Snow progress / Slow progress - you takes your choice

As you might be guessing from the title - no progress on tender returns. Although a call to the Dualchas office on Friday results in "yes, I have received one today and there were a couple more earlier in the week" but ...... "it's not my job / I'm not involved in that project" Aarghh, we know that Neil is on holiday but surely someone could have got in touch to give us a hint of what the figures look like. 

So another weekend, another week of wondering and waiting.  

Luckily the Easter weekend lurgy has left the house so we are free to hit the hills again. 
The temperatures have remained in the low single figures for the last two weeks which has meant that the snow dumped during the last weekend in March has retreated very slowly. The front sides of the Ochils are streaked with snow but the green bits are back again. Decided that we would walk the farm track deep into the hills and see how we get on. 

Many layers of clothing taken with us but with a good forecast for Saturday, we were off bright if not early. Clocks going forward last weekend means not such a rush to beat the end of the daylight. Carpark in the woodland park almost full, that's a first. The weather is tempting people out. 

Up through the trees and along the winding track. Going quite well today and decide to continue to the very end of the track and consider our options. The track winds its way along a N-S glen and as we get into the narrow part of the glen, the snow reappears with a vengeance. We spot evidence of skiers - including a jump someone has made and ski tracks above us. Looking up to the slopes of Ben Ever (site of the white out in January) the snow cover is deep and untracked by anything other than sheep.  

An alternative route to Ben Cleuch. Not for us today.

Towards the top of Ben Ever

We troop on and find a sheltered spot for lunch. The wind is from the north and we can feel it when it blows. Sit by a small burn that is almost covered in deep snow drifts and have a long-ish lunch. When the sun peeks through it is almost warm. 

Track disappearing in the distance, lunch spot just around the corner

Continue up the track until we reach a corner where it disappears, we can see it further on but there is a snow drift which must be over 10 feet deep obliterating the track. There are footsteps where others have slid over and down so, walking poles out and we follow the stamped out and icy trail. Looking back, I have never seen so much snow in one place. It is like a mini mountain. 

We reach the end of the track and emerge onto an Ochils plateau. Frozen ground means the bog and peat hags are frozen solid. We look up towards Ben Buck - never visited this hill before - and decide to give it a go. Gary's first step sees him knee deep in snow, my thoughts are I can't do that for another 200ft. However we make it to the next ridge and the slope and snow depth eases so we carry on. In what seems like a very short time we reach the top and spy a good line to follow along some fence posts to Ben Cleuch summit. We can see the summit ridge and it looks pretty busy with most walkers appearing from the direction of The Law. 

Head over to the fence posts and follow them through deep, wind-sculpted snow. Here we meet our first humans of the day. A young lad and an older man who flit over the snow as if it wasn't there. I am ploughing my way through slowly and feeling it in my legs and hips. However, the stunning views and  interesting skies make it enjoyable. We eventually reach the point where three fences meet. Our initial thoughts had been how are we going to get over the fence but the snow was so deep that we just stepped across. 

What fence? Plus a gate just poking out of the snow

View back the way we came up with the highlands in the distance

Now we were on the summit ridge of Ben Cleuch and it was an easy trudge through more snow to the frozen cairn. I will never tire of the view from here. 

Fit young things zoom ahead of us

The summit cairn of Ben Cleuch temptingly close - they're still ahead of us!

Some interesting ice formations on the cairn and trig point. Stopped to chat with a few people, but not for long as it was bitterly cold, then turned back for the steep descent. A relatively easy descent until we hit the almost vertical slope that leads to the stile. Big snow steps carved out by those that had gone before. easy to use if you have similarly long legs but I find myself almost leaping form step to step. Glad we didn't come up this way, slippy snow and a steep drop. We make it safely to the easier ground and I put my foot through the snow and deep into a hole. After a spectacular tumble forward, not witnessed by anyone, I find my feet again  and we carry on. 

Had planned to stop on the top of Ben Ever for our final cuppa but too windy and no shelter so we go downwards until we find a suitable rock and some shelter. Final cup of coffee and a feeling of exhilaration and tiredness. Very pleased to see the car. 

This is the longest walk we have done for some time and in challenging conditions. We may not be doing much tomorrow!

Monday should bring the news we're waiting for. Looks like we will be waiting a while after I finish work to move to Skye. Still, there's all those hills waiting for a visit. Perhaps we can use the time wisely and have a bit of fun. 

