Scotland - Days 8 & 9
The showers at the campsite in Braemar were so good that I had another one in the morning before we left. We moved George to the main car park in the village and set off up Morrone at about 11.30am. We were so disgusted with ourselves for being so lazy the previous days there was no mention of any delaying tactics or excuses from either of us. We were soon rewarded for our efforts when we saw a red squirrel running along the road in front of us before we even left the town.
The walk up Morrone was quite nice, a bit of a slog but with a fairly easy path. We didn't see a soul on the hill. By the time we were nearing the summit it was absolutely freezing (in fact, it was probably below freezing). I was glad we'd come up as it was a good reminder of how cold it can get on hills, especially Scottish ones in Autumn. Fortunately there is a little hut on the top of Morrone, donated to the mountain rescue association by the family of a man who died of exposure up there, which I can well believe. There was a padlock on the door but it wasn't locked, so we went inside to find what appeared to be some sort of radio control centre! There were electrical boxes labelled Mountain Rescue and Ambulance Service. We were careful not to touch anything, but made the most of the warm little hut to have our lunch in.
The way down was along a wide track down the other side with views across the valley towards the cliffs of Lochnagar. It started to rain on the way back, and we spotted another red squirrel, this time in someone's front garden. We made it back to George before the torrential rain started. While it was raining I checked the weather forecast, and was pleased to find that things were set to improve over the next few days, especially in the East Cairngorms (which is where we are).
We parked up for the night just off the road in Glen Muick, near to the start for the following days walk. It got very windy overnight and we had to put George's pop top down, and I had to put my earplugs in.
The following morning we were up bright and early and were on our way just after 10am. We'd decided to do another of the Trail 100 hills which we'd had views of the previous day - Lochnagar, which is also a Munro. The hill is on the Balmoral estate, so technically it must belong to the Queen.
We got a peek of the cliffs near the summit as we were leaving the car park, and then after a nice walk through some Scots Pine woodland started the gradual ascent.
It was a lovely route, with clear well maintained paths, which is quite unusual for Scotland. The paths were so good that I was able to check my Hill Lists app on my phone, and it was lucky I did because I discovered there was a second Munro up there which we weren't aware of!
We spotted two big stags on the hillside on the way up, and a couple of snow buntings. As we reached level with the bottom of the cliffs the wind really picked up and then it started raining. After yesterday's experience we'd come prepared and were soon layered up and feeling quite warm and snuggly.
The rain didn't come to much, and in what felt like no time we were on the final approach to the summit. The cloud chose that moment to descend, so unfortunately we didn't get much of a view. We got fed up of waiting for the cloud to lift (not to mention a bit cold) so we set off back down after 10 minutes or so.
As the ascent of Lochnagar had seemed so easy, we decided to just nip across and bag the other Munro as it was so near - Carn a'Choire Bhoidheach. Catchy name I know. It was one of those hills that hasn't got a lot going for it really - a fairly nondescript green hump, although to be fair, we did get a nice view from the top, unlike its grand neighbour. That little detour probably only took an extra hour, and we were still feeling pretty fresh as we began the descent. We we surprised to find that it was 3pm when we stopped for a snack on the way down.
The path down was also well maintained, and was very steep in some parts, as it followed a nice gorge with a waterfall. We eventually made it to the loch shore, by which time it was blazing sunshine. The last few miles were along a track, and although it was surrounded by lovely scenery, it was getting a bit tough by that point. My feet were aching, and Claire's feet are like something out of a zombie movie at the moment, so we were both glad to get back to George. The total route today was 25km with 1,100m of ascent so it's no wonder our feet are hurting.
We made a beeline for the campsite at Ballater, and got the last pitch! Apparently it is busy because there is a big bike race on Sunday starting and ending here. We had the nicest curry we've had for a long time in the nearest eatery to the campsite, which turned out to have won several awards for it's curries being the best in the North East. As usual I ate too much and washed it all down with gassy lager, so I'm still suffering the consequences. Claire seems OK, probably because I ate most of her nan bread.
We had an even better campsite shower than the one at Braemar (better squirtyness) and are now slumped in George, charging all our gadgets and degassing.
Tomorrow we are going to have a more relaxed day, hopefully involving lots of pampering and treats as it is my birthday!
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