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 was our weather guru for the day and he confidently said "no rain today". He was eventually proved to be correct although there were a couple of brief moments of threatening smirr. It was pretty windy in places however.
One of the wayfarer signs and the final descent to Auchtavan clachan (hamlet):
There were picnic tables there and information boards:
One of the buildings has a proper door with a latch and somehow Ruby, briefly got stuck in there. Two other openings have removable fencing and inside there is a large dinner table, ideal for our lunch and out of the wind:
Excellent views of Lochnagar were tempered a little by the threatening clouds over the hills:
The way up to Auchtavan is on the Walk Highlands site - https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/cairngorms/auchtavan.shtml - but we didn't want to go back the same way. The option to walk to Invercauld had been rejected on timing and distance grounds but Dave managed to find us a different loop back to Inver that allowed us to flag down the 15:16 bus to Braemar, which, again, was a bit late.
We still managed to make it to the Invercauld Mews well before 4 pm. Unfortunately, no Braemar ale was available then - they were between casks - but there was still a fine choice of three Cairngorm ales to choose from. After 3 or 4 pints we started to think about our return journey and thought it wise to go and sit outside where we could see the inward bus arriving:
Predictably, the bus was 20 minutes late but we were still all safely home before 7 pm.
The route and stats for the day were:
A fine day out. Our next group walk is Friday 3rd July - route and exact logistics still to be decided, but a finish in Stonehaven seemed to be favoured.
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