Watch this space for news on the house soon - she says with hope in her heart .  

Tender is out! plus a short break in Glen Shee

The sub-title for this post is "The discovery of pond liner glissading"

It's been a while since the last post - and that's because there has been absolutely nothing to report! We are once again moving forward at Skye pace or should that be snail's pace?

There have been many different reasons why the tender document wasn't quite ready including sickness (fair enough) a wait for a response to the building warrant (OK) consideration of whether we might wish to engage a QS (yes, we did after discussing the pros and cons) then promises of last week - fingers crossed but no joy. Finally a phone call today and confirmation that the document was ready last Friday but more sickness meant it was delayed - and we should have been told. Ah well, at least it is heading out to four builders with a return date of the end of March. HOORAY!

We have also agreed to the cost of water and power connections; the first quite reasonable the second quite a bit more but there is no choice really so we have signed the paperwork and will soon be forking out the cash. All progress at last. 

To while away the time, we headed north last weekend and took a short break in Glen Shee. The thinking was to maybe try the skiing at Glen Shee and if not, then try the walking. We managed to find a converted steading available for a short break. This was lovely and highly recommended: http://www.dalnoid.co.uk/ if you want to stay somewhere warm and welcoming in a peaceful location. 

Mount Blair from Dalnoid New Steading deck - lovely

 So we had three days to enjoy the area. The snow levels were around 600m and snow was banked at the side of the roads leading us to understand the radio messages about ski resorts with plenty of snow but access roads closed. There was plenty of snow lying in the shadows at lower levels too. 

Day 1: Decided to climb a hill outside of Braemar, not quite a Munro but pretty close. Parked up (£2.50 all day) and walked a good track steeply uphill. The microspikes proved very useful and the snow was perfect for them. I had to find the heather / non-icy / stony sections to avoid sliding back down the hill.  Gary just walked up as if the snow wasn't there. The view from the top was simply stunning. 360 degree views of mountains, snow and more mountains. What a country.

The top of an "almost Munro" - a picture can't show how cold it was here

View South towards Glen Shee

Stunning views from the top

Decided to walk back the same way and this is where I made the discovery of how much fun can be had if you try Pond Liner Glissading. Take your piece of pond liner (also used as a ground sheet to keep bottoms dry when sitting on boggy ground) walk up the side of a steep and snowy slope, creep out into the middle of the slope, sit on the pond liner, lean back and enjoy the ride. Repeat until lack of breath / energy stops play. Whoops of joy - luckily no-one was around to see a fifty-plus woman slide manically down a snowy mountain-side. Yes, I checked out the landing first, no there were no (obvious) rocks to waylay me. Smiles all the way back down and at the memory for the rest of the day. 

Day 2: Pretty tired today after walking up high yesterday so decided on a lower walk to Loch Callater. A relatively easy walk of 3.5 miles each way to a medium sized loch in a gorgeous setting.  The track was easy to follow but very snowy and icy in places making it quite hard work at times. 

Walking up Glen Callater - the first part of  "Jock's Road" from Braemar to Clova

Steep snow banks alongside the river, just waiting to collapse in. Met plenty of people returning down the track, including one chap carrying skis on his rucksack. We eventually reached the loch and Callater Stables bothy (very grey and lonely looking) and just sat and enjoyed the scenery. Frozen loch, a small beach, snowy mountains, occasional glimpses of blue sky and quite cool. 

Just beautiful

Another great walk. You could carry on from here to the Munros of the Lochnagar range and others but not for us today. Tested how far we could walk out on the ice on the loch then we headed back to the car and drove into Braemar seeking an early dinner.  Alas no food until 6.00pm and that was just the orders being taken. Too hungry to wait, so plan B was initiated and we hit the (Indian) chippie instead. Then found a layby with a view and ate our supper. Back to the cottage, woodburner lit and a cosy evening in.  

Day 3: Decided to set out later in the day, take a touristy drive and have a nice lunch out. Drove up and out through the mountains again then past Braemar to Ballater. En-route we passed Balmoral Castle and some beautiful scenery around the River Dee. We liked Ballater and decided to have our lunch there (Les Routiers cafe spotted) On the way in to Ballater on the A93 we had spotted the A939 road to Tomintoul via Cockbridge. Older Radio 2 listeners will recognise this road and the two villages and their snowgates. It's the road that almost always closes first when it snows and is famous (to Radio 2 listeners) for Mrs McKay and her shovel. We just had to drive it. Off we set up a single track road through woods and gaining height slowly. Turned sharp right and over a huge hump-backed bridge at Garnashiel, then it was up and up around hairpin bends and over open mountain roads - and we hadn't even reached Cockbridge. Down the other side and met another road where we turned left. There were the famous Cockbridge snowgates and we wound our way up through more hairpin bends along the the winding road, totally exposed up here and quite a drop to the side. In places the snow was higher than the car where it had been piled / ploughed at the side of the road. All clear today though, although the air was hazy so the views not as crisp as they could have been. This is remote country. 

