Skiing in the Cairngorms 2: 19th-21st February 2016

My second ski trip was in many ways more difficult than my first. I had envisaged gliding confidently and gracefully across the thick snow, maybe the odd passer by stopping to watch and point in admiration as I didn't fall over at all, and demonstrated such skillful cross country skiing that noone could believe this was only my second time on skiis.

It was an unrealistic vision, but it powered me up the A9 as the darkness drew in on Friday evening. For the first time, I would be taking Astrid up to Aviemore, and it would be the first time I tested her in real snow. I was nervous about it as I don't have snow tires, but given her Volvo heritage, I felt sure she wouldn't let me down.

I stopped off on the way in Crieff, to pick up my friend and 'ski instructor' who had arranged the weekend. The journey to his was interesting, I was dodging potholes as I went (the recent winter weather had really taken its toll on the roads in Perthshire), both on the road from Perthshire to him (The A822 for those who are interested) and away. There were some scenic detours, but I was unable to appreciate them because a) it was dark despite the moon, and b) I was focused on the road, specifically where potholes might be in said road.

We arrived at the Coylumbridge Hilton shortly after ten, having experienced a few flurries of snow (which we got excited about but never settled) and almost no ice driving. We awoke early the next morning and I was excited to see light snow outside! After a substantial breakfast (probably too substantial if truth be told!) I drove up to the Hayfield, where Astrid traversed snow for the first time (anti-lock breaks, whee!) she looked very at home in a snow flurry with my long skiis propped up against her froggy rear lights.

Astrid. Admire my skilful photo doctoring!

After slipping about on the reassuringly flat and open field for about half an hour on surprisingly sticky snow (a good portion of it was stuck to the bottom of my skiis and there were grass patches when we finished!) we crossed the road to try one of the Glenmore forest trails.

The snow on the hiking trails was (quite literally) gratingly thin, but the scenery more than made up for it. Following the trail alongside a babbling stream, we were forever stopping to take photos which just couldn't do the beauty of the place justice. Once again, I was reminded of how much I loved Scotland. We walked most of the route but did get a little skiing in, which was fabulous. It was just how I had imagined cross country skiing would be, only more fun!

Me having a lot more fun than I look like!

Snowing gently.

We arrived back at the car to find the gates up to Cairngorm mountain closed, so on the recommendation of another hiker (albeit she had two adorable dogs, rather than skiis), we headed down into Aviemore in pursuit of better snow and lunch. Unfortunately we only found the latter. The weather had turned miserable and grey – cold enough to be bleak, but not enough for snow, so we pondered our next moves in the entertaining 'Papa Rock' diner over a toasted sandwich, non-vegetarian mushroom soup, and onion based salad.

Then the outstanding idea occurred (and I can't take credit I'm afraid) to visit the Highlands Wildlife Park. We trudged around in diagonal sleet and freezing wind to see some amazing and beautiful animals which I have never seen before, in close quarters, including snow leopards, polar bears, arctic foxes, and an adorable red panda... my day was made!

Snow leopard. Isn't his coat magnificent?

We visited this little guy four times. I'm in love.

We left the park as it closed, and made it back to the hotel in time for a nice hot swim, and then dinner in the Bistro. The forecast promised better snow tomorrow, and we had a great trail involving a loch and a castle which we were itching to skii, but vowed to hike it if the forecast was wrong.

Sunday dawned damp but barely warm. The forecast was wrong! Sleety rain encouraged us to linger over another immense breakfast, before packing up and deciding to head up Cairngorm, which was open today. Excitingly, most of the downhill runs were closed, so the mountain wasn't as crowded as our last visit. The wind up here was much fiercer, and I borrowed some goggles to fully insulate myself against the biting wind. Once again we experienced sticky snow, but this time it was offset in places by icey slopes. I coped with the ice, barely, but it was a struggle and I wasn't enjoying myself, so we moved into a snowy patch where I could practice my 'snowplow' breaking in skiis (pointing your skiis into a V shape and biting the edges of the skiis into the snow to prevent sliding). After a while I managed to accomplish it from a standing start, but my default method of breaking from skiing at any speed remains 'the faceplant'! More successfully, I learnt to turn my skiis so I was facing the opposite direction. I took some photos of the impressive pattern I made in the snow from my practising! (well, I was impressed by it!)

