Early Morn in the Cairngorms

When work is busy and the weather is warm, what better time to leave the city behind for a weekend and escape to the Highlands? Specifically, the town of Aviemore situated in the Cairngorm Mountains.

After work on Friday, Fiona and I grabbed a bus and took the three hour journey north. It was reasonably late by the time we arrived in Aviemore, so we decided to find a nice local pub and take it easy. We rose early on Saturday, but we made a poor decision to start the day. Fiona and I mistakenly bought into the hype that surrounds the Cairngorm Mountain Railway and thought we should check it out. The railway is actually a funicular train, which is ironic really because the word “funicular” contains the word “fun” but not the word “shite” (it assuredly contained none of the former but a lot of the latter). £8 brought us the pleasure of taking a railcar up the side of the mountain to a peak-top station that hawked overpriced food and assorted crap (a.k.a. souvenirs). And the train didn’t actually go up a nice part of the mountain, but up a section that is a ski hill in the winter. Disused snow making machines, chair lift cables and the like do not make for a pretty mountain view. We also could not leave the peak-top station for "environmental concerns" so we all squeezed into a small viewing balcony to try and get our money’s worth. The kicker was on the way back down when, after hawking guidebooks, the train operator announced “in order to help you appreciate the view, please enjoy some traditional Scottish music” and then proceeded to play some Generic British Folk Music © over the intercom. What a farce. The Cairngorm Mountain Railway now ranks number 2 on my all-time list of Crappy Tourist Attractions, narrowly missing out on the top spot currently held by the Capilano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver, BC (which is a whole other rant).

Redemption came in the form of the beautiful Loch an Eilein. After a beautiful forest walk of about two hours, one arrives on a beach where you can see the Loch and the island within it which contains the ruins of an old castle. Stunning.

Later that day we met up with Kevin, Kathleen and Troy and their two friends from Germany who had all rented a cottage in Aviemore. In fact, the cottage was a corporate chalet complete with every amenity you could think of, including satellite TV and a gas barbeque. It was fantastic. I think even they were amazed how nice it was.

On Sunday, a few of us decided to climb the Cairngorm peak which gives the Cairngorm Mountain range its name. "Cairngorm" is Gaelic for “Blue Mountain”, though this one is a wee bit different than the one in Collingwood, Ontario. After walking through fields of heather and passing by cairns which had been made to show the way through the rocky terrain, we came across a path that ironically goes right by the funicular peak-top station. Turns out that you are allowed to walk around outside the area where the train goes, but only if you walk from the bottom and not use the train. Serves me right for believing touristy hype. After passing the station, we proceeded to the top of the peak which gave us amazing views of the surrounding terrain. Beautiful rocky valleys, fields of heather, the nearby lochs - it was all rather breathtaking.

Fiona and a few others had decided to avoid mountain climbing that day, and instead took a steam engine train into the town of Boat of Garten. Much to their surprise, they ran into the Naked Rambler on one of the secluded streets outside of town. The Naked Rambler is a naturist who has been walking (naked, of course) across the UK, starting from Land’s End in the south of England and looking to finish at John O’ Groats, the most northern point of Scotland. He’s had a tough time of it with 10 arrests so far (and counting) and has made the news many times already. The chances of running into him when they did was one hell of a coincidence. An interesting tourist experience to be sure. I’m told he has nothing to be ashamed about either.

Fiona and I had to leave early Monday afternoon, so a few of us rose at 7am to do a forest walk along the banks of Loch Morlich, just outside of Aviemore. It was a beautiful morning, with the air still crisp and fresh. Nobody else was about which really added to the tranquility. All I could think of was how much I’d love to stay for the rest of the week.

But we did have to go, for Fiona and I were going to see Ash in Edinburgh that night! Ash is a fab 4-piece pop/punk band from Ireland who put out the masterpiece that is the Free All Angels album. This was to be their last show before taking some time off and going into their studio to record their next album. The set was amazing, playing all the songs you’d want to hear, as well as debuting several new tracks which all sounded great and bodes well for the new album. The place was full, and the crowd was in rapture of the band so it made for a great night. And their guitarist Charlotte, apart from pumping out great guitar solos, is also a certified hottie.

K,K and T are back from Aviemore today before heading home to Canada, so I'm looking forward to hearing how the rest of their week was. Tomorrow Fiona and I are back in Edinburgh to catch a few plays as part of the Fringe Festival.

Phew – it’s been a busy last week or so, but I guess that is what the summer is all about!