Is Anyone Out There?

Training for the Challenge? ............................

2012-02-10T09:19:00.003Z

Two weeks with the grandchildren has flown by - leaving piles of dirty clothes and toys to tidy. The temperature has just started to rise a little from the glacial, making days out a lot more fun. This week we have a visitor, an old university friend of HI, who has come to stay and try some x-country skiing. So what, you ask has all that to do with TGO Challenge training? Here's a few photos to help..................

{Carrying a backpack.....}

{Going uphill.......}

{Thinking about food...............}

{Trying out new boots.....}

The family are now safely back in Shanghai - until July when a summer visit is planned................

Now, where did I put the hoover........................

2012-01-23T16:18:00.001Z

Rushing about time - visitors arriving from afar - yes, it's the Chinese Branch of the family flying in this evening....

HI has spent the day putting up stair-gates.

All worthwhile - though there may not be any posts for the next two weeks.....

{You'll have to look very hard but this is a photo of

some amazing ice-crystals I found while x-c skiing last week}

More pillow talk............

2012-01-16T17:03:00.002Z

You'll see from this post that I'm really getting into the subject of camping pillows now. I've had some good ideas from the comments left previously so I thought I'd follow up some of them here.

Looking on various websites has lead me to divide the available pillows into groups. The photos are lifted without permission but I'm sure nobody will mind..........

Each group has forms of the same kind of pillow made by different manufacturers and coming in at different prices. Most of them I have not had a chance to see in 'the flesh' as it were, so I'm looking at them just from the written descriptions and pictures. Sadly they don't all have very clear information and some do not tell you the weight.

Air pillows

{DIY blow-up pillow}

There are many makes of air pillow or cushions on the market. They range from the downright rubbery and heavy to some that are like thin balloons but essentially you blow them up yourself. The one in the photo above is kind of suedy stuff, and has ridges which I imagine would be better than just a plain surface.

{Self-inflating pillows}

There are some on the market that claim to be self-inflating. They vary in size and I would think contain foam in various forms.

{Another shape - giving a space for your neck?}

There are other air pillows which try to address the shape of the pillow in a more inventive way.

My thoughts on the air pillow generally are these....they don't feel like a 'real' pillow under the head and for side-sleeping I suspect they might move quite readily as they are quite light especially when pumped up.

So moving on..............

Filled pillows

{Pillow filled with compressible synthetic material}

Again there are various makes and qualities of this kind of pillow. Some fold up, and others squash into stuff sacks.

{Half moon shape for inside the sleeping bag hood}

Some of these have soft material-like outer covers or are fleecy. Other shapes are available too.

Apart from synthetic fill there are also down filled pillows and I have seen (but not considered here) some filled with foam beads.

With all these filled pillows unless it is as substantial as a pillow from home (in which case it would be far too heavy and large to carry) it will, I think, be rather flat and small, which would not be supportive enough for a side-sleeper.

And finally.............

Pillow Sacks

{A pillow stuff sack}

Another way to solve the problem of a good camping pillow is to have a suitable stuff sack and use it with your own amount of soft clothing. That is the idea behind this one - it can be turned inside out to find a fleecy type surface for sleeping on.

{Another pillow sack - this time flatter and wider when stuffed}

These pillows appeal to me the most so far. They have a dual purpose in that they can also be used to carry items in the rucksack, perhaps even your sleeping bag. For that they would have to be waterproof to protect the contents. However, if you intend only taking a minimum of clothing with you, it may mean stuffing with wet clothes in bad weather or having a small pillow if you are wearing your spare items for warmth.

{A hybrid idea - light padding, with space for clothing}

Finally, this one was suggested to me and I do like the idea. It folds down small and light, but it can be enhanced with as much padding as you need. Perhaps even stuffed with a lightweight air pillow. The surface against your face is not fleecy but a kind of smooth silky material.

Decisions, decisions...............................

Finding a good pillow...................

2012-01-14T10:26:00.002Z

No matter how tired I am I usually have trouble sleeping in my tent after a day's walking. I think I've tracked the problem down to not having a good pillow.

I have tried resting my head on my rucksack (not so good when it's been a wet day) or on my spare clothes in a stuff sack and even on my jacket wrapped around other stuff sacks from my rucksack.

Nothing seems to work.

The problem is it all moves about too much.

I'm considering trying an inflatable cushion type pillow. I expect I would still have to wrap a fleece around it to make it comfortable for my head. I tend to sleep on my side or my front - both a bit difficult in a sleeping bag but possible!

Does anyone have a good system they could tell me about?

Queyras Regional Park.........

2012-01-13T20:26:00.002Z

While I'm here in France I often write up my trips to the Queyras Regional Park. From the house here, we are looking straight over the Fort at Mont Dauphin and east towards the park.

There are four main downhill skiing areas in the park - Ceillac, Arvieux, Abries, Molines/St-Veran. There is also a smaller area at Aiguilles. For x-country skiing there are tracked routes at Ceillac, Arvieux and between Abries and Molines/St-Veran. It is also possible to ski some of the forest tracks if the snow conditions are good.

{A simple map to show the area}

Throughout the park there are plenty of walking paths and mountain routes, usually signposted, along with Refuges and campsites. The villages are very old; the houses typically built with wood (usually larch) and stone.

Just thought I'd give you a better idea of the area...........

The first of many.............

2012-01-12T18:16:00.000Z

Oooooh! Aching legs, a small blistered toe, creaky hip, - I've been x-country skiing today!

Christiane and I set off for Arvieux and had a great time with me trying to speak French and she trying to understand me - in between, we skied our legs to a stand still. The snow was good and the sunshine stayed with us most of the time. It was just as the sun dipped behind the mountains that we returned to the van.

{Back at the car park - now in the shade}

The reason this will be the first of many is we decided to buy season tickets for the whole 05/04 area for 'ski de fond'. So either there will be more days out or this will have been the most expensive day's x-country ever for us both!

{My Season ticket}

As we climbed back to the carpark, I lost concentration, so along with the other minor aches and pains which are developing, I have a bit of a bruise on my leg. The worst thing was not the falling but the failing to get up again. I tried very hard for several minutes and eventually managed to remove a ski and stand up. To her credit, Christiane did not fall today, although we were both a bit wobbly at times.

