04/03/23
Oh what a beautiful morning. Sun shining, ground crisp with frost, views for miles and miles.
New route today as we headed to North Third to the southwest of Stirling. A couple of ‘borrowed’ Strava maps pieced together made a plan and led to a stunning 11km looped run.
There isn’t an official carpark so we parked in the laybys near North Third reservoir although this route could be started at any parking spot along it. We started by heading up to the trig on Lewis Hill. Below us were the Crags and this offered our first view across the Stirlingshire countryside. We then meandered our way through Middlethird woods with lots of forestry mountain biking trails and tracks. A mixture of ups and downs, technical and easy sections. Lots of map checking to keep us on track with the odd rogue adventures. Every so often we’d bump into a dog walker, biker or runner all out enjoying the morning.
Final part was a round the North Third reservoir passing sheep and lots of very noisy geese. Looking up we could see the Crags and the hill we started on. A few board walks and bridge to cross. The water looked ideal for a dip but might save that for a warmer day.
Absolutely loved it and can’t wait to run it again. Next time I’ll bring a picnic, towel and a change of clothes. Now onto parenting duties and off to a swim comp….
