Property of RKB

I Love The Lomonds © Robbie Kennedy Bennett




The Lomond Hills have two peaks, East and West Lomond and they are in central Fife.
West Lomond is the greater and can be seen for many miles.

For further information;
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lomond_Hills






One early May morning 2010 in the parish of Falkland the church clock chimed six times as I walked from my car. Once again I had travelled overnight to Fife, crossing the border about 3.00am, this time to climb the Lomonds. I had first mentioned them in my poem The Kingdom of Fife and I wanted to see for myself how good the views were from up there so I was hoping for a clear morning. I hadn’t done the best of homework and wasn’t sure where the best place to park my car would be for an easy access. I did find it a bit hard, as it is quite a short and steep climb from Falkland taking about an hour. I found myself damming Scotland for drawing me to challenges like this, as I’m not getting any younger. Far gone was the time when I was running marathon after marathon. The only real exercise I get these days are the daily dog walk and a 20minute work out at home before I set off to work.


With a fast beating heart and tired legs I paused a few times to see the magnificent view that was appearing behind me. I was told that my Great Grandfather would sit outside his house in Monkstown, Ladybank admiring the Lomonds; I wanted to climb the Lomonds for that very reason. To be up where he has looked at countless times. I was cursing a bit because as I was getting close to the top that there was some cloud forming in a southern easterly direction and moving around the hill. If I had any gas left as they say I would have put my foot on it but to be honest I was shattered.

It was noticeable when I did get to the summit of just under 1,400ft that the wind was stronger the south side of East Lomond. The views from there over the Ballo and Harperleas Reservoirs were spectacular, well worth suffering for a while from aching joints and breathlessness. And guess what? I’d forgot to bring my camera so pictures taken from my mobile phone had to do.


© Robbie Kennedy Bennett

Dam Ye Scotland ©

I have to catch my breath
my heart is beating fast,
dam ye Scotland dam ye
the damming didnae last.

Drawn again to challenge
or peace of mind to come,
but dam ye Scotland dam ye
at this time it is nae fun.

Step, by step, in a rut, I put my sole of a shoe.
I cannae lie, oh my, o’er Fife there’s a grand view.
Falkland up to East Lomond,
tough, for the age of this man,
if an eye is looking at East Lomond
on the peak of it, there I am.

A wee speck that’s well out of breath
at this time it is nae fun.
dam ye Scotland dam ye
dam glad, I am, that I come.


© Robbie Kennedy Bennett


From there I followed the trail passing disused quarries and down to Craigmead car park making my way by road back to Falkland. By this time I had recovered from the climb and was appreciating the tranquil sound of running water and birds singing. I was being looked on as suspicious by the ewes and their lambs in the field on the outskirts of Falkland. This wee trek really did ease the working stress of the past year.
I decided to leave West Lomond about 1,700ft to some other time giving me a reason to pay Fife another visit.

Within a short while I walked into Kingskettle Cemetery and like a lot of places in Fife there is a fine view of the Lomonds. I read my ancestors gravestone, having only found it in recent years and thought about people I had never met. Certainly many times in their life they would have looked at the Lomonds, those two peaks of volcanic origin that dominate the skyline, and now I’ve been up there, what a feeling.

Next stop was Ladybank where I sat on a bench by the war memorial eating a sausage roll that I had purchased for breakfast. Soon I was driving south arriving back in Codsall about 2.30pm. In our dining room is a water coloured painting of the Lomonds by Leslie Broadfield, a relation of mine from a photograph that I had taken. I have studied it many times and thought that I should climb up there sometime, now I can say I have.

Another wee trek fascinated by Fife,
My ancestral kingdom is alive in my life.









POETIC WRITING OF ROBBIE KENNEDY BENNETT ©
www.rkbpoetry.co.uk

www.scotlands-enchanting-kingdom.com/in-my-blood.html

www.poetryofscotland.co.uk/bennett.php

www.footballpoets.org/p.asp?Id=22949

www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/blackcountrybugle-news/displayarticle.asp?id=104273

www.fifetoday.co.uk/east-fife-mail-news/Wolverhampton-wanderer-muses-on-coastal.3926209.jp

www.wolvesheroes.com/2009/01/13/an-ode-to-hugh/#more-2360

pub10.bravenet.com/forum/849684916/show/1013616

www.smartcommunityfife.org.uk/collessie-and-letham/history/

www.smartcommunityfife.org.uk/ladybank/history/