I wore my new (bought for my birthday in September) Paramo Velez trousers and they were very comfortable. They don't flap - which makes them perfect for x-country. The leg vents were excellent to reduce the overheating I always experience when climbing. I did wear some woollen long johns underneath as the temperature today was never above -2 degrees and unlike my previous Paramo Cascadas there is not much weight to them. I have worn them a couple of times before for walking but I really wanted to give them a tryout for x-country skiing and snow-shoeing. So far - so good!

{Ladies Paramo Velez trousers}

We came back and enjoyed a cup of lovely jasmine tea with Him Indoors. The tea came from our Chinese trip and the box is emptying fast - it is delicious and very refreshing! Just the job...............

Here's a puzzle...............

2012-01-10T17:44:00.004Z

{The supermarket cafe}

Visiting the supermarket for hot chocolate last week culminated in meeting with our former holiday house neighbours (who now live in Embrun) inviting us to dinner on Sunday evening past. It would be a raclette - that way they can feed me without having to go vegetarian for everyone.

If you're unfamiliar with raclette it consists of loads of cheese (special cheese which melts into a kind of creamy deliciousness), boiled potatoes, cold meat, and in this case, a bowl of courgettes. The idea is to melt the cheese under a heating element (usually called a raclette machine) in little individual pans. Our friends also served us a really good salad, and some quail's eggs.

Anyway, back to the puzzle.

We arrived and had 'nibbles' and some Lagavulin. John is gradually educating the local population about good whisky. Lagavulin is probably my favourite whisky so that was a good start to the evening. The conversation for these 'soirees' is, of course, all in French.

One of the topics for the evening was the notion of 'le fair play'. We (well, John really) explained about cricket and rules and gentlemen not cheating etc. It appeared to go down well. Then came the crunch question....

A friend of theirs had been discussing what the English do when someone at a dinner table starts to tell a story they've told before. Apparently one should indicate that the story is a repeat by placing one's teaspoon across one's cup. The question was - is this the case and how did this bit of etiquette work in practice. Oh dear!

First of all, we'd never heard of it. Secondly, we'd no idea how it would work and thirdly, we'd still no idea!

I think it just added to the mystery for the French afterall it had been a Frenchman who had uncovered this piece of weirdness on the part of the British. And now we (the British) couldn't help with any information.....that just made us even more weird!

Even after searching on Google later we have no idea where this notion came from. The only reference to placing a spoon across a cup seems to be American etiquette to indicate that you don't want any more tea!

By the way, we had a wonderful evening, with excellent hosts and some interesting, shared conversation.

I just wondered whether anyone else has come across this teaspoon messaging system - I'd love to hear (read) your comments if you have..........

{Our local plan d'eau - also frozen - we walked around this on Saturday}

The wind factor................

2012-01-07T13:18:00.002Z

We took our sandwiches and our ski stuff to Arvieux. The sky had cleared and it was looking promising. At the almost empty carpark we hesitated - it looked a bit chilly and there were snow-devils.......not a good sign! So we ate our lunch without getting out of the van.

Lunch over - a decision had to be made. While I pretended to get my boots and helmet on, John went round the corner to look at the pistes. He soon returned; it was so windy he felt it was trying to rip his jacket off his back. I stopped pretending to put on my stuff, and got back in the van. Door firmly shut again, we decided to go and have a wee walk instead. You're dealing with fair weather skiers here!

We drove through thick spindrift and more snow-devils back to Embrun. A walk round a frozen plan d'eau seemed to fit the bill. Looking up to the mountains it appeared they were on fire, there was so much snow lifting in the wind. These are quite unusual conditions for the mountains here - although quite familiar in the Scottish hills.

{Plan d'eau at Embrun with Les Orres in the distance}

We completed the loop around the lake and then went to get a hot chocolate at the supermarket cafe.

The good news today is that my TGOC route has been vetted. I've had favourable comments from my vetter, Ian Shiel. He's also given me a couple of bits of information which I didn't have about the route I've chosen. Thank you, Ian!

Slipping and sliding......

2012-01-05T10:12:00.000Z

After a night of wet snow the road was frozen to a kind of choppy ice-rink. We set off gingerly to walk to the van, which due to the snow forecast we had parked more off the road than usual, allowing the plough to get past.

{Not good for driving - or walking!}

I had had to put on my microspikes and John's new 'stabilicers lite' were getting their first outing! Both enabled us to make a safe passage across the ice. Then, as we backed onto the road in the van we hoped the neighbour (Sylvie) wasn't going to appear round the corner - of course, she did! However, all was 'cool' and we were invited to her birthday 'soiree' in the evening!

{White roads all the way to Molines}

We had a good time skiing at Molines/St.Veran where they have installed a new chairlift replacing two rather ancient drag lifts. The new lift has one of those 'magic carpet' starts which is rather alarming especially as the chair comes quickly at your legs and knocks them away forcing you to sit down! I have a bruise to prove it!

One of the downsides of the chaotic leaving of the house had been that I had somehow forgotten the sandwich bag - so it would have to be lunch out again!

'Sorry, the pizza's off' meant another plate of chips for me - it's a hard life!

{Chips - again!}

Ne'er Day skiing.......

2012-01-01T17:38:00.002Z

A great wide blue sky welcomed the first day of the new year - so we headed into the Queyras Park for a bit of skiing and a spot of lunch.....

At Abries there hadn't been quite as much snow as we thought there might have been - but plenty to ski on anyway. The new carpark was busy although the slopes were not. Up the chair lift and we discovered that everyone was sitting in the sun on the restaurant's fine new terrace. It's been widened by about half as much again - even so, every table was full.

A few runs later, with slightly aching legs we managed to get a table - trying to beat the imminent disappearance of the sun behind the mountains. Sadly, there wasn't much left in the way of food. John had the last lasagne and mine was only a plate of chips - tasty though.

After lunch we struggled to do more skiing. Food seems to take the energy out of the old legs. John went back down to the carpark on the chair. I did ski down but slowly! The carpark was well in the shade and hovering around freezing as we loaded up the skis.

It was a good start for 2012.

Happy New Year to you all. Here's to loads of great adventures to come..............

A little bit of this and that....

2011-12-30T14:29:00.001Z

I missed the family ski on Christmas Day as I didn't feel up to it - Him Indoors and Matthew (our youngest) had to go without me. It meant Christmas Dinner had someone to watch over it and so it was all cooked to perfection by the time they came back to eat it! Unfortunately, I couldn't taste anything but I ate some anyway.....

{Merry Christmas 2011}

Boxing Day - and skiing seemed more possible. The reports from yesterday had indicated good snow and the weather looked bright and clear. I wouldn't have to do many runs, I could sit in the cafe, and it might cheer me up!

