Seven Bridges

The planned bus/walk/booze trip turned in to a bus/booze/walk/booze outing last Friday. Seven of us met up in Ballater eventually - Jeb, Colin and I on the bus, Dave (plus Ruby), Ken and Stewart by cars and Gary, the local, walked. Stewart was a little delayed so the only thing to do was head over to the Balmoral Bar's outdoor drinking area opposite the green to sample the new Braemar Brewery's first brew - a Pale Ale:

Gary then led us down to the river, just past the Alexandra Hotel and we did the usual loop of the golf course before meeting up with the old railway line that never was. We soon reached the first bridge:

Reaching the restored Polhollick Bridge, we stopped for refreshments and then tried to recreate the image from our previous trip here, when we were celebrating Nigel's 60th with drams:

Note the slight difference in apparel. Across the bridge, Gary took us on a slight detour along the riverside through some prime tick country. We reached the Queen Mother's former fishing lodge where we posed for a few more photos:

We again bypassed the option of detouring to Knock Castle and headed straight to the Alexandra for a couple of ales. Stewart and Dave were driving so missed out here. Ken stayed for one quick beer then dashed to catch the 17:10 bus. Jeb, Colin and I moved on to the Barrel Bar for a last pint before the bus and Gary walked home. Another good day out. Here's the stats: