Banchory Veterans' Hill-walkers

Finally we got our act together and managed to get 6 of us out on a Friday afternoon for a walk/hike in Upper Deeside. Dave had conjured up a number of possible scenarios linked to bus schedules but they all entailed a visit to Auchtavan, a spot where the former Queen Mother used to visit. The 201 due at the Douglas at 11:10 am was 10 + minutes late which added a little stress to the potentially tight timing. Steve and Andy were first on board, then Nigel and me two stops on, followed by Dave and Ken at Potarch. During the journey, the final return route was decided, based on bus and drinking timings. It was the shortest option that was favoured. We alighted at Inver, not too far past Crathie, crossed the road, heading intially up some grass tracks, indistinct in places, before picking up a more identifiable path that had been "Land Rovered" at some stage. The initially forecast warm sunny day had changed somewhat and there was those amongst us expecting downpours, but Steve ...

Homeward bound for 5 of us but an equal number – Jeb, Vicki, Steve, Ken and Dave – were initially planning to travel to Eigg. Dave had a late change of mind and decided he would go to Glenfinnan instead. The others had their plans thwarted at the last minute when apparently there was some kind of mechanical issue with the ferry fleet, whereupon Ken took off and did his own thing and Steve took the opportunity to cancel his separate bookings.com reservation and head home. Meanwhile Jeb and Vicki did a local walk with Ozzie: It was all too much: Another excellent few days away – well done, Jeb. There had been discussion on Sunday night about which charity we should support this year. Most of us thought we should add to Jeb’s fund-raising but he said no – he felt everyone had already done enough, so we agreed to again support the charity Stewart works for - https://www.justgiving.com/charity/abernecessities

Only 10 of us today – Gordon left early this morning to drive over to Banchory to attend his daughter’s and grand-daughter’s birthday parties. Sunday’s plan was a train ride to Fort William. We all declined the chance of taking the Jacobite Steam Train – mostly due to the extortionate prices – and just made the 90 minute journey in 2 standard Scotrail carriages. There was a mild bit of panic at the start as we noticed that virtually all the seats had reserved tickets on them – and none of the passengers had been able to reserve seats. It transpired however that all the reservations started at Fort William so no sweat. Initial plans for coffee when we arrived at FW were again disrupted due to the designated café being exceptionally busy and short-staffed. Some stayed while others moved on. The walkers were doing a circuit of Cow Hill so, after coffee, Jo and I decided to go to the start of this walk, which involved a climb up through some fairly grubby housing estates. The others ...

Saturday morning and we were heading to the small ferry/former fishing boat that would take us to Inverie on the remote Knoydart peninsula – only accessible by sea unless you’re tough enough to hike over mountains and boggy ground, camping out for 2 or 3 nights – there are no roads. Here’s our transport for the day arriving at Mallaig harbour: This was our approach to Knoydart: You can see the small community around the pier. There are now reckoned to be approx. 120-140 permanent residents – a number that has increased substantially since the community buyout in 1999:   Our first call was intended to be for coffees but we discovered that the only café only opens Monday to Friday so we trudged on, passing the Old Forge, the most remote and inaccessible pub in the country. However we were amazed to discover that it was Pride weekend in Knoydart – everywhere was bedecked in rainbow colours. We discovered coffees were available in the Community Hall, however, so we grabbe...

Jeb’s plan for the first full day was a walk along the shores of Lake Morar to Tarbet (one of many places by that name – and not Tarbert), catching the ferry back. First of all, however, they jumped on the train for the short journey to Morar. Those participating lined up for a team photo at the start of the walk: It was a fairly long and tricky haul, I’m told, with several precarious crossings of fast-running burns etc., but eventually Tarbet bay came into view: Showery weather meant it was a day for rainbows: Nigel’s stats for the walk were: Meanwhile, Jo and I checked out the lovely Bakehouse then explored a bit more of Mallaig in the morning, followed by a drive out to Loch Morar shoreside, then the Silver Sands, Arisaig and back to Mallaig for the same circular walk that the others had done the previous day. We also had a lovely rainbow as we began the descent from our walk: Here’s our afternoon stats: We all gathered in the evening for pre-dinner drinks ...