In the week preceding this trip, we had unusually high rainfall at home. During that time the Highlands had it relatively dry and when we arrived up here the rivers and burns were low. Alas, the wet weather followed us and this week has been blighted by fast-changing weather forecasts (which kept promising us dry days, only to change their minds) and *a lot* of rain.
As a result, there's not as much to report as I would have liked.
On Monday afternoon, having taken full advantage of the campsite facilities (i.e. didn't leave until noon), we parked at the road end above Newtonmore, conveniently situated for the next hill I wanted to tackle. In between squally showers my objective sat in the sunshine...
Not long after I took this snap Bertie was being violently rocked by the wind and absolutely lashed by rain
...but I had to conclude that my shins were just too sore to tackle it on that day.
By the end of Monday, Tuesday's weather forecast was pretty abysmal, but there was a window of 'not so bad' so I got up early and grabbed it for my walk up Creag Liath (which I've written further about on http://gayleybird.blogspot.com/2019/10/creag-liath-nh663007-743m.html?m=1).
Summit selfie
It was raining (again!) by the time I got back from that outing and, with a few brief pauses, continued on throughout the day and night and into Wednesday. Indoor activities prevailed.
Wednesday saw us return to Invernahavon Caravan Site. Ideally, we wouldn't have returned there until Thursday, so that we could service Bertie's tanks on Friday before we left, but the timing was dictated by the fact that Wednesday was the last night before the site closed for the season. As rain pattered down, it was another afternoon of mainly indoor activities, broken by taking a run along the cycle route adjacent to (and a bit lower than) the A9.
The only other hills on my 'to do' list in this area are bigger than I would feel inclined to tackle in the current weather, so I came up with a more weather-appropriate activity for Thursday: a visit to the Highland Folk Museum. We'd run past it last Sunday, as it sits between Newtonmore and Kingussie, but it wasn't until I visited their website that I came to appreciate how big the site is (a mile from end to end, so they say).
1700s Township, in the drizzle
Whilst it's a large open-air site, with a good selection of buildings (ranging from a 1700s Township at one end to a 1930s croft at the other, with a baker's dozen of other buildings in between (none of which is a bakery!)), it only took us just shy of 2.5 showery hours to feel that we had seen (and via the guidebook, read about) everything. For two people with a strong track record of spending hours longer than the average visitor in museums, that was a quick visit, but it was an enjoyable and worthwhile diversion in our day. I'd recommend dropping in if you happen to be passing.
Part of the middle section of the site. The Lewis Blackhouse was one of the exhibits here, but due to the timing of the rain, I didn't get a snap of it.
A chunk of Wednesday evening had been spent poring over maps, trying to find a route for Sunday that met a particular set of parameters. As a result of that activity, and a set of messages that bounced back and forth with the other interested party, Thursday afternoon saw us parked up in Kincraig for a run along the Badenoch Way. It turned out that it didn't meet Sunday's requirements, but it was a lovely (if lumpy!) route through forest, up above the river.
Via a visit to the chapel that sits almost hidden on a rise above Loch Insh, we returned to Bertie just in time for the rain to start again in earnest.
By this morning (Friday) the banks of the Spey had proved too low to hold back the quantity of water now rushing down river, and yet still the rain fell, albeit with some brief pauses during which the occasional glimpse of a snippet of blue sky was seen.
With a need for a substantial restocking of groceries, it was up to Aviemore that we headed first thing. There's a lot of development going on there at the moment, with a new hotel being built next to the roundabout at the southern entrance to the town, and another site being cleared north of Tesco that a local chap told us is earmarked for another chain hotel (Premier Inn?). There's also a new retail park, which benefitted us in two respects: an Aldi, and plentiful parking with a 3-hour limit. Within 2 hours, we had shopped, walked through town, browsed various outlets and were ready to move on again.
As I type this we are at the rendezvous point for this weekend's meet-up, however, there is no phone signal here, so having typed all this it will now sit and patiently wait for the opportunity to be posted.