This could be a photo of me, hard to tell.

The snow was much, MUCH deeper than the previous morning!

The leg out of the photo is literally buried in snow

That afternoon, we drove to Grandtully, to visit the Highland Chocolatier, whom a colleague and friend had recommended to me when I was working in Swindon last year! We were disappointed to find that the kitchen closed for lunch at 3pm (we arrived at 15:05) so we had a slice of cake each for lunch, and perused the mini chocolate museum and shop. I took photos of two giant chocolate wedding cakes for my friends who are brides to be (well it's in my interest, as I'll be getting a slice at the reception!) and purchased some highly expensive but absolutely magnificent chocolates from an enormous selection of velvet truffles. Possibly the strangest flavour I have ever heard of (which was delicious but weird) was liquorice and caramel. I also chose rose, passion-fruit, and lime and chilli.

Slightly bigger than my head. Happy Easter!

We took a beautiful back-road route through Aberfeldy and a stunning glen, following the A826/A822, which I would highly recommend. Apparently it's even more beautiful in the spring when the heather is in bloom – I will have to return then, and with my camera to hand!

Overall it was a beautiful weekend, with a decent amount of skiing despite the circumstances, some beautiful scenery and animals, and delicious chocolate. What's not to love? Back in Suffolk, a weekend like this would have seen me confined to the house for two days, but here there is no excuse not to adventure!

Inverness Roadtrip: 14th-15th November 2015

One weekend, I persuaded my sister to accompany me on a roadtrip out of Glasgow. I am very fortunate in that I have been able to bring my faithful car, Astrid, the Volvo C30, up to Glasgow with me. Parking is an absolute nightmare, but for the weekends when I have some free time to escape, it is more than worth it, and she is a great car for distance driving, and for driving in the cold!

I picked up my sister mid morning on the 14th January, to drive to a mysterious destination. Almost immediately she began to guess, but amazingly Inverness never came to mind. Perhaps it was a little too distant for her imagination.

We took the M80 out of Glasgow ("Is it Edinburgh? Is it Stirling?" "No.") and headed north up the M9, listening to sombre news on the radio of the attacks in Paris. Shortly after passing Perth, Sister pointed out an amusing looking roadsign for "Tullybelton". "Shall we check it out?" I asked her, trying to encourage the impulsive state of mind which makes roadtrips so fun. She dismissed it, and then, "alright then". So we turned off onto a single track B-road, winding through farmland. The scenery was quite beautiful (typical Perthshire), but the signs for Tullybelton eventually petered out. GPS told us we had driven past it. So I turned the car around and we retraced our tracks. There was a property with the name "Tullybelton" outside, but otherwise nothing. No picturesque village, no village sign, nothing to warrant a road sign off the motorway. Disappointed, we pulled over in a passing place, ate some fruit and nut bars, and admired the scenery, before returning to the M9.

The highlight of Tullybelton: its name

A good view for a deep think, in the wake of 13/11/15

Luckily, our next stop would be much more rewarding. We stopped off at Dunkeld in persuit of Atholl Memorial fountain, which we totally missed because a) it was labelled as "The Cross" on the map, and b) it didn't involve any jets of water. Indeed, we missed both the fountain and the cathedral (which I assume would have been interesting to look at) because we drove straight up bridge/Atholl street, instead of turning left after crossing the river Tay. We drove as far as a timber plant, and then turned around when we realised that we had left the village. However, we did have the pleasure of driving through the gorgeous villages of Birnham and Dunkeld, and absorbing the kind of scenery that told us we were on the very border of the Highlands. 

Driving through Birnam

Perthshire timber co.

 On the way back down Atholl road, we turned left before the river (yes, the exact opposite direction to the fountain), and used a carpark so I could get some nice autumnal photos of the bridge. Sister stayed in the car, she was enjoying the heated seats too much.

