Walking near Pitlochry

Last weekend I went back to Pitlochry to do some walking. I had passed through Pitlochry twice before but only stopped long enough to grab some food and then continue on. I had noticed, when stopping for food, that there were many trails that started and ended in the town so I took the train up, picked the Bealach Trail and started walking. I really enjoyed the walk - it went up in to the hills (and snow!) and then back along a river valley.

Snow! It was so peaceful and quiet.

Back below the snow line

The River Gary (what you can't see is the bungee
jump platform a bit further down the river)

A lot of trails in the UK go through farm fields used for grazing sheep or other livestock and this is never my favorite part of any trail. Sheep freak me out. They generally out number you and just stand there staring creepily at you. Plus some of them have horns. I asked a co-worker once whether you should be aggressive around sheep or avoid eye contact and back away slowly (like when you encounter a bear). He looked at me like I was nuts and said "They're sheep. You just walk by them."

The majestic (and creepy) sheep

I also had an encounter with some ducks on the trail. Like sheep, birds also tend to freak me out a little (maybe my healthy respect for nature is becoming a bit unhealthy) but I figured I could win in a fight with a couple of ducks (maybe not horse-sized ducks but these were duck-sized ducks so I was pretty confident). I was resting on a bench and three ducks came out of the water, waddled right up to my feet and promptly fell asleep. It was really sweet.

My three feathered friends.

Ducks apparently sleep standing on one leg.