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Monday 28/8/17:
We're still not a hundred percent and not up to the predicted high winds and poor visibility on the 21km loop of Lochnagar, so we compromised with a drive to Aberdeen, this time on the south side of the Dee and visited the Aberdeen Maritime Museum. All very interesting, especially the double sea kayak of two crazy guys who kayaked 1600 miles from Greenland to Aberdeen! After that we came back to Banchory and walked up Scolty Hill. This is about a six mile round trip, but we short circuited it by parking closer and taking the steeper shorter route. The monument on top to Sir R. Burnett who fought with Napoleon can be climbed and it was very very windy up there. We did the round trip in about an hour which wasn't bad and celebrated with a pizza dinner in Banchory.
Tuesday 29/8/17:
This was our day for a drive through the top of the Cairngorms to Fort William at the bottom of the Great Glen on the west coast. It was a fascinating drive along narrow roads at the side of streams and loch, then moor land with purple heather blooming, but looking like the dark side of the moon. Drystone walls reminded you that there was life somewhere nearby, but it felt like you were making your way across a bleak heather desert, with a weeping grey sky and occasional patches of sunlight lighting up a hill far away. We had a great morning tea in windy Grantown on Spey and then made our way to Dalwhinnie for a guided tour of their whisky making distillery and a wee dram to taste! Feeling little pain, we finally arrived in Fort William at the West End Hotel. I felt this could have been a model for Fawlty Towers but I'm probably being unfair. It continued to rain from a leaden sky with rainbows over the loch and Ben Nevis looming above us and after dinner in the hotel we went to bed early.
Wednesay 30/8/17:
After parking the car at the Fort William railway station, at about 10.15am we took the Hogwarts express, aka The Jacobite out to Mallaig on the west coast. It was an interesting trip especially across the Glenfinnan aqueduct. In Mallaig we had a good fish and chip lunch on the foreshore before catching the train home at 2.10pm arriving back at Fort William at 4.00pm. Then we were back into the car and off into a wet landscape of grey skies, glistening roads and fading light. Once again the narrow twisty roads and the weather slowed us down, but we made it home in three and a half hours arriving at Birchlea Cottage around 7.30pm. The great thing with high altitude is that it was still light!!
Simon the Parrot enjoyed the train ride, mainly because he slept most of the way in Sezza's bag. To be fair to the little fellow he probably isn't quite back to full health and still has a pretty deep cough. In Mallaig he pinched a couple of Joepie's chips, saying "I'll just have one for the road!" On the way back to Fort William he was interested in the Hogwart's Express and especially the Glenfinnan Viaduct as he had watched every film of Harry Potter's at least twice. Eventually after all the excitement Simon went off to sleep and didn't wake up until Sezza and Joepie got back to Birchlea Cottage.
Tomorrow is wash and clean up day and collect our hire car. On Friday we will head south, driving down about five hundred miles (8-9 hrs) to East Anglia and cousin Pam. After that we're off to Bath for the Cotswold Way walk.
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Kate Emery Love the train