Annual Walking Week in Great Glen

Our Annual Walking week was in The Great Glen this year and we all arrived at our country house near Drumnadrochit within 2 hours of each other last Saturday. This was the largest number ever to participate in The Last of the Summer Wine walking holiday making a total of 7 men and 5 women. As the house was fairly remote this year we planned to eat out 3 times and the rest of the week the ladies provided us with superb meals. Tom was the last to arrive on Saturday and he had a car loaded with enough wine and beer to sink a battleship. I am happy to report that most of the wine has disappeared but there will be a load of beer returning to Langholm just in time for the Cornet's Street Party at the Golf Club on Sunday. The plan was to walk at least 40 miles during the week and I am happy to report this target has been achieved although not everybody walked every day.

Day 1 on Sunday was a nice easy 7 mile walk to set us up for the more difficult walks later in the week. We started at the first Lock on the Caledonian Canal at Inverness and walked to the point where it entered Loch Ness. There were a good number of boats on the canal with most of them being of Scandinavian origin. 

The first Lock on the canal and 3 boats waiting to move out of it into the canal. One Swedish and the other 2 were from Norway. 

On Monday Gaye and Aileen and myself decided to visit The Black Isle to see the famous Moray Firth Dolphins.
We were very lucky and within 5 minutes of parking our car at Chandonry Point near Fortrose we witnessed a spectacular display of Dolphin aerobatics for about 15 minutes before they all disappeared. This photograph does not give a true impression of how spectacular they were as managing to catch them in mid air was almost impossible. They were only about 10 to 15 yards from the shore but kept appearing at different points along the shore and anticipating just where they would do their leaps was almost impossible.  

Aileen and Gaye at Chandonry Point with about 25 Dolphin watchers behind them. The best time to view them is about 1 hour after slack tide and we just managed to arrive at exactly the right time. 

After the excitement of watching the Dolphins we headed up the coast to Rosemarkie where we had Coffee and Cake in a lovely Beach Cafe run by the local community. While we were visiting the Black Isle the rest of the walkers were walking round Loch Affric for the toughest walk of the week and a distance of about 11 miles. 

Tuesday was set to be the best day of the week for weather and we set out to walk Loch Oich and the Caledonian Canal sections from North Laggan to Fort Augustus. This was a distance of about 10 miles and with the weather hotting up to almost 70F it proved to be a fantastic days walking. Logistically it was quite complicated with an hours drive in 2 cars to North Laggan and then Elspeth and Gaye would meet us in Fort Augustus at the end of the walk to run the 2 drivers back to their cars. 

As you can see from this photograph of Loch Oich the scenery was just stunning

Lunch at the Bridge of Oich swing bridge and the opportunity to relax and watch several boats coming through and waiting for the swing bridge to open. It takes quite a long time to navigate the canal as their are 29 Locks and 8 Swing Bridges to be negotiated therefore great patience is required. On a day like this nobody was in any hurry and it looked a great way of spending a day on a boat.

Another European Boat navigates the Canal but this time it is from Holland. 

The last leg of the Tuesday walk and a refreshing drink among the trees is the best way to cool down.

The entrance to Loch Ness and a series of 5 Locks to be navigated at Fort Augustus. This was the end of our walk and it was just lovely to sit and have a few beers at the side of the canal while our drivers collected the cars from North Laggan.

Most of the walkers had a free day on Wednesday but the ones visiting the Black Isle to see the Dolphins were unlucky as they never appeared. This is our Thursday walk which involved driving to one of the highest points on the Great Glen Way and then walking back to Drumnadrochit. The walk included new forest plantation, old forest, and moorland so we had a real variety of landscape to negotiate. The new forest area was a combination of both conifers and deciduous and was a real treat to walk through. 

Our lunch time stopping place above Loch Ness with an almost 1000ft drop to the Loch.

Coffee and cake back in Drumnadrochit after our lovely walk.

Tom managed to sleep while holding his bottle of beer for almost 30 minutes and not a drop was spilt.

