Day 1: Aviemore parkrun
Having planned to start the holiday on a Friday to allow for parkrun I was excited to try out a new course. Having faffed about for longer than planned, then waiting for my Garmin to catch up with the fact that we’d left Aberdeen I made it along just in time to find everyone making their way to the start. Thankfully I wasn’t going to be at the front so all I had to do was applaud the volunteers and then follow the crowd when the Run Director shouted, ‘Go!’
With hindsight, perhaps getting there in time for the briefing would have been more beneficial as I had no concept of the course. This resulted in me setting off way too enthusiastically and suffering as after a nice downhill start, the majority of the first half being uphill. In the grand scheme of things the elevation wasn’t significant, however when you can’t recall the last time you did anything other than an easy run …
Reaching the turn I was delighted to be on the downhill leg. Having given it too much on the way out this still felt like hard work. I wasn’t passed by anyone and amusingly it appears from looking at the results that many were first timers at Aviemore and likely suffering as much as I was!
The final wee sting in the tail was rough! My legs felt like jelly! Job done all the same and in just under 25 minutes. I’ll take that.
Afternoon Ambling
Too windy to go anywhere of high, we opted to have an easy walk instead. This took us up to the café at Rothiemurchus to begin where we sat outside with a roaring fire clutching our coffee and scones for fear that they’d take off.
A bloke with a bald eagle turned up to tout his wares and try to draw in a crowd for the Birds of Prey experience. It was amusing to watch the faces of folks appearing out of the shop out across the car park to be greeted by such a magnificent sight.
Leaving the café, we revisited our old stomping ground taking what is now the Beaver Trail, a much improved path from when we used to bike it, up to Loch an Eilein. Here the wind was so strong that the loch looked like it was tidal! There were white tailed waves and a significant spray blowing off the water.
We headed around the lochside reminiscing as we went, so many happy memories tied up in this area.
Our walk saw us follow lots of familiar trails, finally returning via the old logging road to the Bridge Inn for refreshment.
Day 2: Speyside Way – Aviemore to Kingussie
The hill forecast was shocking, winds gusting up to 80 mph so there was no way we were heading high. Instead, we opted to walk a section of the Speyside Way, the original plan being to finish at Newtonmore. Ideally we’d have taken a bus or train to Newtonmore and walked back as this would have both avoided the need to clock watch and provide a tailwind. The nature of public transport in this part of the world meant that this was nigh on impossible unless we wanted to start early afternoon. Not being ones to laze around too much we set off at 9 am instead.
The path is really well marked and the trails are in great condition, all the more so given recent weather conditions. I opted to try out my latest trail runners (Altra Lone Peak) to see how they’d fare over a longer duration and I’m delighted to say that they felt super comfortable all the way!
Kincraig: Stop Off
We rumbled along nicely and reached Kincraig ahead of the lunchtime crowds, stopping at the Post Office Café for a very fine soup lunch and obligatory cake!
Sunshine and Showers
Over lunch we’d decided that we’d end our day at Kingussie as there were more options for getting ‘home’, not all trains stopping in Newtonmore. With hindsight, this was definitely the right decision, the overall distance covered being just a tad shy of 18 miles for the day.
The first point of interest was the Uach Lochans, a small detour off the path giving lovely views across them all.
Thereafter we followed good trails, the plentiful way markers making route finding incredibly easy.
The scenery varied and the going was good despite the wind occasionally buffeting us.
There was one shower that saw us getting wet but thankfully it passed over quickly. The next shower was somewhat more prolonged and it saw me getting rather grumpy as I’d not expected it to be as heavy or sustained and I was more than a bit hacked off to have very wet trousers! The only good thing about the wind is that it helps to remedy this. The rain stuck with us until just after the Ruthven Barracks.
We were rewarded with a spectacular rainbow! It was almost enough to get me out of my bad mood (but not quite). I continued grumbling until we reached Kingussie and the sanctuary of the Duke of Gordon Hotel. There we enjoyed a refreshment before catching the train back to Aviemore.
Clare, happiest outdoors! 