{First skiing photo for the season 2011-12}

It did. My jelly legs managed a couple of runs. But it was cold and that made me cough a bit. The thick Italian hot chocolate on the way home was a good idea.......

Yesterday, the forecast was promising some snow and it was quite windy here. I was beginning to feel that I needed to get out and walk about so we took a quick drive to Embrun. The town was rather empty except for a few very bored animals in the square.

{Some not very photogenic animals standing around}

An equally bored and cold sculptor was hacking a Buddha (I think) out of ice. I did wonder if the block had been much larger in the morning. There seemed a lot of ice chippings on the ground around it. The sculptor was wearing an entire dead fox on his head.......

The Tourist Information building was lit up - just. The photo makes it look welcoming......

Finally we made our way back to the car park. At least as darkness fell, the lights showed up a bit better.

It even seemed more cheerful although still more or less deserted.

{The main square in Embrun}

Today I am feeling much better. (Thank Goodness, I hear you say........ )

No skiing as it's been snowing all day. The day has been spent counting contours and writing up my TGOC 2012 route. And it's nearly finished...............

Festive Greetings to Everyone!

2011-12-24T18:48:00.000Z

{Snowscape}

Photo was taken last year but I am hoping for a good season again this year. There is some snow here but sadly I haven't been able to get out and about. I'm staying warmly indoors till the cough has subsided!

I have managed to get the Christmas tree up and decorated, and some of the food organised for tomorrow. Him Indoors was moved to do the hoovering!

So Merry Christmas to you all!

Above all, let it SNOW!

That time of year...............

2011-12-22T16:19:00.000Z

It is 'that' time of year - so earlier this week we packed up and made our way out to the house in France. There was some wet slushy snow most of the way and we arrived to a winter wonderland!

Only partly unpacked here and I've been hit by some kind of coughing bug.....with added sore shoulders! Yuk!

I hope it goes away by tomorrow there's a lot of Christmassy things to do.

Back to bed I think...........groan.....

The Great Wall .........

2011-12-13T19:37:00.000Z

{The Howard Johnson Paragon Hotel, Beijing - the lobby}

We were quite pleased with our hotel in Beijing. There were a few complications when we tried the lift but that was soon sorted out (had to use our room card to make it go up to our floor - doh!) and we had a great view of the roof tops.

One small peculiarity was a glass wall (usually called a 'window') between the bathroom and the main room. There was a venetian blind to drop so you could get privacy - but the mind boggles as to why it wasn't just an ordinary wall!

We dumped our bags, quickly unpacked, then went out for our first exploration of the area. The first thing we found was that the hotel complex included a shopping centre. It was a bit like a cross between a department store and an undercover market, with stalls. On the lower ground floor there were dozens of booths selling all sorts of food, either to eat there or take away.

{Take your pick!}

Eventually we chose a bigger, more traditional restaurant on the ground floor. I even managed to choose a few vegetarian options, but only by scrutinising the photographs closely. When the food came it was excellent. The best was a dish of crisp rolled lettuce with a peanut dip - yum!

{Our taxi and driver}

After breakfast the next morning Helen arrived in the taxi to collect us for the day's sightseeing. The highlight of the day had to be our trip to see the Great Wall. I enjoyed this but it wasn't really as I was expecting it to be. We visited the Badaling part of it which is about an hour's drive from the city.

A hair-raising journey on the motorway brought us out into real countryside with hills and limestone rocks. In contrast to Shanghai, very few of the road signs were in English which made it a real 'magical mystery tour'.

{Badaling ticket office}

Access to the Wall was by a small cable car such as you find at ski resorts.

Once off the lift we went through a dark concrete tunnel and then into the open.

{Finally............}

It was much more crowded than I imagined it would be. Underfoot it was flagged stone, but exceedingly steep, often with very irregular steps. All these things made it quite hard going. The views were spectacular but I longed to go to a less busy part of the Wall to walk on it more comfortably. I'm putting that on the list for our next trip to China!

{Smile!.............}

{The view from the top}

Once back in the taxi we were whisked to lunch - a serve yourself buffet obviously laid on specially for bus trippers, a visit to the Cloisonne factory beneath it, a museum of artefacts at the Ming dynasty tombs, a jade factory and finally, to the 'famous Peking Duck' restaurant for dinner. Or in my case, not Duck but tofu ('doufou') - which was quite tasty.

{One of the Ming Emperors - I don't remember which one...}

{The entrance to the Peking Duck restaurant}

{John posing with the Duck!}

Bullet train to Beijing.......

2011-12-11T17:54:00.002Z

While we were investigating our proposed visit to Beijing we were alarmed to hear that there was a smog warning for the city - perhaps it wasn't going to be possible to make this trip after all. However, after a few days checking the weather forecasts we decided to go ahead. Trying to navigate some websites to book accommodation and visits proved rather fruitless so eventually I came across a site called 'china.net' which was offering organised tourist trips to the capital. Most of the packages included flights but we had already chosen to travel on the Bullet train. This meant that although the train took longer it would be an interesting journey - sightseeing out of the window was a more attractive option than sitting on an airplane. Finally we booked up a 3 day package with an extra day, which included the hotel room, being met and dropped off at the station, our own all day taxi, an English speaking guide along with breakfast every day, lunch for two days and a special 'Peking' duck dinner.

Mr Xu kindly offered to help us get some tickets for the bullet train to Beijing. It's incredibly useful to have someone like him around in a place like China. Not being able to speak the language is a great handicap but if you couple it with not being able to read it either then things can get really difficult!

So here is what we were going to do:-

Nov 7th: (B/L/D)

Today we will take you to visit Badaling Great Wall, Jade factory, Changling of Ming Tombs. Then having a Peking Duck Dinner in the most famous Quanjude Restaurant.

Nov 8th: Free day in Beijing

Nov 9th: (B/L) Beijing Departure

After your breakfast, take you to visit Tian'anmen Square, Forbidden City, silk store, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace. Then drop you off at railway station for train back to Shanghai. Tour finished.

The Shanghai Hongqiao station was large, very modern with 32 different platforms, a huge screen (fortunately with some English numbers on it for the train services) and quite a few organised groups of tourists wandering around. I think Mr. Xu was worried about us when he dropped us off at the Departures door but it was all very simple. The train was spectacular. It was clean, modern, with loads of space at our seats. All the way to Beijing it travelled at 306 km/h, smoothly and efficiently, mostly on a raised track, past miles and miles of fields and the occasional huge factory.