The A939 which reaches heights of over 2,000ft and has no sign of habitation for 12-15 miles

 Suddenly the Lecht ski resort appeared - snow not so good here as in Glen Shee but people were skiing. On down a very steep road past huge overhanging snow banks. Onwards to Tomintoul which looked quite sweet but not very busy today.  Gave a nod to the Tomintoul snowgates to make the matching pair. Turned it round and back we went on the same route in reverse to Ballater.   A very nice long lunch in the station cafe which lived up to its Les Routiers billing. Another enjoyable drive back to Braemar and home to a very light supper in the cottage.

The glorious weather of the last three weeks was turning as we headed home via Perth. Low mist and drizzle. A fine finish to our weekend break with breakfast at Tiso, the purchase of micro-spikes for me and a foray to the Coffee Bothy to look at the furniture - thoughts turning to the new house!

So now we wait just a few more weeks and find out if we can afford to build the house and the garage / workshop or if we will be changing bits to cut costs. This is where the QS will earn his pay. 

The purchase of the six acres of croft is progressing  - slowly as expected but the division lines have been drawn, paperwork completed and we wait for the form that Gary has to complete to arrive. 

One final thought, I am now more than two thirds of the way through my two year contract in Clackmannanshire - where did that time go?  Not that I'm complaining!

Building warrant underway and whiteout on Ben Ever,

Woke up to gently falling snow today (as forecast) so headed up into the Ochils as planned. 
The Country Park was slightly white but the higher we climbed, the more snow there was. This time we had taken plenty of layers, a variety of gloves and hats and windproofs - ready for anything. Gary also had his Kahtoola micro-spikes in case there was a chance to try them out. Walked steadily up the track (mountain bikers and runners coming down) and the depth of the snow gradually increased.
We stopped just after the second gate where the spikes got their chance. The path up the hill ahead was just visible as a white streak in the grass and snow. Extra kit on here too which proved useful as we slid (me) and trudged (Gary) up the hill.
Visibility reduced as we climbed until all I could see was a few metres ahead of me. Eventually we reached the junction of paths and headed left to Ben Ever. Those last couple of hundred feet in height resulted in frozen grass, rime ice, several inches of snow and zero visibility as the snow falling got heavier and heavier.
We spotted the summit cairn and moved away from the path towards it. At this point the wind was howling, snow was being blown at us and it was bitterly cold. Huddled behind the cairn for a very quick cup of coffee then decided to eat our lunch at home! As we turned it around, our footprints had been obliterated by wind-blown and falling snow. It would be so easy to get into trouble in these hills, let alone the higher mountains. Luckily we had the trusty GPS with back up compass, not that we needed them as we found the path back down OK. 
Back down the hill, face to the wind - which was fun. Everything was frozen, hands, faces, trousers, outer coats. The goggles went on which helped with vision. All went well, even on the steep bits then too cocky was I and over I went at a point where we were almost back at the track. Bruised a**e and ego but otherwise OK.

Full winter kit

Stopped at the farm track - looking rosy of cheek

Photos courtesy of my mobile phone as no cameras were carried today.
A quick chat with a couple of chaps who'd walked to the end of the track and had also decided to lunch back at home due to the cold. 
Back home by 14.30 and a late lunch. Snow much less at lower levels but more is forecast during the next week.

Meanwhile, we have paid the Highland Council for the building warrant application and they have uploaded it onto the current list on their website. Assume all is well and looking forward to agreeing the spec for tender at the end of this month.

Last weekend we walked the Glen Ogle trail which was a lovely (if wet) path up one side of the glen and back along a disused railway track.  We have driven this way many times and it was interesting to walk it even though we had no views as we were in the cloud.  On balance, we prefer the snow although there were no views today either due to the whiteout conditions.

The micro-spikes performed well on their first outing, need to try them on ice next. We might get that chance soon and the snow shovel could be resurrected from its resting place in the garage. Will keep you posted.
 

