Aviemore Day 4

We tidied up the cottage and left about 10. The weather forecast today is quite favourable so we decide to climb a Munro or two.

We parked just off the A9 just south of Dalwhinnie at Drumochter pass, and headed west towards Sgairneach Mhòr.

To start with the going is very easy. We see a lot of grouse, some mountain hares, and some frogspawn in the ponds.

Amber had a look at the frogspawn too!

We came across a baby hare on its own. Not sure if it was ill or abandoned, just left it alone though.

After about 2000ft there is quite a lot of snow on the ground.

We make it to the summit OK (991m 3251ft).

Then we head down off the west side. The next hill along looks like it might be too ambitious (for Amber!) so we start to descend the glen back to the car.

Saw more grouse and some ptarmigans on the way back.

The walk was about 10 miles in all. This was the route:

Got home about 5, fish and chips for tea.

Aviemore Day 3

Today we drove up Strathspey (the Whisky Trail) to Spey Bay. We left about 9.30 and first stopped at the tourist information centre in Grantown on Spey. The we went for a short walk in the the forest trails near the town.

We then drove north.  There are over 50 Speyside distilleries so we had a lot to choose from to visit. We chose The Glenlivet, which was fortunate as it was a free tour with a free dram at the end! No photography allowed inside, but it was very interesting - they distill many batches of  thousands of litres every day, Tony's got a bit of catching up to do.

We then drove on to Dufftown. It was raining heavily at this point so we sat in the car at the castle and had lunch.

We then carried on to Spey Bay and visited the Scottish Dolphin Centre. Unfortunately the sea was a bit choppy and we were unable to see any dolphins.

Following the coastal trail we next stopped at Lossiemouth. It was very sunny at this point, we went for a walk on the sand dunes over a footbridge.

We also stopped at Burghead, then went on to Findhorn, had a look at the Findhorn Foundation community. Then had a pint at the Kimberley Inn.

We decided to stop for something to eat on the way home, so we went to the Mosset Tavern in Forres.

Aviemore Day 2

Going for a walk in Rothiemurchus Forest today. Weather forecast is sunny and showers. We parked the car across the road from the Coylumbridge Hilton then walked up towards the camp site.

Initially we're walking on the first part of the Larig Ghru which we walked last year (without Amber).

At the Cairngorm Club footbridge we headed south to the beautiful Loch an Eilein.

Came across a frog sitting on the path.

We walked round this loch and Loch Gamhna before heading back to the car. The weather stayed mostly fine, with the sunshine balanced out by a few showers.

We walked about 9.5 miles in total, Amber was a bit tired towards the end. This was the route:

After this we still had time to drive to the Loch Garten osprey centre. EJ the female osprey was incubating two eggs on the nest, Odin the male osprey flew in and perched on a nearby tree.

The feeders at the centre were a hive of activity, we saw a red squirrel, greater spotted woodpecker, and lots of finches, siskins etc.

After this we drove to Carrbridge and had a pint at the Cairn Hotel - Amber welcome again.

Dinner was at home again, Moroccan meatballs and some beer and wine.

Aviemore Day 1

We've booked a cottage in Aviemore for a long weekend. Taking Amber with us.

We left about 10. On the way we stopped in at Strathearn Distillery. This is a new micro-distillery near Methven being set up by my ex-colleague from Sun Microsystems - Tony Reeman-Clark. They're not up and running yet, but have just taken delivery of their stills - hand-beaten copper from Portugal.

We have already bought a cask of whisky, despite the fact it's not even been distilled yet, so we won't get a sniff of it for 3+ years. Still, 50 litres of cask-strength single malt to look forward to!

We then drove on to Pitlochry and stopped for lunch at the Moulin Hotel. Very good lunch, and Amber came in too.

After lunch we went to the Falls of Bruar and walked the path up and round the falls. Then went into the visitor centre, bought a Dundee Cake.

We carried on to Aviemore, arriving about 4. Before heading to the cottage we drove up the ski road to the funicular bottom station, to have a look at the snow level. It was pretty much at the station, 2000ft or so.

We then went to the cottage, which is on the north side of Aviemore in Dalnaby Road. It's great, got everything we need and very clean.

We decided to eat in on the first night, so drove to Tesco in town to buy supplies. Stopped for a pint at the Winking Owl pub, another dog-friendly place.

We then went home to a curry and more beer. Played some dominoes, watched a bit of television and went to bed.