{Chinese high speed trains}

We arrived on time, and met up with Helen, our guide and our taxi. We were soon deposited at the Howard Johnson Hotel right in the centre of Beijing. There were many fewer skyscrapers than Shanghai so the city had a more open feel. Luckily the smog had cleared.

{Beijing South Station}

{The view from the window of the hotel - the clock woke us with its distinctive chime!}

{Looking the other way from our room - across the city skyline}

{The main Railway station - right opposite our hotel - but not the one we arrived at}

We unpacked and settled in, looking forward to being picked up the next morning for Day 1 of our tour.

Gone with the wind..............

2011-12-10T14:45:00.003Z

After a bit of a risky journey (involving icy lumps) on my way to meet up with Louise for a walk on the Revack Estate last week, we wisely decided to abandon our planned walk for this week. It was a good call. After a bright start on Wednesday morning the weather began to deteriorate. First there was a heavy wet blizzard and then the wind started to blow.

The forecast for Thursday and Friday was dire. As the wind howled around the house here the electricity went off, fortunately for us only for about an hour, followed by no Radio 4! On Friday morning, after rather a sleepless night listening to the noises coming from outside, a phone call confirmed that the Friday walkers Christmas lunch was postponed. I still had to drive to Banchory for a dental appointment. At the garden gate I had to clamber over an unexpected obstacle..............

Fortunately the branch hasn't done any damage but it has blocked the path. We've managed to arrange for someone to come on Monday morning to give us a quote for removing it. It's far too big for us to cut up with our little chain saw.

This wind made the storm in May during the TGO Challenge seem tame! The wild weather and consequent thoughts of how difficult it would be to camp out in it reminded me of the first book I remember reading by myself as a 5 or 6 year old. Noddy and Big-Ears were left lying under the stars when their tent blew away!

{First published in 1953}

At the end of the story minus tent, no money left and a little car that isn't feeling very well, Noddy sings a song.

"How nice it is to go away

And have a lovely holiday;
And yet although it's fun to roam,
It's even better coming home,
Coming home -
Coming home -

It's really LOVELY coming home!"

Hot chocolate by the fire, I think....................

Blame it on the jet lag............

2011-12-08T16:36:00.003Z

There are probably a couple more posts to be written about our trip to China but I'm beginning to feel that I am becoming one of those people who insist on showing you their holiday snaps!

So here I'm going to tell you about some other things which have been going on since we returned.

If you have applied to take part in the TGO Challenge in May 2012 you may have noticed my name on the list of participants. I truly did not intend to apply this time but at the last minute decided that I would as a possible trip to Canada has now been postponed till June 2012. I couldn't face sitting here in May, watching everyone walk past, and not be a part of it....

One of the things that I had been going to replace if I was successful in the draw for the Challenge, was my current backpacking rucksack. The pack I used for my first Challenge was an Osprey 50l. It was replaced a couple of years ago by a Deuter 45 + 10 Actlite. This one had a bottom compartment which I found really useful for my bulky synthetic sleeping bag. But sometimes the shoulder straps slipped, and I found the long, narrow shape didn't really fit my short squat back!

Now that I'm the proud owner of a 'down' bag, which compresses to about half the size of the synthetic one, I have been considering a much lighter weight rucksack. It may have been the jet lag but I clicked the mouse one evening to buy the new rucksack. It arrived very quickly from the retailer.

{Granite Gear Vapor Ki}

I've played with it a bit now I have it in my possession. So far I like it. Its basically simply a big bag with straps. I hope to be able to carry everything inside it, with nothing hanging on the outside. It has no top pocket nor any belt pockets so I've got plans to use a chest pouch for all those little things I can't do without. I'm looking forward to giving it a trial run. It feels comfortable around the shoulders, and the hip belt fits me very well. There are outside pockets at the top and bottom of the sides. It has a roll and clip top. I'll probably have to invest in a waterproof cover.

The other impulsive purchase I've made recently is another Paramo jacket. I really like the 3rd Element that I bought last year but for this time of year, when it's cold and damp, I was impressed by Louise's smock. Just throw it over the top of everything else, job done! So despite some heavy discussions recently about the effectiveness of Paramo vs Goretex (etc) - I'm going to give it a try.

{Paramo Velez Lightweight smock}

In the meantime I have been walking a couple of times with the local Aboyne group and been very lucky with the weather. One walk around Learney Hill and the other in Glen Tanar. Both were very sociable 8 mile routes.

{Setting off with the group in some welcome sunshine}

There was also a foray onto the Revack Estate with Louise - another similar was planned for this week but this time the weather got the better of us and I didn't fancy venturing over the Lecht on icy roads.

{Winter view to the Cairngorms from the Speyside Way}

Yes - there does seem to be a purple thing going on - can I blame that on the jet lag too?

More from Moganshan Mountain..........

2011-12-03T14:23:00.001Z

{Looking down Moganshan village to the market area. Under the arches we found local women selling huge bags of mushrooms they had collected in the forest along with large bottles of the best soy sauce you've ever tasted!

{One of the local praying mantids}

{Crossing a very deep ravine on a beautifully constructed rope bridge}

{Walking down to the Lodge}

{This, I think, was some kind of fungus - but I might be wrong!}

{At Chairman Mao's country retreat - his bedroom on show}

{Stretching our legs, long and short, at the motorway services}

{An amazing potted plant outside the Lodge}

{An interesting rock formation on one of the walks}

{A spider on its web beside a lamp-post - I'm glad it wasn't in the bath!}

Escaping to the mountains................

2011-11-30T16:06:00.001Z

After a few more days of exploring the shopping malls and markets of Shanghai Mr. Xu took us all (Grannie, Grandad, Mum, Dad, a five year old and a one year old) to stay on Mogashan Mountain for a long weekend.

The area was popular with missionaries and western settlers in the early part of the 20th century. Mountain retreats were built, along with churches and hotels, to escape the heat and turmoil of the city. Many of the buildings have been refurbished and after a period of use during the Chinese Cultural Revolution are now available for rent for holidays. The area has become a National Park area and still often frequented by the Shanghai expat community.

We arrived to find our little house in the bamboo forest. There was no vehicular access so everything had to be carried uphill through the woods.

The area is mostly bamboo forest with steep stepped paths and spectacular waterfalls. Unfortunately the whole long weekend was misty and quite cold but also very enjoyable. The kitchen in the house was less than adequate so we walked down to the village every evening to have our dinner.