2012 - a good year and here's to 2013

The end of a year in which we finally moved closer to our dream

 - The purchase of a plot of land on Skye finally completed in November

-  Agreement in principle that we can also purchase the tenancy of the surrounding 6 acres of croftland with Gary becoming the registered Crofter 

- Submission of the drawings required for building warrant (Highland Council to be paid shortly)

- The sale of the flat we owned in Plymouth meaning no financial obligations in the future

- The job in Alloa going OK and helping us to build the house we really, really want rather than having to compromise

- Several trips to Skye to decide that the plot was perfect and yes, we still wanted to live there! You have to check the rose-tinted glasses from time to time

Have just returned from lovely relaxing Christmas break in Wales where we stayed at Jacqueline and Ian's new house. They built theirs the hard way and provided some of the labour for the build.


As well as all that, we have discovered hills and mountains in this part of Scotland that have delivered some fine walks and wonderful days out. Towns, villages, people who have been, without exception, welcoming and friendly. We have learned some choice Scots words. The ladies at work have been teaching me a word a week plus the odd bit of Gaelic for added fun.

We have learned that patience is required and not always easy to find when you are waiting, waiting, waiting. But we have done our best not to be just passing the time until the house is finally ready and we can unpack those boxes for the final time. 

So, to 2013

Tenders due to go out at the end of January

Returns and selection of builder by the end of February (always the optimist)

Start on site sometime in March

A build programme of between 7 and 9 months

Yes, it is looking tight and we have warned family and friends, especially those with a washing machine and a spare room, that they may receive a visit next November / December.


New Year's Eve - we have just re-watched a programme about the Skye Trail (Cameron McNeish)  Hogmany is not all fireworks and champagne; don't believe everything you see and hear on the TV. It has just started to sleet outside so the fireworks we will see will be in the distance from our window or on the TV.

Whatever time it takes to complete the house, we fully intend to enjoy the next 12 months.

I particularly look forward to logging (or should that be blogging) the progress of the build here, complete with pictures.

So farewell to 2012 and here's looking forward to 2013

Slainte

A weekend away, snow glorious snow and layby 149

This was it - the weekend we had been waiting for where we would decide the final aspects of the house design ahead of submission for building warrant.

Set off from Alloa late on Thursday afternoon, heading for an overnighter in Spean bridge. The journey through the hills and mountains was beautiful with dusk falling as we travelled through Glen Coe. The mountains had a fair dusting of snow above about 2,000ft. Magical in an almost full moon. It was cool though. 

When we actually found the B&B (no Spean Bridge is not big, it has one street) there was a lovely warm welcome and we were the only guests - a theme that was to repeat throughout the weekend. We were upgraded to the Rose Room which had wrap around windows overlooking The Ben and the Grey Corries. The next morning we sat enjoying a perfectly cooked breakfast and what must be one of the best views in Scotland. 

Carn Mor Dearg arete - Northern approach to The Ben - if you're brave enough!

                                                   Sunrise over the Nevis range.

We were off just before nine which gave us plenty of time to get to Skye. As we headed further west, it warmed up and there were many cloud inversions to enjoy. Gary kindly took the driving seat so I could indulge in the scenery.  

View across Loch Garry

Arrived on Skye with 15 minutes to spare and met with Neil at Dualchas. There followed three hours of intense work deciding the specification of absolutely everything.  

Decisions, Decisions. We thought we knew exactly what we wanted but as we talked things through, some changes were agreed. We finished up after a quick peek into Neil's own house to agree the type of bathroom fitting and soft floor covering. (New baby sound asleep on the decking, cosy and tucked up in her pram out in the rain)

All done, we headed south to the Ardvasar Hotel on the Sleat peninsula. We had been allocated a quiet room overlooking the woods. Very fine bedroom but a cold bathroom - used the window sill as a fridge. You really had to build up to having a shower!  We ate a fine dinner at the hotel and watched the karaoke being set up but were off to bed before the party really got going. True to the hotel owner's word, no disturbance from the noise.

Saturday was the day to beat the bounds of "our land" - so we did. The new wellies were useful as the plot was a bit damp to say the least. Looking quite wintery with bracken dying off and leafless trees. The Cuillins looking mean, snowy and magnificent in the distance. 

Winter colours on OUR PLOT

The "line of sight" that caused all the delay!

