We headed up to Mugdock for our ‘usual walk’ on a Sunday afternoon. It was the first weekend without rain for ages and, surprisingly, even the sun had decided to come out. The low winter sun, combined with the blue sky and the odd dotted cloud looked very promising. From the South Lodge Car Park, we wandered up to Mugdock Castle with Lola roaming through the fields chasing shadows. At the castle, the low sun provided a wonderful red glow on the tree lined driveway across the crest of the hill and on the fabulous dead wood on the side of the driveway. A good opportunity for some shots, although the chilly wind drove us on fairly quickly.
We continued our walk downhill, along the side of the castle and across the swamp. Of course Lola decided to jump of the wooded walkway to run through the black mud. Even a splash in the stream at the other end of the swamp couldn’t clean her up. Sadly, we were just too late for any good shots down there, as the sun had already disappeared behind the hill and trees, leaving the swamp in a bitter cold darkness.
We were all starting to feel the cold, particularly when exposed in the wind, so we decided to give our usual wander across the high moor and past the quarry a miss and walked back along the more sheltered East shore of Mugdock Loch instead. And a good choice it was, as the views across the loch to the castle were absolutely stunning as you can see.
The sun disapeared very quickly, so it was time to head back home to a hot shower for a muddy Lola and a hot cup of tea for us.