Spending a few days out of the city was a great idea. Fresh air smells very good. We all managed plenty of short walks and the only thing missing was the view.

The walks were well sign-posted and scattered in the woods were pagodas and old temple buildings.

We ate most of our meals at The Lodge which is in Moganshan village and seemed to be frequented mainly by expats but was warm and cosy and sold good coffee. There were a few hotels also in the village to which the Chinese bus-parties went.

The weather, of course, improved on the morning we had to leave and drive back to Shanghai. Mr. Xu arrived just after lunch.

I don't remember much about the trip 'home', I think I slept most of the way....along with the rest of the family.....

On the tourist trail.............

2011-11-28T20:22:00.001Z

{The Oriental Pearl Tower - iconic Shanghai}

As you can see from the photo above, the sky remained cloudy and the air rather thickly smoggy for our first couple of days in the city. We explored a couple of underground markets where we were entertained by the traders and their bartering techniques. Having a driver (Mr. Xu - pronounced 'Shoe') meant we didn't have to battle with the public transport or taxi drivers and he would drop us off, then pick us up again later.

On our first weekend Mr. Xu insisted on taking us for a day trip to one of Shanghai's water towns. This is a partly reconstructed area but interesting as a view of how the people used to live. It was a great day out, the weather having improved once we were away from the centre of the city.

The traditional wooden boats were rowed alongside the covered walkways. The woman driving the one in the photo was singing a folk song to her passengers. Unfortunately we never did find the jetty where we could take one of the boat rides.

At Granny's Teahouse we stopped and had our first cup of tea from a bowl. From the menu of about 30 different varieties I chose the Granny tea, of course! It was delicious! We wandered on.....

The water doesn't look very healthy but it was all very picturesque.

Just before we left the town a bridge took us over the river.

Driving back to the city took us about half an hour. I noticed at one point that the road we were on consisted of seven lanes of vehicles, travelling bumper to bumper at about 60 mph. No wonder the ex-pat community is advised not to drive themselves!

你好！nǐ hǎo！

2011-11-24T18:11:00.000Z

Shanghai Baby!.......

2011-11-24T16:13:00.003Z

This is the first of a few posts about our time in Shanghai visiting my daughter and grand children.

It's taken me a while to get over the jet laggy feeling and decide how to present the trip. We were away for four weeks so there is a lot to tell....

Before we went there were two minor disasters to contend with. The first was a lovely, throbbing abcess on one of my teeth! It appeared during the weekend before we were due to fly to China - not good timing! I didn't dare ignore it so on Monday morning I phoned the dentist, luckily I got an emergency appointment and the offending tooth was temporarily drilled and filled. But it was still quite painful and infected so I left the country clutching 7 days of antibiotics - just in case!

The second problem was more mundane and really my own fault. When I started packing I noticed that my old trainers were almost in pieces and in need of replacement. At the last minute I ordered a pair of Keens (which I'd had my eye on for a while anyway!) anticipating that I would need to be able to walk comfortably while we were away. On Monday the parcel arrived - such good service I thought - opened the box and discovered a completely random pair of men's brown shoes! I was straight on the phone to Taunton Leisure - oops! muddled the orders - oops! (again) no more of the ones I had ordered in stock - full refund on its way! So I took the old trainers instead.

The flight was going to be the longest I had ever been on - so I was apprehensive and packed a few items to improve my chances of getting through it comfortably. In a little stuff bag I put spare warm socks, spare undies, some deodorant wipes, ordinary 'wet' wipes, my anti-dry eye drops, a lip salve, and a small bottle of mouthwash (which had to go in its own see-through bag along with some moisturiser). My chosen book (The Ascent of Rum Doodle), my i-pod (with all episodes of Hitchhikers Guide on it) and a Sudoku booklet.

Actually the flight was fine even though we didn't get much sleep. There was no way I could move very much from my 'middle' seat so everything in my rucksack just stayed there for the whole trip! The overhead lockers were so full my things were unreachable. I watched rather a lot of films.

The best part of the whole journey was a tub of ice-cream at what to us was 3 o'clock in the morning. Bizarre but very welcome.......

We were met at the airport by my daughter and little Maree, there were lots of hugs and smiles - and then whisked at an alarming speed into the centre of Shanghai. After a little walk around, a cup of Starbucks coffee, we were finally unpacking our bags in the guest bedroom of Katy and Glen's smart flat on the 46th floor of the huge apartment block where they now live. There couldn't be a greater contrast to their house in the woods in Yorkshire.

{First photo of Shanghai - the walkway beside the Oriental Pearl Tower}

I had planned to blog everyday but it didn't happen, I'm afraid. Internet connections are a little fragile and blogging is disapproved of by the Chinese authorities so I decided to bring it all home instead.

{View from the lounge window over the River}

{View from the dining room at the urban forest of tall towers}

We delivered all the 'goodies' from our baggage, hung up a few clothes, and after a meal in the dining room overlooking all those skyscrapers, we fell into bed. What pleasure there was in being horizontal at last!

[btw - ni hao is Good Morning, or Hello - in Mandarin.]

Have Visa - will travel.............

2011-10-18T23:19:00.001+01:00

After two early morning dashes to Edinburgh we have our Visas!

If you haven't guessed already - the visits were to the Chinese Embassy. Grannie and Grandad are flying to Shanghai. Bearing gifts of course. Mostly Nutella, Marmite and Bisto.

We leave tomorrow. So whether I can blog or not remains to be seen.....

So I'll leave you with one of my Serre-Poncon pictures - taken one evening, around sunset.........

{Sunset across the lake}

Back soon (ish).............................................................

Grim up North............!

2011-10-10T19:02:00.004+01:00

Settling in at home again. The weather has been dreich, both dark and damp, since we arrived back last week.

Our journey back to Scotland was hectic but quite enjoyable. We drove, helter skelter, as always, through Italy, past Turin, finally stopping beside Lake Maggiore for a peaceful stop-over in a campsite on the shore. Then over the Simplon Pass and onto Saas Fee. There we celebrated my birthday with Sam. In the afternoon he took us to a glacial water feature where we walked around in an ice-cold pool then toddled (with frozen feet!) on various textured surfaces until we came back round to the water again! The idea is to clear toxins from the body and relax tension. Mmm! Fun though!.