Our kitchen / diner will be here. Spot the mountains (in the haze)

Testing the new wellies

Spent a fair amount of time walking on and around the plot then decided to drive to Glen Brittle, close up views of the Cuillins and out to sea. We walked the coast path to enjoy the views. Well wrapped up against the cold wind. Winter coats and new hats required to keep cosy and warm. The mountains were magnificent, jagged and snowy and very tempting but we stayed low.

Snow on the Cuillin

Back to the Ardvasar via Broadford wondering at the light and sunset.

Second night at the hotel, we were the only guests tonight. Breakfast booked to suit us with a choice of tables and the owner cooking to order. 

A drive back through Glen Shiel where the snow levels had dropped significantly - to the road. The chap in the Audi TT who had overtaken on the straight, was driving considerably slower when the Mitzi in 4x4 mode caught him up!

Decided to try the via Inverness route home. Looks longer but not much in it - the roads much straighter and easier to drive. Then there was layby 149 between Inverness and Aviemore. What a view - lunch stop in the snow. 

Layby 149, the perfect lunch stop

The Cairngorms in all their winter glory.

That was us then. 
A weekend on Skye, house design almost finalised, a great walk along the coast and a stunning drive home. Back to the grind this week but at least we can see what the end looks like - even if we might be homeless and jobless for a wee while before we can move in. 

We are now the proud owners of .......

A quarter of an acre of heather, mud and a few trees at Fernilea on the Barrisdale estate on the Isle of Skye.

It's only taken us a total of 16 months from seeing the plot, deciding to make an offer and going through the tortuous process of acquiring planning permission, dealing with three parties - the seller, the Scottish Ministers and their solicitors to finally, finally complete on the deal.

Oh, there is one little thing that has to happen before we get the paperwork - a final check by the sellers to confirm that those sneaky Scottish Ministers haven't sold the land from under us! Really. Anyway, apparently that is a mere formality required by Scottish law. The cash should be winging its way to the sellers and we will have title to the land. Even if, as is often the case, we don't actually get to see the paperwork for some time "oh, that can take anywhere between four months to a year, but you are the owners"  I did ask for a copy of the sale documentation just to be sure.

So celebration last night was a bottle of Tesco's finest pink sparkle rather than champagne. Decided that we will wait to see the paperwork before we go that far. 

On the basis that we really are the new owners and nothing's going to stop us now, we have instructed our architect to make haste with the building warrant submission and agreed that we will travel to Skye at the end of November to complete the spec for tendering the build. This will catch up a little of the time we have lost. We could actually be breaking ground by the end of January. Yes, this is looking a little tight in that my job ends next October - perhaps that's the element that will encourage Grand Designs to get back in touch (they clearly need a bit of drama and we don't offer much)

Have booked into the Ardvasar Hotel for the weekend - in the full knowledge that there is a birthday party plus karaoke on the Friday and a Christmas party plus live music on the Saturday. The nice man who took the booking has promised a quiet room for us.   

Back to the hills for the first time in 8 weeks today - travelling, various injuries and Scottish viral infections have put us "on the bench" to use a footballing term. Off we went to Ben A'aan in the Trossachs, a small but perfectly formed hill with stunning views from its summit. A bit of a struggle getting to the top and a few very sticky patches of deep, deep mire. Also plenty of small children, a gang of old women and a couple of people wearing (originally) white trainers. It felt good to be out and about again - windy and cool on the summit but a sheltered spot was found for lunch. Great views to bigger hills with a sprinkling of snow on the tops but not very good light so the camera got taken on a trip for nothing.

Back to the car and home via the Dukes Pass. Glorious autumn colours at the moment, especially when the light of the rising or setting sun catches the trees. Who needs to go to New England ? - come to Scotland.

Once we get to Skye we will be posting photos of the plot which is now OURS. Wellies required we think. Till then ......

Cairngorms week - Monday to Friday

As you might have guessed by the title, the remainder of the week was not so good weather-wise.

Monday, we took our tired legs off into the forest to walk to Ryovan bothy via Lochan Uaine which is supposed to have turquoise coloured water. The walk took us up through pine forest then along an exposed track then back into what must have been the original Caledonian forest along a steep, winding, thin track that eventually delivered us onto the banks of the Lochan. There was a wonderful bench and viewing platform, all quite new but tasteful. We had the place to ourselves and sat and sheltered from the rain. The water? definitely turquoise / green and very clear. 

View back to where we were yesterday.

