The unlucky emissary, minus his nose, was sent back with the message that it would be just as easy for Galloway to muster a thousand ships then raid Norway. In other words bring it on big man. The King of Norway declined as he quite liked his subjects without teeth marks and missing facial parts. The Romans ,after a few costly skirmishes, simply ringed it off then by passed the region as they pressed further north, deciding it wasn't worth the effort trying to subdue such an unruly population with such an unproductive upland as the prize.
 This long lasting reputation over the centuries may have given rise to the story of Sawney Bean ( which simply translates as Alexander the killer)  and his family who reputedly lived in a cave under Bennane head and supposedly  killed and ate  hundreds of travellers before the males were executed and the women and children burned alive. There is no record that this family ever existed however though several isolated tales of starvation and cannibalism around this region by unfortunate individuals in the distant past are probably nearer the truth .If you were faced with a life or death choice in the middle ages its not inconceivable you would be tempted. But that is more to do with desperation than any wilful act.
There is a legend of a hairy tree  however that was planted in Girvan by Sawney bean's eldest daughter who escaped the fate of her family. Many years later the townspeople discovered who she was and hanged her from her own tree bringing an end to her deception. This tree has not been found either but the legend persists as several attempts have been made locally to find it.

The next morning we set off on foot to climb Millfore. The proper path sets off behind and uphill from the bothy but we  took a mans route straight up through the forest to reach Cairnbaber then the line of crags ,the strangely named Buckdas of Cairnbaber. Alex didn't care for this forest much but it was an adventurous way up the hill with much crawling and thrashing involved. Good fun.

This is an easier section of  the forest where we could walk upright. I like that thrill you get when you are not sure if you are going to find a way through to the other side and the days trip hangs in the balance then you find a little streambed  twisting under the tightly packed trees and crawl up it to freedom, Shawshank Redemption style. Alex prefers to stay upright however and did not savour this section much. He doesn't like getting dirty.

We soon reached the top  of Millfore and looked down on our fellow blogger Jims house. Howdy! :0)
We also met a girl up here who knew a friend of ours and worked in the same office in Inverness as he did. Hi BD. Its a small world in outdoor circles. Three random folk in a vast area and one of them knows one of our friends.
Alex went on to climb Curleywee but as it was a sizable descent then re-ascent up this I only did the first bit, watched him slogging upwards then went down to the bothy to pack up and read my paper in front of the fire. So glad I'm no longer a bagger! Happy days.

When he returned we packed up and cycled out. This is one of Alex cycling out. When I took this photo of him he got a bit narked. 'Why do you always post photos of me walking uphill with the bike?' He wanted to know. 'That gives a bad impression to our readers as if we are not fit and we are just two old tramps shuffling around Scotland. I'm super fit for my age.'
'Its not intentional.' I replied. 'Its just anytime I turn round on a hill you're always walking up it.'
'Don't you dare post that photo of me walking. Take one of me cycling up it instead.'
'OK'

As requested here's one of Alex cycling up the next hill. I have to point out however as a truthful blogger as soon as this photo was taken it was back to walking power again. Mind you he was knackered from doing that extra hill. He had the satisfaction of beating me on the downhill sections however as I was still without brakes and was concerned about picking up too much velocity.
Which reminds me of a true Gordon Strachan quote when he was asked by a sports reporter if he had time for a quick word after a match in which his players had failed to shine presumably.
'Yeah. Velocity.' He replied, quickly shooting out the door to his car. Now that's style!

On the way back to Glasgow we were treated to a stunning view of the Lowther hills washed with the last rays of the setting sun before we dropped down into Thornhill for a well earned takeaway at the chip shop. Steak pie and chips for me. Sausage supper for Alex I think.

Then back to Glasgow in the dark along the motorway. A fine trip.