Page of 14
The planned Gigha long weekend club trip had to be turned into a day trip for lunch due to the weather forecast. Nice flights over and back, but all very hazy and a bit overcast so not a day for aerial photos. Here we are on Gigha though - it was still great to be back.
An impromptu night under the stars - well, under the tent under the stars after the first warm sunshine of the year.
Skiing again in the Alps. After a very mild early winter snow was scarce in places but there was plenty up high at Les Arcs and La Plagne.
Wandering over to watch the receeding tide reveal the Aberlady submarines.
Taking advantage of still being in Edinburgh, we were witness to a piece of history and soaked up the friendly but respectful atmosphere on the Royal Mile for the Queen's coffin's procession from Holyrood to St Giles' Cathedral.
A very cool conversion of an old agricultural building near the foot of Liberton Brae. Three new houses with great views west to the Braids and Blackford Hill. We pass by on one of our many walks from Clackmae.
A great cycling holiday to Brittany and Normandy with a bit of walking about thrown in between the bike rides. Superb weather, roads and galettes all the way. We can’t wait to do it again. Overnights, in chronological order, in The English Channel (1), Dinon (1), Audierne (1), Carnac (2), Vannes (2) and Bayeux (2).
Perfect weather for walking the seven hills of Edinburgh today, starting and ending in Liberton. Blackford Hill, Arthur's Seat, Calton Hill, Castle Rock, Corstorphine Hill, Craiglockhart East, Braid Hills. With Julie and Douglas.
A walking tour of the sites of the old curling ponds of southern Edinburgh. Only one had any proper visible physical evidence of its existence.
Or "Boots, Boobs and Brose" as Kim wanted to call it. I had the two eastern-most Mamores, Sgurr Eilde Mor and Binnein Beag, still to bag in order to complete this set, so we decided to try an evening walk in and high camp, setting up the hillwalk for the following morning. It was all a bit of an experiment in carrying heavy packs as we'd never wild camped before - always camping fairly close to the car or the microlight in the past which of course isn't really wild camping at all. Anyway, we had chilly air and a stiff wind on top but offset by great under foot conditions and visibility, giving us a super outing in the hills. The photos are all just mobile snaps because I'd decided to save weight by not taking a proper camera. That was a mistake, in hindsight. A wee, experimental video of the trip: youtu.be/Ba4HrQjf66g
Ironically, as we're in the middle of the architectural project of our lives, we toured with bases at Fort William and Aviemore. Both have so much in common - horrible architecture, big mountains, skiing, mountain biking, rail network connection and even a steam train each, and yet Aviemore just works and is a cool place to be, but Fort William is still so grim. Anyway, they set us up well for more tandeming and Munro bagging as we chased the weather, with reasonable success, once again. Three tandem rides, two camps, two swims, three Munro ticks, one actual tick, one wasp sting and a million midge bites - all the ingredients of another fine Scottish holiday.
Back on Mull again for the first time in three years for a superb bar meal at Glenforsa as usual. Home the next day via Bute for a wander and lunch.
Final, unbagged Munro in the Glenshee area. That's that section complete now, 30-odd years on.
Yet another lockdown week, but a more interesting one thanks to a decent dump snow lasting six days and stretching right down to the sea.
A sunny Autumn jolly to a very warm welcome at the Troutbeck strip near Blencathra in the Lake District for lunch.
A fine island wander, conveniently starting and ending at Bute airstrip and then a fun flight home round by Loch Lomond and down the middle of the Forth from Stirling to the bridges.
https://graemeritchie.com/flickr.php?startNo=45