Derry Lodge to Braemar
(9 miles/260 metres ascent)
I'd been warned that the Braemar shops tend to sell out of the things Challengers need pretty quickly, and advised to get my food supplies as soon as I arrived, and so I planned to do that first and then collect my new box of supplies from the bunkhouse and get back to the Post Office in time to send some stuff home. I wasn't sure what time the Post Office might close, but decided to work on the assumption that it wouldn't be open later than 12 noon, so it was pretty clear that in order to get my chores done before making my assault on the gear shop and finally the Fyfe Arms I'd need to leave Derry Lodge at a bit of a trot, by no later than 9am.
I was warm when I went to bed after all that nipping back and forwards to and from the lodge, and so I managed to fall asleep quite quickly. I woke up a few times in the night, but on the whole I slept quite well and eventually crawled out of my sleeping bag at just after 7.10am to use the SheWee and make some coffee. It was a damp, cold morning, but it wasn't raining and so I was happy enough :)
Others were already stirring when I got up, and it wasn't long before people had eaten their breakfasts and packed up, ready to go. I don't generally eat breakfast, and for a change I was one of the first to be ready!
We left the camp at 8.45am, and set off along Glen Lui. A short way along we came across Mick, with whom I'd stripped the willow at the Montrose bash the year before :) and he and I walked on together, chatting.
Everyone's mind was focussed now on getting to Braemar without delay, but we stopped near Mar Lodge for a quick break and a photo.
There were Challengers converging on Braemar in their droves by now, and a couple stopped to take a group piccy for us.
After that we pressed on, though, and I was anxious to make sure that I got there in time to make the Post Office and send my spare things home.
I walked with Tom for the rest of the way, and we chatted away about various things of interest to both of us. One of the reasons I had such a great time on this year's Challenge was that I met so many more people than last time, and I love the way it's possible to fall so easily into animated conversation about such a diversity of topics with people I wouldn't otherwise get the chance to talk with.
Tom and I walked fast, and along the way we saw several people I'd met earlier on in the trip. We passed a lovely house on a bank surrounded by daffodils, and I poked my camera through the wire fence in order to get a quick photo.
Eventually we arrived at the outskirts of Braemar, and stopped again to record the historic moment :)
After that we arrived at the first of the coffee shops, and Tom sat down to wait for the others. I went on, though, as it was already 11.40am and I was still concerned about the Post Office. On my way up the hill I stopped briefly for a picture of a little art gallery...
...and then I went in to ask where the Post Office was. It turned out to be just a little further up the hill, and it was with considerable relief that I learned on getting there that it would be open until 1pm.
I nipped inside to see if I could buy some packaging to send my things home, but they didn't have any so I went out and began to look for my bunk house. I'd forgotten to make a note of the name, as I hadn't realised in advance that there were two. Fortunately I passed Tony Hardman outside the Fyfe Arms, though, and he pointed me in the direction of the one just over the road. I went there and was met by a very friendly woman who sadly confirmed that I wasn't booked in, but she told me how to find the other one and in 5 minutes or so I was there. It was lovely too - a nice clean room with lots of little bunks, as well as a fantastic drying room, washing machine, tumble dryer and kitchen - and I took my parcel (which was waiting for me at reception) straight to my bunk to disembowel and re-pack it with the maps and book I was planning to send home.
I then set off back to the Post Office in search of sticky tape, and on the way met Steve and Lorraine, who turned out to have been there since the day before. We had a quick chat and arranged to meet later in the pub, and then I went on to the Post Office. I bought the tape, addressed my parcel and handed it in - Phew!- the woman behind the counter added it to an enormous pile behind her, and in answer to my question confirmed that this was indeed the busiest day of the year for her there - and, finally free of the worry of posting my parcel, I returned to the front of the shop and picked up a basket so that I could do my food shopping.
My worry about short food supplies turned out to be groundless - I may have been lucky because I got there early in the day - and I soon struck treasure in the chilled foods section in the form of two cheese and onion pasties! There wasn't any Primula and I couldn't see any tortilla wraps, but I bought a couple of packets of oatcakes and - more treasure trove! - a packet of 4 very heavy but utterly yummy looking rum truffles of the sort that Caburn had produced two days earlier. It struck me with some force that my attitude towards the weight of food I was planning to carry for lunch had changed somewhat in the course of the Challenge, and it seemed to me to have changed for the better :)
A kind assistant pointed me towards another shop across the road when I asked about Primula, and so I set off there. It turned out to be the whisky shop, but they also had a lovely delicatessen section and I spent quite some time there gazing in hungry but frustrated longing at all sorts of lovely things that wouldn't fit into my rucksack. Finally I settled on a tub of cheese spread, though, to go with my oatcakes, and then I bought half a bottle of Bowmore to replenish my whisky supplies.
