Grass, pasture, heath and bracken splashed the landscape withs vibrant tones of gold, emerald and amber which, in the East, bathed in the morning haze.

For once, in short, the general conditions had lent themselves to a trek in the hilly back country that stretched above Greenock, during which one could indulge in the full possibilities of exploration and discovery. A trek not unlike the Corlic Road walk  organized by the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park and led by the deftly ranger guides Mike and John and which was, by all standard, considered a moderate walk.

For all that, I nearly missed it. I woke up late and was slow to get up. I ended up rushing and had to take a cab to get to the meeting place for the walk where Kathleen, Fiona and Allan from the Greenock Cut volunteer Group had already arrived.

The four hours trek took us from concrete road, country paths that still bore, here and there frozen puddles, hillside assent alternatively covered with long grass or heath, earth tracks and back to concrete, a short section of the Old Largs, where we finally reached our starting point. There were a few stops, along the way, which included a vantage point affording a spectacular view of the Clyde Valley, the Cowal peninsula and the Southern Highlands, a lunch at the top of Corlic Hill, ancient ruins of Burnhead and Glenbrae farmstead that lay not very far from the Gryffe reservoir (more information, including a the mapped circuit, is available on Gillian walks blog)