At the point of Bertie rolling off the Channel Tunnel Shuttle back on to British soil on 3 September our intention was to stay at home until Christmas. By the time we reached the M25, we’d decided to go away for October. That decision didn’t vary in the intervening month although the ‘plan’ (insofar as we do plan these things) was subject to some alterations, starting with the decision to attend the TGO Challenge Scottish Reunion in Newtonmore this weekend.
Wednesday 2 October – Sunday 6 October
“Are you on speed?!” Mick asked me on Wednesday morning. It was a question posed with bemusement having witnessed me leap out of bed just before the alarm to start rushing around like a woman possessed.
I kept my focus as I fulfilled all of the pre-trip jobs that couldn’t be completed further in advance together with those I couldn’t find the enthusiasm to do in the rain the day before and, once finished, I adjudged that I had just shy of 30 minutes spare, taking into account the need to shower and have breakfast. That gave me time for a quick (in both senses of the word) run. I timed it just right and a minute before our ‘we want to be away by’ time of 9.30am Bertie’s tyres rolled onto the road (would have been two minutes if I hadn’t left without my phone on the first departure attempt!).
After a visit to Ma-in-Law in Halifax and a couple of night-stops en-route (one we’ve used before, one we hadn’t) we arrived in Newtonmore around lunchtime on Friday, our purpose there being the TGO Challenge Reunion weekend.
There was also a brief stop at the Falkirk Wheel so I could take a run along the Forth & Clyde. The only other two occasions I’ve set foot on this tow path (in 2008 and 2010) we were walking the length of the country. Thursday’s outing was rather more modest!
We hadn’t made any decision as to where we were going to stay whilst in Newtonmore, but the vague plan was to use the village car park during the day before driving to an undecided ‘elsewhere’ to overnight. The spanner in the works was finding that the car park has become subject to general prohibition* on vehicles ‘adapted or manufactured for the purpose of sleeping’.
What to do? Maybe we could kill two birds with one stone (i.e. day and night parking)? On the basis that we would be eating and drinking there for the next two nights, we asked the Balavil Hotel whether we could stay in their car park. ‘No’, came the answer, because the hotel was fully booked and the car park is small, but it was quickly followed by a ‘but’.
Climbing over the reception desk (I’m sure there must be a proper entrance somewhere!), a very nice man called Fraser took us outside and pointed to a house just up the road and said “I live there” he said “You can park on my drive.”
What a star! What utter kindness!
Friday afternoon was spent in the bar (not in a raucous way: Mick was restrained; I don’t drink) chatting to various Challengers as they arrived, following which we adjourned to the dining room with Martin & Sue for dinner. A relatively early night would have been had, as we’d all complained of tiredness, except that Mick & I hadn’t yet done the crossword and it turned out to be a tricky one. It was thus later than intended by the time we pulled Bertie’s bed down into the sleeping position and crawled in, under multiple blankets given the weather forecast (we’d already had one frost, on the first night of the trip).
On Saturday I woke at 4am with a tummy ache, which I feared was going to scupper the day’s planned activities, but by 8.30, when we were due to meet Martin & Sue, I was tired but otherwise felt fine.
M&S kindly provided us with transport to Aviemore parkrun, where Mick got a shout-out for it being his 50th such run and for laying claim to the longest time taken between 1st and 50th parkrun (a title I initially claimed at Christmas last year) at 12 years and 11 months.
In the pre-run brief it was asserted that Aviemore is the most scenic parkrun in the UK and based on others in which I have participated, I can’t dispute the claim. It really was lovely. If I’d had my phone on me, I would have stopped to take photos. As it goes, I’ll just pop in this one that I’ve stolen from Martin’s blog. It tickled me how Mick and Sue are standing there in their short shirt-sleeves, whereas I’m wearing multiple layers, a hat and gloves and still look like I’m freezing (which I was – it was 4 degrees out. I did take the jacket off before the start.):
Post-run coffees/cake at the local cafe preceded a quick change back in Newtonmore, before M&S drove us a few miles south to the west side of a Marilyn up which none of us had before been. A pleasing hill, with excellent views, including of the wet weather approaching from the south. That rain held off until we were back in Newtonmore, whereupon it arrived and stayed for around 18 hours.
Four happy hikers on a windy summit
The formal TGO Challenge Reunion events took place on the Saturday evening, with a three-course meal and a charity raffle. With 48 people at the meal and 20 raffle prizes available, the chances of winning were good. We donated an Ordnance Survey quiz book and came away with a box of Green & Black’s chocolate, which seemed a good exchange to me – and Cairngorm Mountain Rescue team benefited to the tune of £210 too.
(Phew, nearly caught up. Anyone still with me?)
That brings us to today, which started at 7am with an exchange of messages agreeing a half-hour delay to the time we intended to meet M&S for a run, in the hope that the rain would have eased a little by then, per the forecast. Ease it did, such that it was light rain that accompanied us on the outward leg of our out-and-back to Kingussie. I think it had finally stopped by the time we got back, although I can’t say at what point it did finally fizzle out.
Bertie provided a venue for post-run coffee and pastries, whereafter it felt like time to vacate Fraser’s driveway. We didn’t come far, opting for the more expensive Invernahavon campsite, rather than Spey Bridge, on the basis that there’s hardstanding here. After 18 hours of rain, parking on grass wasn’t an appealing option.
We have another rendezvous with friends arranged for next weekend, but in the meantime all plans are fluid, depending on weather and inclination. I’ll report back in a few days…
(*I can understand banning such vehicles at night, but why can a tourist in a car stop there whilst doing touristy things in the village, but a tourist in a motorhome (even one that fits within a single parking space) cannot? We could have parked on the road immediately outside the almost-empty car park, right opposite two houses, which was a tempting option.)
Good to hear you are starting to get a share of those acts of kindness.
ReplyDeleteI walked along that canal on my LEJOG to arrive at the Falkirk Wheel - I never saw a boat on the water and wondered about the immense cost of that contraption against its lack of use - perhaps I just hit a quiet period?
As we left the hotel, I did exclaim "We've just done a Conrad!"
DeleteLike you, we saw not a single craft in action when we passed the Falkirk Wheel in 2008. However, a couple of minutes after I took the photo in this post, it started a rotation with two boats in it - which may or may not have been craft used for the 'have a go on the wheel' tours run from the visitor centre. My feeling is that the cost of the wheel was justified as a visitor attraction rather than as a meaningful link between the two waterways.