{Beside Lake Maggiore}

We camped over night in carpark 4 which is an official camping car stop just outside the village of Saas Fee. The whole village is car free, being served by a fleet of rechargeable electric vehicles. We wandered around in the evening admiring the wooden huts on stilts and the shops with outrageously expensive price tags. In the dim and distant past we did ski here once one Easter. The experience was never repeated! (The snow was too icy and the mist was too thick.) This visit I did notice a lot of interesting looking footpath signs - but not for us this time.

{Parked below Saas Fee}

Next day we drove on up to Zurich via a tunnel trip in a metal cage-like train carriage. Interesting!
I had a second birthday dinner with Matthew and we stayed in his flat in Zurich. Parking is a nightmare in the city so if we want to stay longer any time we'll have to stay in the lakeside campsite and use public transport.

We left the next morning quite early, before the parking attendant started work, and travelled on up to Dunkirk for the ferry.

After another stop-over to visit my Mum and other relations, and then another wild camp in a layby somewhere in the Lake District, we finally arrived home.

Phew!

Since then, the van is unpacked, the washing piles up (waiting for the new machine to arrive), and the weather continues to be dreich..............

{My strange panoramic photo of Lake Maggiore - has a dream-like quality!?}

En Provence...........

2011-09-26T21:20:00.001+01:00

The wi-fi connection in the hotel in Malaucene was rather unreliable so I didn't manage to post last week. The group were great to walk with, the weather was kind, except the first day when it rained, and all in all, I enjoyed it a lot. We explored the countryside around Malaucene, which is on the way to Mont Ventoux. Some walks were further afield to Gordes and Fontaine de Vaucluse.

{A panoramic photo from my hotel room}

The panoramic photo was taken with my Nokia phone. I discovered and downloaded an 'app' which takes a series of photos then stitches them all together to make one wide picture. Great fun!

There are a few more ordinary photos taken during the walks, mostly showing bright blue skies, green oaks and white limestone rock formations. The nights were cool though, so Autumn is well and truly here.

It took quite a long time to get back here on Saturday. But now the washing is done and the bags are re-packed. This time we're heading home through Switzerland. First to Saas Fee as Elder Son has his Canadian ski team there for a training camp. After that it'll be on to Zurich to see Younger Son.

The rest of the journey will be visits to relatives in the south of England and possibly a shopping trip or two.

Should be back in Scotland by the middle of the next week! Better look out some winter woolies......

{From my patio this evening}

On hold.............

2011-09-16T22:15:00.004+01:00

{One of many signposts - not all so helpful as this one}

Earlier this week I failed to complete my tour of the lake. I have about 3 days left to do, maybe 4, but circumstances have changed a little, so the rest of it will have to be done later. I did start a walk from Chorges but about 7 kms along, had to give up and phone for an early pick up.

{Looking down on Chorges}

First of all we set out rather late in the morning to have lunch as before. Then I would walk to the pick-up point. However, things didn't really go according to plan. Our neighbours engaged us in conversation as we were leaving so that delayed us for more than another half an hour. Then it took longer than usual to get to Chorges and we couldn't find a parking space near the start of my path. Eventually we had lunch beside a little church, and it was after 1.30 before I started walking.

It was hot. Very hot. Then I got a bit mislaid. A stupid mistake, which I should have spotted earlier, took me to the top of a hill instead of round the side of it. Finally, I reached the first village I was aiming for, worked out my times, and it was going to take too long. So I bailed out.....by taking the road back down to the start of my walk. I managed just over 10 kms but I was very tired. Thinking back, I hadn't slept well for a couple of nights and felt rather dehydrated. I'm ok now.

Next week, starting tomorrow, I'm leading some walks in Provence, based at Malaucene. I'll try and post some photos and a bit of a blog, but I'm not sure of the WiFi connection, so that may not be possible.

{Pillar at the top of the Col d'Izoard}

Today, we went up to the Col d'Izoard. Disappointingly the little museum of cycling is still not open. There is a wooden shack that has a few souvenirs and snacks for sale.

{Col d'Izoard souvenirs on sale}

We had lunch at the Refuge on the way down to Briancon and then a short walk to explore some of the little paths. The views are spectacular from here.

{View of the day - from the rocky path opposite the Refuge}

So I'm all packed and ready to go................

Solving the mystery..............

2011-09-15T09:11:00.003+01:00

For the past couple of weeks, every time I opened the patio umbrella there fell to the table along with the odd wasp or evil looking red-eyed fly, some small black droppings. They looked a bit like a mouse had been up in the folds of material.

Yesterday lunch time the mystery was solved.......

I opened up the umbrella so we could sit outside to eat our lunch. Out flew a small creature and it landed in some foliage. At first I thought it was a bird but no......it was a tiny bat!

{Our mystery visitor - revealed!}

She (?) stayed there long enough for me to take several photos - and is even looking at me in the one above.

I wonder if she'll come back.

It's Serre-Poncon - again!..........

2011-09-11T15:10:00.002+01:00

Today I had to start from Saint Apollinaire or more precisely, from the little lake above the village. We drove through the village, much changed by renovated houses and some new villas, all with a tremendous view over the Serre-Poncon lake and the surrounding mountains.

{Lac St-Apollinaire}

After lunch, which we ate while watching small red dragonflies, I set off up the brutally steep track that would take me onto the forest road I wanted to follow. This is the GR 50 again, and winds above the lake until I can drop down into Chorges. It wasn't until I did this walk that I realised how close to the lake Chorges actually is. When we're driving along the main road from Gap past Chorges back to Embrun, there is no view of it until closer to Savines.

{A fine place for a picnic}

The forest track provided the expected sightings of the lake below me. I should have taken my binoculars but I had forgotten them again. There were white winged insects in the air today. One landed near me and I saw they were Praying Mantis. The photos I took were no good so I won't post them here! It's surprising how well camouflaged these insects are even at close quarters.

{Looking across the fields}

A bit of navigational difficulty occurred when I decided to leave the large stony track and take a smaller path across some fields. Three times I made the wrong decision about which way to go, each time having to climb back up to where I had started. Finally I found the right way and began to descend to Chorges.

Along a wooded path beside a farm I encountered a very large pond of water barring my way. With no way round it apart from climbing a fence, which I was reluctant to do, I plunged in and waded through it. Half way across, thick grey mud squishing round my toes and over the tops of my socks told me I might have made a mistake! If I'd been wearing boots I might not have done it. The Keen water shoes had encouraged me to give it a try! The next kilometre was not pleasant, as the mud was rather smelly, and my feet were well clarted.

