There were 18 of us, and one dog. Our mission was to climb Munduff Hill, then Bishop Hill. Leaving from the village of Portmoak, in the fair kingdom of Fife, we set off at a brisk pace.

The weather was near perfect; a nice crisp sunny winters day, but with a biting wind. Some of the group were so covered up against the cold, as to be barely recognisable. One of our party it was observed, had put on her balaclava on inside out. The lady concerned was entirely oblivious to the fact.

Our walk organiser for the day turned out to be a fountain of knowledge with regard to the local history and geology of the area. The first interesting fact was that the man who invented Tetley tea, lived in the area in the 1700s.  We reached the summit of Munduff hill, then onwards to Bishop hill. At this point, there was a secret path which we took into the forest. We found ourselves in an oasis of calm, away from the chill wind. There stood before us a giant golf ball structure. I have often wondered what these things were. You can see them from the roadside scattered about the country. Our organiser informed us it was a weather radar station.

After a very welcome cup of tea, we ventured back into the wind. We were met by a constant stream of runners on a hill race. Above us at any one time, about six gliders were soaring silently above us. One of the gliders was so near, the pilot could be seen waving at us!

The view from the top of the hill was breath-taking; we could see in all directions, including the far away mountains still covered in snow, and Loch Leven below us. We then headed West along the plateau past a pinnacle of rock known as the Carlin Maggie. This is where witches were burned. As far as I’m aware, this practice no longer takes place.

Eventually we headed downwards with the usual slips and slides on a steep descent in places. Then we headed in a loop, back through the town.

In summary a cracking day out was had by all. A great walk with lots of interesting points of interest, embellished with little nuggets of information from our excellent organiser. Always a good day with the Clackmannanshire Hillwalking Club, affectionately known as the Clackies for short.

Next week: We are running a bouldering session on Tuesday night and have the clubs official AGM on Saturday but as ever you can check out our busy schedule of events and find out more about the club at http://www.meetup.com/Clackmannanshire-Hill-Walking-Club/ or www.facebook.com/ClackmannanshireHillwalking.