Stonehaven to The Park Hotel, Montrose
People were stirring in the tents around me, and I poked my head out to find another lovely day. For the first time in a fortnight there was no need to get up, though, and so I put some water on for a nice filter coffee and settled back to read a bit more of my book, revelling in the warmth of the sun already piercing the walls of the tent.
I'm not sure how much later it was when I finally dragged myself out, but it must have been an hour :) The others were making drinks and generally slobbing about, and I took the opportunity to wander around with my camera recording the luxury of the moment.
After that I was almost at a loss for something to do, until the helpful bloke in the camping area reception suggested a quick wander a little further up the road to get a good picture of the lovely harbour.
It was indeed lovely...
...and as I stood around relaxing in the sun I thought for a moment or two about other Challengers who right then would be setting off from their last nights' camp to walk the final miles to their intended destinations.
By the time I got back people were beginning to think about making a move for brekkie. We'd decided the night before to try the Bervie Chipper again, since it had provided us with a great supper and they had a pretty fantastic breakfast offer, which was rendered even cheaper by the discount tickets that the bloke at camping reception had provided for us. We packed up most of our things but left the tents up, and then we set off on the short walk back into town.
Breakfast was friendly and good, with unlimited tea, coffee and toast as well as the usual things for the carnivors and cereal and croissants for the veggies. We sat for quite some time savouring the unaccustomed relaxation...
...but eventually we decided it was time to make a move towards Montrose, and so we paid, left and made our way back to the camp site.
On the way Lorraine, Steve and I stopped to play in the childrens' playground - the swings, death-slide and wobbly roundabout were excellent - but it didn't take any of us long to complete our packing...
...and then we said goodbye to our fellow campers and set off to catch the bus.
The location of the bus stop was a little elusive, and we were caught in a light shower of rain as we were waiting, but the rain blew off quickly, we relocated to the right bus stop...
...and almost as soon as we'd arrived there the Montrose bus picked us up and took us on our way. Just like last year, we picked up little groups of Challengers at various stops along the route, and it was great fun to chat with old pals I'd not seen since last year, as well as new ones I'd met during the previous fortnight. I spent most of the journey chatting with Peter and Avril Goddard, and about an hour later we arrived in Montrose and pretty quickly made our way along to the Park Hotel to sign out.
As ever, there was a bit of a queue at lunchtime on Thursday, as many people had timed their arrival for the bash that evening. This year there was the added excitement of a wedding, though, and quite a lot of people went over to the Register Office to wish the newly married couple the best of luck.
It was lovely to get to the front of the queue and receive a kiss, a certificate, a badge and a T shirt from Roger, and then I retired with a cup of tea to just slouch around and enjoy the atmosphere of Challenge Control.
After that I went back outside, where I sat down at a table in the sun with the various Challengers gathered there and spent several happy hours drinking G&T, chatting, smoking (uh-oh...) and greeting pals as they arrived outside :)
One of the first people to come up was Andy Howell - last spotted at Mallaig a fortnight earlier (I'm still not entirely convinced that he didn't fly off from Mallaig to the Pyrenees, complete a section of the GR10 and fly back just in time for the Thursday night bash... ;) - and naturally I couldn't resist the opportunity to take a photo of his infamous Terrocs!
It seemed a little discourteous only to be photographing his shoes, though, and so I got a photo of the rest of him too :) Hmmm! Looks like Andy might have put on a bit of weight over the last two weeks!
One of the next pals to arrive was Judith, from the walking NG, and here she is looking as fresh as a daisy after her very first long backpacking trip :)
A kind person took a piccy of Judith and me together, with Little PW...
...and then I introduced Judith to Andy, because although they've both shared the same space on URW for the past hundred years or so they'd never actually met.
Then came David and Tom, poor old David limping along with what he thought might be shin splits in his left leg. (I actually thought it was more likely to be a reaction to the kilo or so of soapflakes he'd been using on a twice-daily basis in order to keep his walking trousers abnormally clean, but I didn't like to say anything...)
It was still sunny and warm outside, and the atmosphere grew ever more festive as people signed in and then nipped back outside to locate each other, and share exciting stories of things they'd done and places they'd been since last they'd met.
In due course Barbara arrived, and immediately took Little Peewiglet away to be introduced to Hamish, who'd also completed the Challenge this year. Doesn't Hamish look excited!
After that came Trish and Pete, still looking fit, strong and incredibly healthy...
...but by the time the rest of the people came in I'd got so involved in the G&Ts that I forgot how to take any more pictures :)
Eventually it occurred to me to go and check in, and so I did. The room was lovely, and I was very glad I'd booked one early (actually, on the day I got home last year, in the hope that I'd get a place for 2006...) Before settling back to get clean and change my clothes I nipped along to the dining room to bag some seats for the bunch of us who were hoping to sit together, and after my shower - which was exceptionally nice, btw - it was time for the bash, and just like last time I was almost overwhelmed by the sight of so many happy looking people gathered round the room, and the roar of the conversation.
The meal was nice, I thought, but the Thursday night bash isn't really about the meal itself, and in due course Roger kicked proceedings off and we all settled down to enjoy ourselves and each other. I was sitting with Caburn, Bob and Rose, Steve and Lorraine, Lee and Judith...
...and by a stroke of good luck it turned out that Jean and her pals were just next door, while Barbara and Sue were just behind us.
I thought of the Boys from Balerno - not for the first time on the trip - and missed them again, and I'm sure Jean and Barbara felt the same.
Festivities continued with Roger introducing each group of Challengers - according to the number of times they've completed the crossing - in the usual way, and just like last year he did it brilliantly.
My pals Tim and Kate got a special mention, because this year they're celebrating - almost incredibly! - their 50th wedding anniversary :) Many congratulations again to Tim and Kate :)
Tony Hardman was also presented with his award for completing 10 crossings by Cameron - congratulations, Tony :) (Sorry about the red eye removal, btw... it seems to have gone a bit peculiar!)
After the awards and congratulations, people settled back to enjoy the rest of the evening...
...and in due course Mark, Steve, Lorraine and I - with a very satisfying sense of continuity - found ourselves right back where we'd started the Challenge 2 weeks earlier - sitting at a table outside a bar, enjoying a smoke and probably just a little too much to drink :)
Alcohol eventually defeated my ability to take photographs, and the evening continued in a similar vein until it was finally over, in the wee small hours of the morning. It had been a brilliant evening and a wonderful crossing, and for the first time in a fortnight I think it didn't take me more than about 15 seconds to fall asleep when I finally fell into bed.
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