Lochan Uaine, the water really is that colour

 We sat a while then decided the far end of the lochan would be enough for today. Walked to the beach in the picture and enjoyed our lunch under the pines - good shelter from the rain. Watched two collies play fetch the stick. One would not go out of his depth so would give the other a friendly nip instead. Had a chat with their owners then walked back to the car.

Tuesday - and in came the storm that the rest of Britain had been enduring. It was definitely a driving day. To Inverness, Forres and the beach at Burghead where we witnessed the foam being delivered by the North Sea as a result of the storm. Back via Grantown-on-Spey, where we had a late lunch then home. Into Aviemore for a spot of shopping - nice new coat for me - and a coffee above a walking shop as recommended by John M at work. Lovely. Pics of the coat to follow! No photos from today, it was so wet that the camera did not get taken out of its bag.

Wednesday - A walk from the door today. Walked into Boat of Garten and checked out tonight's menu en-route. (Anderson's and very nice too it turned out to be)  Picked up the river-side walk for a couple of miles. This was the River Spey and it was pretty full after that storm. Swirling and roiling but no white water just deep and fast flowing.

River Spey in full flow

We turned away from the river and followed another track back into the forest. Here we went "off-piste" and sought out Loch Vaa down a little used forest path. What a find - I will let the photos do the talking. Simply beautiful. Close enough to hear the A9 traffic but nothing in sight except trees and water. We even got to see the sun. 

View from out lunch spot

Perfect calm, perfect reflections

Returned to the house after a never to be repeated spot of verge walking. Only for a short distance until we picked up the cycle track but it was horrendous and Gary was tripped up by a discarded road sign. Safely home though and out for the fore-mentioned delicious dinner. 

Thursday - a failed attempt at Sgor Gaioth at 1110 metres. Started well by finding the tiny road through the forest, past the landing strip (for gliders!) and parking safely off-road. A lovely stroll through the pines followed by a steady climb through heather and more pines - smelled lovely. Rain had stopped but the tops were in the clag. Crossed the first stream without trouble and carried on along the well made path until it deteriorated into a muddy, peaty, slidey mess. Two more fords, but only just - needed a leap and faith in our landing abilities - led us to the place where the path became untenable and the hillsides were streaming with water - and the top stayed resolutely within the cloud. So a quick break for a bite to eat, rain started to fall and no views. We had the only dryish spot for miles and I didn't fancy the heather ahead so we turned it around and returned to the car. Stopped for a coffee by a crashing river where we were discovered by the last of the summer midges. A very quick stop then and back to the car. The highlight of this walk would have been the view from the summit cairn - straight down over cliffs to a distant loch and we wouldn't have seen it through the clouds anyway.

Friday - took the decision that we were going out and up regardless but wind speeds of 50-70mph said not above a certain height you don't. Decided to try a track we had spied on Sunday that led to the Charlemain Gap. A well known pass into the higher mountains and linking with the Lharig Ghru which connects Aviemore with Braemar, another famous pass. This path was like the yellow brick road and gave fantastic views up into the high plateau and crags.

High hills and stormy weather

A very good track and Loch Morlich in the distance

We sheltered from the wind at stepping stones across a small burn in a dip then carried on up towards the gap. This way is known for its fearsome boulder fields and just as we had decided the reputation might be overstated we hit the end of the path and met the rocks. They were huge and unstable with a nice underlay of peat to sink into if and when you stumbled. 

Nice new coat shown off against the rocks and boulders in the Chalamain Gap. Yes, it's pink, very pink

 but it was the nicest, best fit coat to be had.

Chalamain Gap - boulders, rocks and peat. Photo exposed for the sky unlike previous photo where it was the coat!

We were sheltered from the wind and enjoyed a quick break. Decided enough was enough for today and as we turned it around, back came the rain. Waterproof trousers? No I'll be fine. Five minutes later it was too late and very damp legs stayed with me for the rest of the day. 
A final stop at Loch Morlich to look back at the playground of mountains - would make a beautiful pic with snow on the tops and reflections. 

Final stop for view across Loch Morlich to the Cairngorms

So that was our first experience of the Cairngorms and yes, we will be back. So much to do and see within a few miles. We hadn't had time to try the forest trails high in the tree tops, walk the woodland or river trails, see the Ospreys, ride on the steam train or a thousand other things. 

Back to work for a week then off the Plymouth for a week. Hope to call in to North Wales on the way home to see Ian and Jacqueline's new home.