{Mud bath!}

I found a small stream of clear water at a junction as I neared the village so there I washed my feet, shoes, legs and socks. Refreshed, and smelling much sweeter, I arrived in Chorges to meet John for coffee in the village square. It's quite an old town, with crumbling buildings, but a good atmosphere. We had a look around before setting off home.

{One of the locals?}

Viewranger tells me I walked 16 kms in 4 hours 40 minutes, gaining 958 metres and descending 1625.

Yet more Serre-Poncon................

2011-09-09T10:43:00.003+01:00

After Savines the tour of the lake on the south side gets a bit more serious and involves the Col du Morgonnet. I'm saving that for a really good weather day and an early start. The former might be fairly soon but I'm not so sure about the latter!

The further I get round the lake the longer the journey and more complicated it becomes to arrange the drop-off and pick-up points.

So for the next couple of walks I planned an overnight in a campsite to save on diesel costs. We packed up the van and set off for Embrun. Today I would walk the other side of the lake, so it was back to the GR 50. John dropped me off as planned above Embrun at Chateau de Calayeres, and left me there so he could drive round to the campsite just after Reallon. There he would spend a day sorting bikes and enjoying the sunshine.

The first part of the walk was a repeat of the last part of the GR 50 that I did a few weeks ago. It brought me to the point where I had descended the steep gorge into Embrun but this time I would go straight on instead. The sign told me the walk to Les Gourniers, which is about 2 kms further than I expected to go, should take 5hrs 40 mins. Whoops! I had told John I would be about 4 and a half hours. I would have to walk faster!

{Looking down on Embrun - the lake is already receding, revealing mud banks}

The route was on a forest track which climbed high above the lake so I was expecting good views. However, the one I got took my breath away. This is definitely the best so far. I could see the other end for the first time on this tour.

{Wow! You can see the Savines bridge and the far end of the lake}

On the way along the track there were plenty of wild flowers and butterflies to keep me amused even when I couldn't see the lake. A phone call from John gave me the bad news - the campsite was closed! He had parked there but with no water or electricity we might have to go elsewhere.

{Iconic alpine flowers - blue gentian - I think!}

A stop for a quick lunch was taken in the middle of what must once have been an Alpine summer village, called Clot Bouffier on the map. There were piles of old stones and ruins there and terraced fields too.

{Ancient clearance cairns - these fields have been cultivated for a long time}

The path plunged down and contoured around the hills until I was in the Reallon valley. Every now and then getting a tantilising glimpse of blue, the lake. I tried to take a photo of a buzzard hunting above my head - not very successfully. Then a singing, whining noise announced the presence of a glider passing close by.

{Is it a bird or a plane (glider) ???}

I arrived at the village of le Means, and the sign announced 35 minutes to Reallon. Suddenly I was climbing, a bit of a shock at the end of a walk!

{Reallon comes into view}

I met up with John on the road after Reallon. He was testing my bike - but it's still not working very well. Now the gears are wonky! It makes it difficult to go uphill - well, the gears aren't the only problem with that! I usually get off and walk - it's quicker and easier.......

After a short sit in the sun, and a long drink of cold orange juice, it was decided we would just drive home again. It rather changed the plan for the next day's walk but we didn't want to risk the visit by the Gendarmes if they wanted to move us on. Must be getting cowardly in our old age............

Viewranger stats: 18.7 kms in 5 hrs 10 mins - height gain 1872 m and loss 1690 m.

{A froglet hiding in the stones at the campsite pool}

Back to Serre-Poncon

2011-09-05T22:40:00.002+01:00

Finally the weather has cleared, I've done the washing and feel ready to tackle a few more days of walking around the Serre-Poncon lake. Truthfully I was a bit lazy last week, once we were back from our camping trip. We did have one huge storm one night and then quite a few hours of heavy rain on more than one day so it felt unsettled.

The sky was blue this morning so we set off to have a picnic lunch just alongside the track which continues after the Boscodon Abbey on its way to Savines-le-lac. There, the lake is spanned by a long road bridge. The route today was not labelled as the Tour du lac but would take me lower through some forest and nearer the lake.

Once there was a village called Savines which was in the bottom of the valley beside the River Durance. The flooding of the valley to make the reservoir meant that Savines had to be moved. A new town was built and named Savines-le-lac. All the inhabitants were moved there and the old village almost completely raised to the ground. Most of the year this site is under water but in the depths of winter when the water level drops below the bridge, it's still possible to see the remains of stone walls. It must be quite emotional for any of the original villagers to see them there.

{Signpost at the junction with the main track}

After lunch we both set off up the forest road which was still a bit muddy in places. The trees and plants had that pleasing 'after the rain' smell as they all dried out in the warm sunshine. John went back to the van at the junction to go and look for a strimmer part in Gap. I had my first really good view of the lake, the town of Embrun and the surrounding mountains.

{Looking back to Embrun}

The actual walking was easy but I did come across a few interesting sites. Two people and three donkeys came towards me. I couldn't take a photo until they were passed me as the child riding the little donkey squealed 'oh no, I don't like cameras!' at me. So they slowly went by.

{Three donkeys}

Shortly after that I came across a much smaller and quicker creature. I hoped it was only a grass snake!

{Small snake lifting its head to look at me}

I left the GR signed route to circle around the village ahead so I didn't have to walk for too long on the road. The track was still good and afforded great views of the mountain Pic de Morgon which looms over this part of the lake. There was also a short period of searching for a footpath which appears on both my paper map and the Viewranger map on my phone. Eventually, I crashed through some bushes, ducked under some low branches and found a way.

{Pic de Morgon}

A steep and badly eroded track took me down to Savines-le-lac. On the way through the trees I had a short staring match with a female deer,who had big ears and a spotted back. Not daring to move and lose the moment, I didn't manage a photo. When I reached the town I treated myself to a big cup of coffee and waited for John, who joined me within ten minutes. Better timing today!

{The road bridge and Savines-le-lac}

Viewranger had one of its weird moments under the cover of some thick trees but tells me I walked just over 10 kms, an average speed of 3.5 km/h (which includes photos and faffing), height gained was 757 m and lost 929 m, however I think the maximum speed of 52 kph is not to be believed!

{Headlines from 1961 when Savines was destroyed.}

A wet one..............

2011-09-03T17:47:00.005+01:00

Despite the wonky steering on my bike, I planned a short excursion for us today. It was our own version of a triathlon - three events - a bit of biking, a long lunch, then shopping (only for food though, this time).

