Banchory Veterans' Hill-walkers

It was with a little trepidation that 5 of us set off for Tarland from Banchory this morning. The forecast was for very high winds and there was also the prospect of some kind of precipitation - probably white. They were right about the winds, which were pretty icy at times, but it was a mostly sunny day and we got round completely dry. The meeting point for Ian, John, Colin, Andy and I was the car park at Douneside House leisure centre, which gave us a little start on the hill - although we would have to climb back up there from the village at the end of our circular route anyway. We didn't have detailed directions - all we had was the Tarland Walks leaflet - but we decided to try to follow the red route up the hill and would decide when we got to the top which one of the various routes we would come back down on. In the end, we need not have feared - the trails were well signposted on the way up, although we did have a couple of brief mis-steps on the way down. In fact, w...

Five of us met at the golf club at 11 am this morning and strolled across the golf course and up Scolty in mostly fine sunshine with firm, but not icy, underfoot conditions. Team photo at the top and stats: Fine tea/coffee and scones in the golf club afterwards.

The 12th month brought our 12th monthly walk yesterday. Six of us drove over to the north gates of Dunecht Estate - and waited. Showers were passing through - or so we thought - so surely it was just a matter of time before we could start our walk? After 20 minutes or so sitting in the cars, we decided it was time to brave it. All togged up, we set off:   We passed by the lake and it was still a little damp: After that point, the rain desisted and the conditions for the rest of the day were pretty pleasant for early December. We marched through the estate and out through the south gate then along a narrow road for 2 kms until we reached the B road from Echt to Dunecht. We had to walk along that for about 100 yards then turned left and started the ascent of Barmekin Hill. The path up was fairly narrow through ferns and heather, and it could have been tricky to follow when everything was in full bloom: As we climbed, there were good views of the eve...

The November walk was the long-promised trip to Aberdeen to "do" a semi-cultural/sightseeing round Footdee and Old Aberdeen. Four of us - Ian, Colin, Nigel and me - caught the bus in to Aberdeen and we were joined on the bus at Culter by Dave, fresh from his Pilates class at Kippie. The early part of the walk from Union St, along Regent Quay was pretty busy and industrial, but when got to Pocra Quay and Footdee it became much more interesting. The iconic Roundhouse and Silver Darlings restaurant beckoned us onwards: Scarty's Monument - actually a ventilator shaft Team in "Fittie" Fittie house Fittie house 2 We were getting a bit peckish so a quick lunch stop at the famous Inversnecky: We then marched a couple of miles along the beach and turned back up towards Bridge of Don and Donmouth Nature Reserve and the bird hide there: Heron Across the bridge and down to the north side of the Don, we headed inland half a mil...