Pre dinner nibbles provided by the ladies and very tasty they were too. 

On our Thursday walk at the highest and remotest point we saw many signs like this.

Eventually we came to this sign and a path to what must be the remotest cafe in the UK. As it was just near the starting point of our walk we decided not to bother visiting the cafe but afterwards I think we all regretted this and maybe had missed out on something a bit special.
The weather for Friday was looking terrible so Gaye and I decided to head for home as I have a Buccleuch Centre function on Saturday as Duty Manager and it was not worth driving all day on Saturday and then being out until almost 1.00am in the morning. The 8 remaining walkers were planning a lazy day and then dinner out at the Fiddlers in the evening. It has been a lovely week blessed with great weather for 5 out of the 6 days. I would like to take the opportunity of thanking the many friends who have sponsored us and I am happy to report that we have raised over £700 for Macmillan Cancer Support. 

A Day in Newcastleton

There was only Tom and myself for our weekly walk today so we opted to visit Newcastleton and walk 2 routes featured in  the booklet "Walks around Newcastleton". Despite Newcastleton being our near neighbour both Tom and I have not spent much time walking around there and this proved to be a real eye opener. It is a beautiful village with lots of lovely houses and gardens. Our first stop was to inspect the new bridge which is not open yet but hopefully will be soon. We then headed down the Liddel Water to Mangerton Tower.

Holm Bridge over the Liddel

Looking south over the bridge you get the impression the Liddel is actually 2 rivers but they soon merge at the corner.

This is Tom standing on the top part of Mangerton Tower which was a formerArmstrong fortified house. If those legs of Tom's had been about when the Armstrongs occupied it they would have frightened off most invaders.

After following the old Waverly Railway Line we headed back into Newcastleton along the very long Liddel Street which has some lovely houses on the river bank. 

Our walking day finished with a 2 mile walk through River & Woodland with the river forming the eastern border of the town and the woodland forming the western border. This is a lovely walk and seems to be well used by locals. We finished up the 6.5 mile walk with a pint and a bar lunch in The Grapes Hotel. The food was excellent and provided very quickly. The journey back over the hill gave us an opportunity to look at the Hen Harrier feeding posts on the Langholm Moor but without binoculars there was not much to see. The Hen Harriers were featured on Springwatch on BBC2 that evening and gave splendid film of the skydance routine of the mail bird.

River Walk and a Visit to Tom in DGRI

Another Wednesday and another day of rain. We had decided to walk the River Annan from Annan to Brydekirk and back on the other side and then visit Tom who was having a small operation in the DGRI. The forecast was dry in Annan until about noon but when we arrived there at 10.00am it was pouring down and we sat in the car for 30 minutes before deciding to go ahead with our walk as it had eased off a little. This is the Caul just a mile north of Annan. Just after we passed this point it started to rain heavily again and it did so for the rest of the 6.4 mile walk.

The band of walkers all geared up for wet weather.

A herd of curious cows

A lone fisherman

After our walk we headed off to the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary to see Tom, who was in good spirits having just had his lunch. He is determined to drive home himself tomorrow but may have to drive standing up or at the very least on a good cushion.

My Birthday Walk at Oxenholme

Todays Wednesday walk was my Birthday Walk so we needed something a bit special so I picked a walk from Oxenholme Station in the Lake District. This is about 9 miles long and takes you on a route between the M6 and the A6 although neither of these roads were visible much. The Edinburgh contingent were on the same train that we caught at Carlisle with the exception of Martin who arrived 30 minutes earlier in Oxenholme. It started to rain lightly as we left the station and the rain continued for most of the day although it was never heavy and on several occasions stopped for on average 30 minutes at a time. I have to say that as much as I enjoy walking in England the walks are never straightforward and you need good map reading skills and good instructions to follow. It is because of rights of way and many farmers who wont allow access over their land so you have to detour. This never happens in Scotland and walks here seem to be much easier to follow.

Kendal in the distance and on a good day this would have been a superb view.