Dunkeld Bridge over the river Tay

The drive through Perthshire only grew more scenic, winding past Tay Forest Park toward Pitlochry. We didn't get much further up the M9 before we saw the sign for Blair Atholl, and Blair Castle. We had spied a stunning castle from the road, and I was hopeful that we might be able to get a photo of it. Furthermore, it was long past lunchtime and we wanted somewhere to stop and consume the nutritious sandwiches I had consumed. (When I say nutritious, there is a reason that this isn't a food blog!)

Blair Castle was closed, but we could still enter the grounds, so we ventured up the long drive, and settled Astrid in the near empty carpark under an enormous tree. Blair castle may not have been the castle we were searching for, but it is spectacular.

Blair Castle

The gardens were also beautiful and varied, and we took them as an opportunity to stretch our legs. The evening was beginning to draw in however, and we still had a long way to drive, so after taking some photos on a slower shutter speed than I would have liked, we hopped back in the car, resolving not to stop until we arrived at Inverness.

   

We got quite excited at that first glimpse of snow. However, as dusk drew in, we found ourselves passing between hills speckled with snow, like powdered icing sugar. The enormity of the lanscape dwarfed us, and we were in awe. We arrived in Inverness after dark, which in November in the Highlands is about 5pm, and got ourselves a double room at Inverness Youth Hostel. The room was acceptable if not quite pleasant, so we walked into town for dinner. 

Inverness is quite an unremarkable town. It has occasional pretty bits, but it lacks the grandeur of Edinburgh or the liveliness of Glasgow. There were people swaying drunk in the street by 7pm, and we dove into a pub which had been recommended in the pamphlet we'd collected at the hostel. We dined on pub food and then set out to photograph the castle. We couldn't see it from the East side of the river (perhaps because we couldn't get enough distance, and with my sister rapidly getting fed up, we wandered back to the Hostel.

Inverness Castle St at night

In the morning we had a naff but sufficient breakfast at the hostel, then jumped back into the car to refuel and cross the river. Sister was keen to see Loch Ness, and I finally got my photos of Inverness Castle. 

A typical November morning in Inverness

Whilst Inverness castle in the drizzling rain may not be the most photogenic, the haunting Loch Ness would more than make up for it. A visiting friend referred to Loch Ness as "that series of Lochs" but far from it. They are all one and the same: Loch Ness is simply enormous. 

23 miles of misty loch

We spent the entire morning driving only most of its length, stopping at Spean Bridge. We had a coffee and cake in a roadside cafe shop, where we read up on Loch Ness Monster conspiracy theories, and contemplated ugly souvenirs and Christmas presents for the rest of the family,then drove on (with numerous photo stops) to Urquhart Castle. We didn;'t go in the castle, as my rule of thumb for castle viewing is that the best photos come from the outside anyway - and we didn't have the time or money to spare, For some reason, castles are unreasonably expensive in Scotland.

Urquhart castle under a broodily low cloud

The next stop was Spean bridge, where the low hanging cloud over the graduating autumn forest made such a beautiful image I had to pull over and take a photo:

Spean Bridge, where they're apparently big on recycling.

The route back to Dalwhinnie (where we stopped to have lunch) was very scenic, glimpses of romantic lochside houses, more misty munros, and silent lochs. I insisted on playing the soundtrack to the final Harry Potter movie, which wasn't popular with my passenger!

Astrid on the bank of the Loch, victim of my poor skills at MS Paint

One of those silent Lochs I was on about

Sister then expressed a desire to visit Killin, a small village over an amazing conurbation of rivers. Unfortunately this involved going back west, and as we pulled off the M9, we suddenly noticed just how snowy it was.

Highland ponies grazing in the snow

We were stunned, and continued driving along a suspiciously single track road through some of the worst visibility I have ever experienced. It was quite frightening, until we found a break in the mist hear the top of a hill, and came across a stunning view

My favourite photo of the trip

This instantly became the highlight of our amazing trip, and even when we arrived in Killin in pouring rain and light quality so bad that none of my photos were worth keeping (and had the most awkward experience of ordering hot drinks ever), this was still the most photogenic of all my weekend adventures. I hope you agree!

Killin in slightly better weather the week before!