THROUGH THE BLACK GLEN - In The Shadow of Creag Mac Ranaich

From Glen Dochart to the Braes of Balquhidder, a walk with views so stunningly beautiful it will make you cry.

We start our hike at Lix Toll, 3 miles out of Killin, and head west through Glen Dochart, following an old railway line that joins with another old railway line, once part of the Callander and Oban Railway, and pass the moss and fern-covered platform of Killin Junction railway station.

From there we head upwards through Gleann Dubh, or The Black Glen, in the shadow of the rocky crag of Creag Mac Ranaich, and reach a height of 600 metres before dropping down into Glen Kendrum.

There we join the Rob Roy Way close to Lochearnhead, and head south to the Kingshouse, by the Braes of Balquhidder.

Along the way we mourn the loss of the C60 bus that once ran between Killin, Lochearnhead, Kingshouse by Balquhidder, Strathyre and Callander, a bus service that no long runs. What has happened to Scotland's public transport system?

Are we looking at a modern version of the Highland Clearances, where people move away from an area with no public transport?

How can businesses in Tyndrum, Killin, Lochearnhead, Strathyre and Balquhidder survive when their workforce are unable to get to their work because there is no bus?