At the furthest away point from the station we came upon this Quaker Burial Ground with only a couple of gravestones in it. 

Lunch and Martin and Tom have stopped speaking to each other. Martin's map reading was first class but even he managed to take us a wrong way twice. Tom for once kept quiet and as a result of his silence we had few problems with map reading.

We passed through several meadows full of Buttercups and this one had at least 6 white horses in it. 

A small lake surrounded by meadows and on a good day this would have been a much better photo.
We stopped at the Station Inn at Oxenholme Station for a pint and a blether at 3.00pm and caught the 16.06 train back to Carlisle where the Edinburgh contingent changed trains 15 minutes later for Edinburgh. A good walk despite the weather.

Birthday Lunch and a Walk

Today was my 67th Birthday and at 9.00am 4 of the last of the Summer Wine lads met at no 63 for their Wednesday walk at Appleby. This time I did not go with them as Gaye had had her 2nd dose of chemotherapy on Monday so I felt it was better to stay and keep an eye on her just in case there were any unpleasant side effects. She had promised to take me for lunch so that was a bonus. We headed to the small Garden Centre on Brampton Road near Longtown and had a nice lunch followed by a visit to Talkin Tarn. The photos above shows Talkin Tarn at its best in glorious sunshine.

While I walked round the Tarn Gaye sat in the sun reading a good book. She is looking good despite 4 hours of chemotherapy on Monday and I am happy to report the nasty side effects have not appeared as a result of the many pills she has to take between Monday and Thursday.

She had these guys to keep her company.

Somebody has lost this rather nice hat so hopefully they will find it on this wall where I placed it.

The Last of the Summer Wine Walkers in Appleby area this morning.

Gatehouse of Fleet Walk in Cally Estate

We decided to go a bit further afield today especially as the weather was looking so good so we headed off to Gatehouse of Fleet and the Cally Estate. This was a walk 3 of us did 2 years ago but it was new for Niall and Peter. This photo is taken in front of the Cally Palace Hotel overlooking the Lake and Golf Course.

The Bluebells were everywhere and almost at their best plus the fresh green spring foliage was splendid. 

The Beach at Sandgreen with high tide due just as we stopped for lunch. A bit early in the season as the beach was totally deserted.

Lunch by the sea.

On the second half of the walk we passed by this old churchyard at a village called Girthon.
This tree is just coming into leaf and provided  a rather nice photograph.

The old walls of the church were covered with these purple flowers

Back in the woods near the Cally Pallace Hotel we found this old Gothic Folly called the Temple.
This roofless folly with its battlements and faux windows was built in the grounds as a ruin in 1778 by the owner of the estate, James Murray of Broughton.

Near the end of the walk and a pose among the Bluebells seemed to be the right thing to do. A superb walk of almost 9 miles in lovely woodland and with Bluebells everywhere. After almost 4 hours of walking we headed home after afternoon tea in Castle Douglas.

Aberdeen via Two Bridges

This past weekend we headed to Newmacher just north of Aberdeen to visit Gaye's friend Collett who she has known since her schooldays in Dalbeattie. We travelled by train via Edinburgh and the journey north on Friday was spectacular with sunshine most of the way. When we arrived at Dyce Station it started to rain and it never stopped until late evening Sunday night and on our return journey it was once again a nice day. The only time I had my camera out was when we were going over the Tay and Forth Railway bridges and to take a photo of Gaye & Collett on Sunday night. The girls did a lot of shopping and talking but it was so wet I was hardly over the doorstep and did a lot of reading, eating, (Collett is a fantastic cook), and watching sport on TV. This is the Tay Bridge taken from the train. I should add that the return journey was just £34 for the both of us so it was a bargain until we got to Edinburgh Waverley on the return journey to find the Carlisle train had been cancelled so we quickly headed to the Bus Station and caught the X95 to Langholm.

The Forth Bridge taken on the return journey.

Collett and Gaye late evening on Sunday when the sun came out for a few moments before it disappeared again. We did however enjoy our break despite the awful weather.