As a result, there's not as much to report as I would have liked.
On Monday afternoon, having taken full advantage of the campsite facilities (i.e. didn't leave until noon), we parked at the road end above Newtonmore, conveniently situated for the next hill I wanted to tackle. In between squally showers my objective sat in the sunshine...
...but I had to conclude that my shins were just too sore to tackle it on that day.
By the end of Monday, Tuesday's weather forecast was pretty abysmal, but there was a window of 'not so bad' so I got up early and grabbed it for my walk up Creag Liath (which I've written further about on http://gayleybird.blogspot.com/2019/10/creag-liath-nh663007-743m.html?m=1).
It was raining (again!) by the time I got back from that outing and, with a few brief pauses, continued on throughout the day and night and into Wednesday. Indoor activities prevailed.
Wednesday saw us return to Invernahavon Caravan Site. Ideally, we wouldn't have returned there until Thursday, so that we could service Bertie's tanks on Friday before we left, but the timing was dictated by the fact that Wednesday was the last night before the site closed for the season. As rain pattered down, it was another afternoon of mainly indoor activities, broken by taking a run along the cycle route adjacent to (and a bit lower than) the A9.
The only other hills on my 'to do' list in this area are bigger than I would feel inclined to tackle in the current weather, so I came up with a more weather-appropriate activity for Thursday: a visit to the Highland Folk Museum. We'd run past it last Sunday, as it sits between Newtonmore and Kingussie, but it wasn't until I visited their website that I came to appreciate how big the site is (a mile from end to end, so they say).
Whilst it's a large open-air site, with a good selection of buildings (ranging from a 1700s Township at one end to a 1930s croft at the other, with a baker's dozen of other buildings in between (none of which is a bakery!)), it only took us just shy of 2.5 showery hours to feel that we had seen (and via the guidebook, read about) everything. For two people with a strong track record of spending hours longer than the average visitor in museums, that was a quick visit, but it was an enjoyable and worthwhile diversion in our day. I'd recommend dropping in if you happen to be passing.
A chunk of Wednesday evening had been spent poring over maps, trying to find a route for Sunday that met a particular set of parameters. As a result of that activity, and a set of messages that bounced back and forth with the other interested party, Thursday afternoon saw us parked up in Kincraig for a run along the Badenoch Way. It turned out that it didn't meet Sunday's requirements, but it was a lovely (if lumpy!) route through forest, up above the river.
Via a visit to the chapel that sits almost hidden on a rise above Loch Insh, we returned to Bertie just in time for the rain to start again in earnest.
By this morning (Friday) the banks of the Spey had proved too low to hold back the quantity of water now rushing down river, and yet still the rain fell, albeit with some brief pauses during which the occasional glimpse of a snippet of blue sky was seen.
With a need for a substantial restocking of groceries, it was up to Aviemore that we headed first thing. There's a lot of development going on there at the moment, with a new hotel being built next to the roundabout at the southern entrance to the town, and another site being cleared north of Tesco that a local chap told us is earmarked for another chain hotel (Premier Inn?). There's also a new retail park, which benefitted us in two respects: an Aldi, and plentiful parking with a 3-hour limit. Within 2 hours, we had shopped, walked through town, browsed various outlets and were ready to move on again.
As I type this we are at the rendezvous point for this weekend's meet-up, however, there is no phone signal here, so having typed all this it will now sit and patiently wait for the opportunity to be posted.
I probably did more Munros based on Newtonmore than any other base I used - logistically well placed but that's about it. I'm not surprised to read that you went to Aviemore to shop. Let's hope you get better weather and venture back into those hills.
ReplyDeleteNewtonmore has a decent-sized, purpose-built Co-op these days, so it would be possible to restock there, but Aviemore does offer much more choice - as well as the opportunity to fondle gear.
DeleteWe've just had three consecutive days of good weather! I've just posted today's hill report on the M&G blog, but I'm behind on other posts. I'll try to catch up over the next couple of days.