Where was Bertie? 9 May: motorhome parking area in Gretna Green where it costs £5 for a night (no facilities; exact location: 55.0024, -3.04971). 10-18 May: Newtonmore Hostel. 19-26 May: Park Hotel, Montrose. 27 May: motorhome parking area, Arbroath (exact location: 56.55293, -2.58721).
We'd not been free to leave home until mid-afternoon on 9 May, so we made our aiming point for the night somewhere around Carlisle. I'd identified an overnight stop a couple of miles off the M6, but having made and eaten tea there, I was of the opinion that there was too much passing traffic for a good night's sleep. Surveying options, we decided that £5 for a reportedly quiet spot in Gretna was worthwhile.
Nightstop in Gretna
Looking the other way. There were lots of trains, including freight, but I didn't notice them overnight.
Arriving in Newtonmore on 10 May, manoeuvring Bertie through the gates and onto the drive was more straightforward than two years ago, thanks to the obstructive rowan tree being no more. As the rain came down outside, we set up TGO Challenge Control in the dining room, ready for the start of the event on Thursday 11th.
The eight days in Newtonmore passed by swiftly, with long days manning Challenge Control, with me and Mick taking it in turns for early morning runs on the trails between Newtonmore and Loch Gynack, mainly in good weather. Communal meals were shared each evening, hoping that the Challenge Control phone wouldn't ring too much whilst we ate.
Martin & Sue arrived on the Monday, not only providing welcome help with manning the desk, but also providing meals for us - photos of which can be found on Martin's blog.
By Friday 19th, the cumulative effect of the late nights and early mornings was catching up on me, so the 0530 alarm wasn't welcome, but was necessary* as Challenge Control was on the move. By 9am we were all set up in the Kinnaird Room at the Park Hotel in Montrose, ready to welcome the first finishers.
It's almost unheard of, after the first couple of days of the Challenge (when there are few check-ins), for all Challengers who are scheduled to check in on any given day to remember their obligations, but in a freak incident everyone on the list on that Friday was accounted for by 9.02pm. I don't recall that ever happening on a peak day before! There were no documents to trawl through and no risk assessments to complete. Instead, we counted our blessings and took our weary selves off to bed before 9.30pm.
Time again passed quickly, interspersed on the Monday with another move, but this time just from the Kinnaird Room (on the first floor) to the Garden Room (on the ground floor; it hadn't been available for the first three days we were in Montrose). The downstairs location is more convenient, as Bertie serves not just as sleeping quarters for me & Mick, but also provides self-catering and refrigeration facilities for the team. My attempts at discretion in carrying a pan of lentil stew through the hotel up to the first floor proved to be messy; being able to go straight from Bertie and in through the fire exit of the Garden Room was easier!
At 4.30pm on Friday 26th, the final finishing Challenger came through the door, Challenge Control was taken down and stowed in Co-ordinator Ali's car, and to the final celebratory dinner we went (there are four throughout the week; we only attended the final one, after Challenge Control had closed).
Those helping on Challenge Control get given a gift by way of a thank you. I'm awkward to buy for as the usual bottle of alcohol is no good for me. This year, in addition to a stash of dark chocolate, I got a 'cook the perfect egg' device - a thoughtful gift that I was grateful to receive**
This morning (Saturday 27 May, in case I follow my recent trend and fail to post this for another 4 weeks or months!) there was one final social gathering to attend: Montrose parkrun.
A collection of 2023 TGO Challenge baselayers (a bit warm in today's conditions) at Montrose parkrun. The person in this snap who is not me, Mick or Martin, is a first time Challenger who came along to run in her walking shorts and camp sandals. The latter had fallen apart in the first week and were being held together by glue and duct tape.
A slightly different collection of TGO Challenge branded clothing
With nothing on the agenda for today, when Martin & Sue asked if we were going to Charleton fruit farm after the run, we thought it an excellent idea. We dragged Neil & Sue along too (Sue O = other joint owner of the TGO Challenge).
Five strawberry tarts and a breakfast roll for Neil who broke the Montrose parkrun course record in his age category this morning.
Dropping Neil and Sue back off in Montrose, a decision was then needed: where were we going today? I set the SatNav for Perth to give us time to think. In the event, we made it just 11 miles down the road to Arbroath. Lunchtime was upon us, so we thought we'd just pull into the motorhome parking area for lunch.
Walking back towards town, we spotted the 'no motorhomes beyond this point' sign that we'd missed on our way in. There were probably a dozen vehicles beyond that point, but the sign is there for a reason and we weren't prepared to add to the problem of people ignoring it. A quick check that there was nowhere available within the permitted area, and the decision was made that we would have to drive on. Turning Bertie around was a multi-part manoeuvre in a narrow roadway, with kerbs either side and no turning place, and by the time we got back to the entrance one of the cars parked in the motorhome area had just moved. Score!
We celebrated with a lunch of Arbroath smokies...
