On a rainy Saturday morning Paul & Stevie drove to the Galloway Forest in the heart of the Galloway ranges. To climb The Merrick which is the highest mountain in the Galloway Hills and is a Corbett – over 2500 feet

This popular ascent from Loch Trool provides the easiest route up to gain a panorama that includes much of the Galloway Forest as well as across to Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.

Starting at 11.30 am to cover the 13.25km / 8.25 miles distance and a climb of 875 metres, we gradually walked through the forest gaining height but unfortunately couldn’t see much due to the low visibility as the mist fell rapidly.

Once clear of the forest and into open ground, the weather further deteriorated so waterproof clothing was quickly adorned and we set off again, slowly gaining height.

On the ascent we met 3 different groups of hillwalkers, some of whom had heard of our West Highland Way Walk, via the Celtic Foundation and social media and eagerly sponsored our efforts.

Once at the top, a well-deserved hot cup of tea was had, prior to a hastily arranged photograph, taken by one of fellow hill-walkers.

After-which a quite speedy descent took us to the starting point at Bruce’s Stone, where we pitched our tents and drank more hot tea, before packing up and heading home.

Our fellow team mates Father Frank & Gordon were both too busy to accompany us on this training day. Their banter and company were definitely missed!

However other training days are being organised prior to our start date 20th September.

You can sponsor the team by clicking here