26 walkers turned up to brave the elements on today’s walk. We stopped at Dufftown for a comfort break on the way and were beguiled by the bright sunshine – this was not to last. The bus then made its way on a long, winding and undulating road to the starting point.
24 walkers disembarked the bus at Allanreid car park near Tomnavoulin and the remaining 2 went with the bus to the finishing point at the Glacks of Balloch to do a walk there.
It was raining lightly at this time and waterproofs were donned before setting off on the walk. One group of 5 (who shall be nameless) were so pre-occupied in their conversation about navigational systems (e.g. Viewranger) that they took a wrong path and later found themselves about a half mile or so off track. Their misery was compounded when, in an effort to get back on track through a “grassy field”, they were confronted by the farmer who told them in no uncertain terms to get out of his silage field. The group continued after some profuse apologies to the agitated farmer who then advised them of a track that would lead back to the River Livet.
The rain abated for a time and some oystercatchers were heard then spotted. Lapwings were seen and a skylark was also heard and observed overhead.
Due to the poor weather many walkers chose not to climb Corrihabbie Hill and instead stuck with the low level route although a few brave souls took on the challenge of the hill.
The River Livet was easy to cross without the need to walk the extra distance to take the bridge. The rain came on heavy as one group approached the ruin of Suie where they sheltered for a tea break around 12:30.
Everyone was back at the bus well ahead of time and we were cheered up listening to Andy Murray winning his 2nd Wimbledon title just as we headed for our pub stop in Dufftown at 5:00 p.m. As soon as we arrived in Dufftown the skies cleared and the sun came out. Ah! The joys of the Scottish weather !
After the pub stop it was back to Aberdeen via Huntly and well ahead of schedule. A good day out was had by all, despite the weather and of course Andy Murray’s Wimbledon victory was the icing on the cake.
Gilbert