We got some great weather on Friday, so we traded our usual park visit for a trip to Muirshiel Country Park. Since the park is really more of a nature preserve, we stopped off at the visitor center to get snacks and check if there were any special regulations for dogs. It turned out that dogs are very welcome – as evidenced by the full water bowl just outside the center – but must be kept on lead. That’s not really much of a restriction for Beagle owners – you’d have to be very brave to let a Beagle off lead any place there’s sheep, and more to the point, sheep droppings.

Various walks are marked out in the park, and we chose Windy Hill as our first port of call. The approach to the hill was very easy, and surprisingly short, with nice views opening up as soon as you’ve cleared the trees.

Although Windy Hill is not very high (1K) it is, as its name suggests, very bloody windy. Not a good place to blow your nose at all. Despite its modest height, you get a truly spectacular view from the top.

And if you’ve got a Beagle, you also get to spend the entire walk back down trying to restrain your beast from going after the sheep, the squirrels and any other creatures she happens to spot.

We spent another hour or so in the park checking out the other signposted walks. It’s certainly a great place to visit if you’ve got a dog. New sights and smells around every corner..

..but if yours can’t resist sticking her nose through fences, be prepared to have to extract assorted twigs and grass from her mouth before she can pull her head back through!

Uh, thank you very much…

Back home, we got a lovely email with some more pics of Biggles – playing with his new toy:

The forecast for Saturday told us to expect a hot sunny day, and for once the weathermen got it right. We decided to take advantage of the good weather by taking Beanie for a walk up Ben Lomond.

Ben Lomond is one of the most accessible mountains in Scotland – it has a well worn, gently winding path – but the walk to the summit and back takes a good 4-5 hours, so we packed extra water and treats for ourselves as well as Beanie.

We got there a little later than planned but happily still managed to get a parking place, and set off. From the start all the way up to the summit, Beanie positively charged up the mountain. I don’t know why, but she really loves to climb – it’s much more than just the lure of fresh, free-range sheep poo that keeps her going onwards and upwards.

After a while though even she started to feel the heat. We stopped for a breather at one point and Beanie found a pool of muddy water. Rather than standing at the edge and drinking from it as she usually would – and given a choice between fresh clean water and a mucky pond, she’ll take the pond every time – she waded right in up to her neck. When she emerged she was coated in mud, though thankfully she shook off the excess before she came into contact with anybody else. I suppose there’s a first time for everything :)

On park walks I often tell people that Beanie is virtually self cleaning, though I’m sure they don’t believe me. Well, here’s the proof. This is Beanie at the summit:

We didn’t wipe her down, and she didn’t lick any of the mud off, but it’s nearly all gone! It must be a combination of her short coat and whatever oils she produces. Whatever the reason, it’s a good thing.

On the way up, Beanie really was an asset. She often found little deviations from the path that were easier on the legs, and she was pulling strongly enough that whoever was holding her lead noticeably quickened their pace, regardless of fatigue.

The path back down from the summit may have looked inviting…

..but it was just as punishing on the legs as the climb up, and a pulling Beagle doesn’t help when you’re trying to keep your balance. Beanie’s path finding abilities were still useful though. She took us on a couple of grassy shortcuts that were much easier, faster and probably safer than the standard rocky trail.

Although there wasn’t really any point on the walk when Beanie seemed to be tiring, when we got back home she flaked out completely. Ordinarily that would have given us a chance to get on with household chores in peace, but we were cream-crackered too and just vegged out in front of the telly.

Today was truly action packed, and as I write this Beanie is fast asleep in her crate, snoring gently.

In the morning, we drove over to Derwent Water and walked up the “Cat Bells“. The walk was listed in the short & sweet category of our guide book, but certain parts turned out to be unexpectedly taxing due to erosion of the path. Taxing for us that is. Beanie powered her way up even the steepest sections with ease. Every time I looked up to wipe the sweat from my brow I saw a small but perfectly formed Beagle bum disappearing over the next rocky ledge.

When we took a break before the final push to the summit, Beanie hurriedly gulped down some water from her bowl then strained at her lead, eager to continue.

At the summit, Beanie engaged in the time honored ritual of lead tangling with a young Spaniel while we took in the truly spectacular views.

You can tell experienced dog handlers by their lead untangling ability

View from the summit of Cat Bells

Beanie had helped pull us up to the summit and now she was just as determined to help pull us back down. This nearly led us to adopt the “feet-hands-arse” descent technique on several occasions, but somehow we made it without any incidents, and went to Coniston for lunch at the dog-friendly Bluebird Cafe. On the way there we ran into a lovely couple of Beagles: Cindy, and Patrick (aka Paddy) who was just about the biggest Beagle I’ve ever seen. His paws looked like they belonged to a Labrador, but his size didn’t phase Beanie and she went straight into a wrestling clinch as we talked to his owners.

Patrick the model Beagle

Apparently Patrick has done some modeling for the Pets at Home chain of pet shops, so we’ll be keeping an eye out for his mugshot next time we’re there!

While at the cafe, we discovered that dogs are allowed on boat rides round Coniston, or as the operators put it: “dogs are welcome, so are well behaved owners”. Dogs get to ride on the boats for just fifty pence – unless they’re flat-coated retrievers, who get to ride for free. Why? Well it turns out the founders of Coniston Launch had three such dogs – Saga, Folly and Epic – who used to be regulars on the boats, and the free-ride rule was set up in their honor. It’s a lovely story, and Beanie certainly enjoyed the experience, not to mention all the attention she got from the other passengers.