The ups and downs of 2012

Well, what’s been happening in 2012 then?

The year didn’t start awfully well, David was still working south of the border and my misery during his absence was growing. However, we carried on.

Rhiannon had another big year educationally and again acquitted herself exceptionally well. She’s now enjoying her last year at school. She also finally managed to get herself a weekend job. She likes the money.

Aedan really started to get to grips with his Duke of Edinburgh and quickly had his skill, physical and volunteering activities signed off. His expedition came much later in the year and having achieved his bronze award with ease, he is now getting stuck into his silver. He also got a weekend job and enjoys the experience and freedom it affords him.

Ciara was a great help and comfort while David was still down south and she has also started her Duke of Edinburgh award. The poor thing is an educational guinea pig as they try out the new Curriculum for Excellence on her year group. She’s brilliant, don’t know how successful the new curriculum will be.

Conall has started his last year in Primary school and is being prepared for the local Academy. Joy.

We finally managed to climb Bynack Mor and had a great time doing so. I completed my second Challenge, but it was during a really hard period of time. I proved myself somewhat mule like as I was determined not to lose face in front of strangers, but I’ve learnt to wear the right boots next time. And work to my own body clock.

Shortly afterwards I was not at all well. Luckily David was due to be move to a position much closer to home and was able to move much earlier than planned to love and care for me. He soon had me firing on all cylinders again and back to my old self.

There’s been some Guiding stuff for me and Ciara. I’ve become a fully fledged Guide helper and left the Brownies behind (phew) and with the Guides we’ve been to PGL at Dalguise (excellent fun) and Cally Rally at Dochgarroch (ridiculous fun!)

Walking, there’s been a bit.

At around this time we realised how much our children have grown up and that this then gives us more freedom to do our own thing. We’ve walked and we’ve camped and we’ve had an absolute ball. The Christening Trip was a giggle and backpacking from Blair Atholl to Kingussie via the Minigaig was just excellent fun. The return to Glen Affric was a shade damp but a giggle.

Laura has been around quite a bit this year and we have managed more walks together than ever before. It’s been a blast and we have made plans for so much more, I can’t wait.

 Then of course, there was The Envelope. Another exciting big walk to look forward to with a little planning on the side (best bit? Maybe!)

We went to see a gig in November, Bellowhead played Ironworks in Inverness. We had a meal at The Mustard Seed (‘we’ being David and I!) and then went to the gig. It was brilliant!

Sadly we had an unexpected trip to Grimsby at the beginning of December to attend the funeral of a dear family friend. We stayed in a slightly grim hotel at Scotch Corner but within walking distance (well, skating, it was extremely icy!) there was a nice pub where we had a fabulous meal.

The best bit?

Well, David coming home of course!

I don’t know, but I think really the new found freedom of having older children has been a complete revelation and will transform our lives, especially now that David and I can enjoy that together.

And to top off 2012, I’ve walked 1001.54 miles this year, with 65532.6 feet ascent, completed today with an 11.1 mile walk from Revack Lodge to Nethybridge and back. A new record for me. I can’t quote previous years because I’ve stored them on a separate hard drive that I can’t be bothered to plug in, but I think this is only the second year I’ve actually managed to keep a complete record. I’m getting better!

There’s probably lots I’ve forgotten, but overall, especially towards the end of the year, things have been good.

All the best for 2013 and probably see you there!

A Boxing Day stroll

It’s a long time since we’ve managed to walk on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, but it was the last walk that was a bit further from home. Not much and nowhere new, but it was a cracking day and well worth the effort.

We parked at the Visitor Centre car park at Glenmore and then set off around the eastern end of Loch Morlich to pick up a path that would eventually lead us to the Lairig Ghru path, where we would then head north again and to Coylumbridge, there picking up the cycle path to take us back to the car.

Meall a Bhuachaille

Towards Castle Hill

  TTS

Careful foot placement required

Lunch stop with turkey, stuffing, bread sauce and cranberry sauce sandwiches, lush!

11.9 miles, total ascent 803 feet, average 2.9 mph 4 hours 10 mins total time taken.

It was a really lovely day out!

Christmas Eve 2012

T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...

Merry Christmas to all xx

Mad litter lady on the loose

I have noticed on my daily walk the gradual increase in litter. There is always a slight increase during the wildfowling season, but there seems to have been an increase in general over the past few months.

It drives my to distraction.

What annoys me even more is the fact that I go out everyday and as soon as I start to see the odd bit of litter I remember that I have forgotten the bin bag and tough gardening gloves that I intend to carry everyday to collect the litter.

It’s an age thing. Sadly.

Today went a little differently.

I still got to the cycle path before I remembered I’d forgotten. Again. But this time, I found a carrier bag near my turning point, so I was able to use that to collect litter on my return trip.

I did get a few odd looks, but it’s okay, no one will recognise me, I was wearing sunglasses…

Litter collected over roughly 1.5 miles

I even separated out the recyclable bits. I feel virtuous today.

I deserve a treat. More cake!! Or chocolate…

Ls Belles attack Tom Trumper

Another last minute flourish of emails resulted in another drive out to Chapeltown of Glenlivet on yet another glorious day to meet the Other L for an attack on Tom Trumper. Who could resist a hill with such a fabulous name?

