Saturday & Sunday, 4 & 5 March
With rain drumming down on the roof, Mick questioned my sanity as I slipped out of bed early yesterday morning and started donning my running gear. There was logic behind my madness: we were on a campsite until we had to leave at noon, thus it made sense to go and get wet as early as possible so as to give my gear time to dry in front of the electric heater before we had to unplug ourselves.
It was pretty unpleasant out, and thus the run was as short as I could get away with whilst still hitting my step count for the day as, in that weather, I had no plans of doing anything else active for the rest of the day.
The precipitation continued all day, turning to snow at some point in the afternoon. By the time the sun went down we were in a winter wonderland.
The snow turned back to rain overnight (so Mick tells me; I was busy sleeping and heard nothing) and looking out this morning I couldn't find the enthusiasm to go and slog up my intended hill (a reputedly uninteresting one at the best of times) in wet snow and slush. Instead we took a little turn along the riverside in Carrbridge...
The bridge for which Carrbridge was named
I was particularly taken with the 'relic' qualities of this vehicle, which was sitting on the other side of the bridge
...before moving on and taking a turn around Aviemore.
In Aviemore we didn't have lunch at the Mountain Cafe as, even though we arrived before noon, the queue extended the whole way down the staircase. We browsed the shop downstairs at some length and noticed when we left that the queue hadn't moved. On the one occasion that we went to the café the soup was very good, but I wouldn't rate even the best soup as worth queuing for half an hour or more on a staircase.
After Bertie lost the sun in Aviemore, a relocation to a sunny spot in Kingussie was made, from where advantage was taken of the glorious afternoon by taking a stroll up towards Loch Gynack. We had no firm plan, beyond just strolling, but when we found a map of local walks it was adjudged that the 'Golf Course Circular' looked as good a route as any, so off following waymarks we went.
The going was a combination of snow, mud and slush (i.e. various shades of slippery), so a bit of boardwalk was a welcome respite:
Loch Gynack was at the furthest point in the circuit...
...before we came to the golf course and its fine views over the snowy Cairngorms:
I reckon it was only 3 miles all told, but it wasn't a bad way to spend an hour on a sunny afternoon.
With rain drumming down on the roof, Mick questioned my sanity as I slipped out of bed early yesterday morning and started donning my running gear. There was logic behind my madness: we were on a campsite until we had to leave at noon, thus it made sense to go and get wet as early as possible so as to give my gear time to dry in front of the electric heater before we had to unplug ourselves.
It was pretty unpleasant out, and thus the run was as short as I could get away with whilst still hitting my step count for the day as, in that weather, I had no plans of doing anything else active for the rest of the day.
The precipitation continued all day, turning to snow at some point in the afternoon. By the time the sun went down we were in a winter wonderland.
The snow turned back to rain overnight (so Mick tells me; I was busy sleeping and heard nothing) and looking out this morning I couldn't find the enthusiasm to go and slog up my intended hill (a reputedly uninteresting one at the best of times) in wet snow and slush. Instead we took a little turn along the riverside in Carrbridge...
The bridge for which Carrbridge was named
I was particularly taken with the 'relic' qualities of this vehicle, which was sitting on the other side of the bridge
...before moving on and taking a turn around Aviemore.
In Aviemore we didn't have lunch at the Mountain Cafe as, even though we arrived before noon, the queue extended the whole way down the staircase. We browsed the shop downstairs at some length and noticed when we left that the queue hadn't moved. On the one occasion that we went to the café the soup was very good, but I wouldn't rate even the best soup as worth queuing for half an hour or more on a staircase.
After Bertie lost the sun in Aviemore, a relocation to a sunny spot in Kingussie was made, from where advantage was taken of the glorious afternoon by taking a stroll up towards Loch Gynack. We had no firm plan, beyond just strolling, but when we found a map of local walks it was adjudged that the 'Golf Course Circular' looked as good a route as any, so off following waymarks we went.
The going was a combination of snow, mud and slush (i.e. various shades of slippery), so a bit of boardwalk was a welcome respite:
Loch Gynack was at the furthest point in the circuit...
...before we came to the golf course and its fine views over the snowy Cairngorms:
I reckon it was only 3 miles all told, but it wasn't a bad way to spend an hour on a sunny afternoon.
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