After that I decided to have a sandwich before beginning my assault on Braemar Mountain Sports, and someone pointed me towards a little shop just opposite. I went in and bought two cheese rolls and a tub of coleslaw, and the assistant packed the coleslaw into the rolls, added a good sprinkling of salt (yum!) and wrapped them back up for me. It was only when I got to the counter that I realised they also sold chips, so focussed had I been on getting my sandwiches! Still, I decided I'd return for fish and chips later on, and went outside to eat one of the rolls and drink a bottle of water.
The gear shop was just across the road, and as soon as I went in I could see it was a really good one. There were quite a few Challengers there already, and I came across Steve and Lorraine buying Cascada trousers! They pointed me towards the weather forecast pinned to the wall by the door, and it turned out that snow, gales and a total whiteout were predicted for Sunday and Monday... At that it occurred to me that a pair of Cascada trousers would be a very good idea indeed - my own Cascadas are almost in bits, and I've been needing a new pair for a while. That was all the excuse I needed, and almost before I knew it I was trying some on upstairs :)
A young man then helped me to find almost everything else I needed - they didn't have the wind shield, but they had everything else - and soon I'd amassed quite a pile of goodies. After a trip to the till I decided I'd best take everything back to the bunk house, and so I did and finally, at about 1.30pm, I was able to make my way over to the Fyfe Arms.
I joined a large table of Challengers with a large G&T, and settled back to enjoy the unaccustomed luxury of a whole afternoon sitting down with nowhere to go :) Terry and Stefan were there, and soon Steve and Lorraine arrived, as well as Ali and others, and we sat around chatting, drinking and pondering our plans for the next day in the light of the unexpected turn the weather was apparently due to take. Despite the rather alarming forecast I was still keen to go up Lochnagar, but I decided to see how things looked the following morning at Lochcallater Lodge and take it from there.
I'd been wondering how Bob and Rose were getting along, since I'd not heard from them since they were descending to Kingussie a couple of days earlier, and I sent a text to ask them where they were. I was therefore delighted to get a text back saying that they expected to arrive in Braemar within the next 20 minutes or so, and only about 10 minutes later they were at the window! I dashed out to say hello, and they promised to return once they'd dropped their things at the bunk house, where they were in the very next bunks to Ali and me :) Several G&Ts later I decided I'd better go back to the bunk house myself, to get a shower and do something about washing my kit. I found Bob and Rose there, and they pointed me in the direction of the better of the two showers. The washing machine was free by then, and so I put in my load and set off with Bob and Rose to the chippy, on the way back to the pub. The fish and chips were very welcome and delicious, and once we'd eaten them we crossed the road and rejoined the revellers in the Fyfe Arms.
The place was now heaving with Challengers, and the next few hours passed very quickly in chat with various people I'd met along the way. Caburn, David and Tom were there, and I also spotted Tim, Kate, Alvar, Ann and Simon sitting at the other end of the room. I'd heard that there was sometimes a disco at the Fyfe Arms on Saturday nights, and since I like a bit of a mad bop I was delighted to see a man arrive in due course and start erecting disco kit. The first few songs seemed a little dull, but the DJ said requests were welcome and so I made a few, and not long afterwards Terry and I took to the floor to the strains of Frankie Goes to Hollywood :) Soon after, lots of people were dancing, and the next few hours passed even more quickly than the first! It was a brilliant night - filled with twirling and stamping and jumping and singing, and some impressive and in places quite amazing dancing displays from Dennis and Mick - and I hoped we might get a chance to do a bit more at the Park Hotel in Montrose the following Thursday.
Eventually the disco finished, and I sat around for a little while longer, cooling down and finishing up the last of the G&T. Ali and I were in adjoining top bunks, and so we eventually left together and walked the short distance back to our beds, where - after removing my clothes from the washing machine (oops) and hanging them up in the drying room - I settled happily into bed and fell quickly into the best sleep I'd had for over a week.
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