I was a little late, again, held up by slow traffic (not that I was speeding along in the icy conditions) and the low sun. The views of first Ben Wyvis and later the Cairngorms with their fresh dusting of snow was spectacular, especially the Cairngorms, whose tops were poking through a cloak of white, fluffy, cotton wool clouds. I was soon parking up beside The Van at East Auchavaich. We set off with a wonderful view of the hills this time, the frost sparkling in the blazing sunshine.

Braeval Distillery

As we passed the distillery we were overwhelmed by the fumes emitting from the chimneys, we were engulfed by a very potent whisky fragrance . As we staggered on we had difficulty continuing a coherent conversation. As we turned off to take the Lecht Mine path, we found a small field of rather impressive rams. As I took photographs of them, they rather unnervingly started moving towards us, possibly looking to be fed. Not wanting to become lunch, we moved on.

Well signed

Impressive but worryingly peckish

The next place of interest was the College of Scalan, a once forbidden Catholic Seminary. Laura knows more of the history of this secretive place. From there, we entered the Clash of Scalan, an area of ruins and juniper. Lots and lots of juniper. and it was spikey.

The College

Disused waterwheel

Area of ruins

Views and juniper

 

At the ruins there was, as is the norm on the Glenlivet estate, a waymark directing us, but it wasn’t going in the expected direction, so we chose to ignore it and continue along the stream where the path was shown on our maps. All four of them. Two of which are quite up to date. (At least one of the others was probably not…)

We continued up the Clash until we met a fence with gate. However, the gate was not going to be easily opened and there was no stile. This is again unusual for this particular estate and we were briefly puzzled but also determined to follow our route. Laura is understandably still a little careful of doing anything with too much risk, so after a little assessment (we tried the gate, discussed climbing up the steep hill to find a better crossing) I tried the wire fence for height. I could just about straddle it without too much indignity or discomfort so we decided Laura could too. And she did.

Trouble was, once over, we were faced with quite a vast area of overgrown heather and juniper. Where had the path disappeared to? No matter, we knew it followed the course of the stream, so long as we didn’t stray too far from that, we couldn’t go far wrong. After some tripping and prickling and stream hopping, we found a bit of a path through the heather higher up the slope. Probably a sheep or deer trod, but clear enough and going the right way.  A short while later, we were faced with another fence*, but this time, it seemed to follow the route of the path uphill that we were looking for. Ahead, up the hill a way, we could see what looked like another, well constructed track heading to the top of Tom Trumper, so we followed the fence up hill to meet it and soon found ourselves surveying the hills around us where the cairn should be.

 The Cairngorms

There was a slight, but chilly breeze at the top, so we wanted to drop down the eastern side to find a bit of shelter and eat lunch. We were chatting, of course, discussing our best route of descent and the next time we looked up, out of nowhere had appeared a Ronhill clad chap. Where had he come from? We deduced he had been hiding in a grouse butt, ready to pop out and take a pair of unsuspecting hill walkers by surprise. It worked, but we didn’t let on and waved cheerily as he passed us on his way to the cairn which isn’t at the top. We surveyed five butts before we found one with enough shelter, a nice seat for us both, no remains of dead animals nearby that we were both happy with. We’re both a bit fussy. Ron Hill made his way down. Then up again at a pace. Then down. Then back up. Then down. It got a bit repetitive and we got bored after a while.

Acceptable lunch neighbours

Having lunched, we made our way gingerly downhill to a corner of two fences and found two stiles, one leading ahead, the other to a path leading down to the ruins. Ah, that’s where that waymark was pointing to! Still, we’d had a lovely adventure sticking to the path on the map. There was also some livestock in that field, which isn’t our strong point, so we continued on downhill.

There was livestock in this field too, mostly sheep which trotted away from us. There were cattle too, but  mainly further away. As I’d decided we could take a diagonal route across the field, I didn’t point out the cattle closer to us too soon, so I could persuade Laura they were happily lying down, chewing the cud and not interested in the slightest in a pair of lady hill walkers. It amuses me that I can be so brave with someone who needs the extra encouragement, bearing in mind my own fear of cattle. At the corner, we had another fence to negotiate. This time a slightly wobbly gate affair that again, could not easily be untied (as it wasn’t strictly speaking the right of way) so I supported the gate whilst Laura carefully climbed it and then she returned the complement as I niftily negotiated the obstacle.

There was some slight concern as we passed the distillery again that we might fail a breath test should we be stopped, but decided to run the risk and venture into Tomintoul for a return visit to the Fire Station Tea Rooms for coffee and cake. Cake!!

Roughly 5.3 miles, 801 ft total ascent and rather sedate 1.5 average mph.

Another brilliant day out with gorgeous weather and exceptional company. Having enjoyed more than our average amount of walks together this year, I wonder if this might be the last before winter really sets in? A good one to end with and there are plenty more in the planning.

* At this point, my camera batteries ran out, so I had to take some photographs on my mobile. I have yet to retrieve all of them as that battery went flat after I’d transferred the icicle photograph. Bear with…