...followed by an ice cream on the harbour:
The day has become increasingly clear and sunny, with barely a cloud in the sky as I type this, but it's not been that warm, especially with the wind, hence the insulated jackets.
By the time we got back to Bertie we could see no sense in moving on. We shall spend the night here, literally stone's throw from the North Sea.
A few snaps from runs taken from Newtonmore to Loch Gynack:
We'd not been free to leave home until mid-afternoon on 9 May, so we made our aiming point for the night somewhere around Carlisle. I'd identified an overnight stop a couple of miles off the M6, but having made and eaten tea there, I was of the opinion that there was too much passing traffic for a good night's sleep. Surveying options, we decided that £5 for a reportedly quiet spot in Gretna was worthwhile.
Arriving in Newtonmore on 10 May, manoeuvring Bertie through the gates and onto the drive was more straightforward than two years ago, thanks to the obstructive rowan tree being no more. As the rain came down outside, we set up TGO Challenge Control in the dining room, ready for the start of the event on Thursday 11th.
TGO Challenge Control in full swing a couple of days later. That's Ali (joint owner of the event) sitting next to Mick.
Martin & Sue arrived on the Monday, not only providing welcome help with manning the desk, but also providing meals for us - photos of which can be found on Martin's blog.
By Friday 19th, the cumulative effect of the late nights and early mornings was catching up on me, so the 0530 alarm wasn't welcome, but was necessary* as Challenge Control was on the move. By 9am we were all set up in the Kinnaird Room at the Park Hotel in Montrose, ready to welcome the first finishers.
Challenge Control on the move. Note that Bertie is left hand drive, so contrary to initial impressions, this was taken from the passenger seat.
Time again passed quickly, interspersed on the Monday with another move, but this time just from the Kinnaird Room (on the first floor) to the Garden Room (on the ground floor; it hadn't been available for the first three days we were in Montrose). The downstairs location is more convenient, as Bertie serves not just as sleeping quarters for me & Mick, but also provides self-catering and refrigeration facilities for the team. My attempts at discretion in carrying a pan of lentil stew through the hotel up to the first floor proved to be messy; being able to go straight from Bertie and in through the fire exit of the Garden Room was easier!
At 4.30pm on Friday 26th, the final finishing Challenger came through the door, Challenge Control was taken down and stowed in Co-ordinator Ali's car, and to the final celebratory dinner we went (there are four throughout the week; we only attended the final one, after Challenge Control had closed).
This morning (Saturday 27 May, in case I follow my recent trend and fail to post this for another 4 weeks or months!) there was one final social gathering to attend: Montrose parkrun.
With nothing on the agenda for today, when Martin & Sue asked if we were going to Charleton fruit farm after the run, we thought it an excellent idea. We dragged Neil & Sue along too (Sue O = other joint owner of the TGO Challenge).
Dropping Neil and Sue back off in Montrose, a decision was then needed: where were we going today? I set the SatNav for Perth to give us time to think. In the event, we made it just 11 miles down the road to Arbroath. Lunchtime was upon us, so we thought we'd just pull into the motorhome parking area for lunch.
Walking back towards town, we spotted the 'no motorhomes beyond this point' sign that we'd missed on our way in. There were probably a dozen vehicles beyond that point, but the sign is there for a reason and we weren't prepared to add to the problem of people ignoring it. A quick check that there was nowhere available within the permitted area, and the decision was made that we would have to drive on. Turning Bertie around was a multi-part manoeuvre in a narrow roadway, with kerbs either side and no turning place, and by the time we got back to the entrance one of the cars parked in the motorhome area had just moved. Score!
We celebrated with a lunch of Arbroath smokies...
By the time we got back to Bertie we could see no sense in moving on. We shall spend the night here, literally stone's throw from the North Sea.
Looking towards the harbour from Bertie's front bumper.
Overall, a fairly exhausting but fun two weeks spent in good company.
(*Officially, Challenge Control is open from 9am to 9pm, but there's usually at least one person working from 8am. At the end of the day the 'Overdue Challenger' process starts at 8.30pm and usually goes on until gone 10pm; at least one night it was 11pm. We take it in turns to take the phones to bed with us. The move to Montrose had to take place outside of the opening hours, and I did wonder whether we would have been better setting out at 10.30pm, rather than 5.30am, which I think would have netted us half an hour more sleep.
**I cooked quite a few successful meals, and prepared a lot of sandwiches, over the course of the two weeks, but the one thing that I seem to have a complete inability to store in my head is the timings for cooking eggs, either soft or hard boiled. This, therefore, was a perfect gift.)
Well done to both of you. Without such input The Challenge would not be possible I guess.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, these days three people are needed on Challenge Control for the first week and a half, and a handful more for the busy period when Challengers are arriving.
DeleteOn top of Challenge Control volunteers there are 15 volunteers who spend many, many hours vetting routes between November and March. So, yes, lots of people are required to make the event happen, but thus far there have always been enough people who think highly enough of the event to help out.