It being Saturday - it's our 'eat what you like' day - with no holds barred.

The biking was held up a short time while Him Indoors tried to fix the wonkiness of my steering - after the re-assembling of the stem and handle bars it seemed a bit better - well, if not, I'd soon get used to it! We generally faffed around, getting dressed up in the appropriate gear, then put the bikes on the van so we could drive them down to somewhere flat to start........

By this time the sky was a bit heavy and there were some dark clouds lurking above the mountain tops. Fortunately it was still very warm. Setting off along a bumpy stony track was followed by a tip-toe (not easy carrying a bike) across a rather deep stream, and then more bumpiness until we reached the road. At which point the rain came down.

{Maybe not a good day to choose for a bike ride!}

Our objective was a little lake and the restaurant beside it, at Roche de Rame. Viewranger told me it was nearly 7 kms from where we started and more importantly, where we'd left the van. In good weather this lake beside the road is busy with sunbathers, paddlers, pedalos, and children playing.

{Deserted lake at Roche de Rame}

At the restaurant hiding under a large umbrella were a few customers and quite a few empty tables. We bagged one and ordered lunch. Still the rain came down, I could see it bouncing off the surface of the lake and dripping off the edge of the umbrella.

{Rain bouncing off the lake...

and the restaurant tables}

We had nearly ordered a second coffee each when the rain lessened and the sky looked a bit brighter. No more putting off the second leg of the biking. This time we stayed on the road most of the way back. Each lorry or car left us a bit wetter. My bike didn't handle too well on the wet road surface, and what with the wild steering I was relieved to get back to the van in one piece. Phew!

The shopping was uneventful but necessary.....

{John's lunch wins - mine was only a pizza!}

At last.............

2011-08-30T20:44:00.003+01:00

As you can see, we're back from our camping trip. I haven't downloaded the photos from my camera yet - in fact, I've barely even started on the accumulated washing of a week away from home!

We didn't go too far away. Just about an hour's driving took us into the western part of the Hautes Alpes, staying on camp sites, mostly along the Buech valley. There are beautiful wooded hills and rocky escarpments with a few towns and villages perched up on those hillsides. Alternate days were spent walking (not very far, too hot) or biking (not very far, steering too wonky).

The post before this one was sent from my mobile phone so I was relieved to see it had arrived, with the photo too. I meant to send more but the next campsite we stayed in had no Wi-Fi connection.

{Typical old village houses in Veynes}

The picture above was taken on my phone and I had originally intended to send it via blogger. These old houses were built up on the hillside, with no internal staircases. The bottom cellar area was where the animals were kept, and people lived on the upper levels. You can just see some of the old stone steps used to walk from one level to another. The houses here have been renovated but manage to retain the character of the original buildings.

Gone camping!

2011-08-25T21:00:00.000+01:00

Back soon!

Glacier Blanc...............

2011-08-22T10:48:00.002+01:00

{Way markers for the walking paths}

We're having a heat wave here - so 'go higher' we thought and set off to have a picnic then spend an afternoon in the sun but up in the mountains. We chose to go past Ailefroide and up to le Pre de Madame Carle. We parked up beside the melt water from the glacier.

{Melt water from the Glacier}

We paddled about in the water until our feet went numb - but it was still too hot to walk or cycle comfortably. I took a short stroll to see the visitor's centre and the Refuge. There were a lot of people there trying to find some shade to sit in.

{Refuge du Pre de Mme Carle beside the car-park}

The glacier has retreated a great deal in the last hundred years. It used to cover the rocks below where it is now almost to the floor of the valley. Even in the past 10 years it has got smaller. Now it just peeps over the top.

{The nose of the Glacier Blanc peeping over the rocks}

Was it cooler? Not really - still 32 degrees. The bikes stayed firmly on the back of the van. Excellent place to sit though, and while away some peaceful hours.

{Just enough shade to sit in}

Eventually we went back down to Ailefroide and had an ice-cream!

La Grande Rocade............

2011-08-21T16:03:00.002+01:00

This is the next walk in my attempt to get all the way around the Lac de Serre-Poncon which is an artificial lake, some say one of the largest in Western Europe. It was created in a valley, subject, over the centuries, to devastating floods, particularly in spring time when the snow from the mountains around it melted. The original plan was to be able to control the amount of water throughout the year, especially further south into the River Rhone.

The lake flooded the valley and some small settlements, although most of those were built away from the valley bottom to avoid the seasonal mud slides and high water levels. Apart from controlling the water levels and also making electricity, the lake has become a magical, watery playground. Along with the winter sports industry, it is the key to the tourist attraction of the area, and much of its income.

John came with me for the first few kilometres of the walk and then returned to the van. He would pick me up later at Boscodon. We set off under the shade of the trees and passed a couple of good strong waterfalls on our way.

{John watching the water fall - you might notice his shoes - also Keen McKenzie - purchased at a reduced price in one of the local sport shops!}

Today's walk would take me through the thick forests from les Orres to the Abbey of Boscodon. The forest road is called 'la Grande Rocade' and contours round the steep wooded slopes of the valley. Then after a short section past a village I would be dropping down through the Boscodon Forest.

I had hoped to catch many glimpses of the lake as I walked but the density of the woodland prevented that. I saw the lake clearly only once, by leaving the track and climbing up to a small viewpoint. I had planned to have my lunch there but it was fully occupied by some quad bikers who had passed me earlier, leaving a huge pall of dust and exhaust fumes with me.

{Belvedere de Plat Aiguille - a view of the lake - just!}

I noticed at this point that my gps had gone quite berserk, so the readings at the end of the walk would be a little suspect. The path at times did go quite near to some large rocks and with the cover of the trees too it was making connections with the satellites rather difficult.

At the next picnic site, also occupied but a lot larger, I finally stopped for my lunch at a wooden bench. Not the calm peaceful atmosphere I was looking for but a local family get-together including a roaring barbecue and a game of boules. They politely shouted 'bonjour' and 'bon appetit' as I opened my sandwich box.

{Approaching the picnic site - I will not be alone!}

Once I was on my way again, the track began to descend towards the Gite at la Draye. There were signs along the way which indicated the cross-country ski tracks that were available during winter. This is an area I have had in mind for an excursion on my skis but the snow has never been as good here, near the lake, as it has been higher in the mountains.

{The Gite at la Draye}

After la Draye, where I was tempted to stop for a cold drink but didn't, I carried on to the outskirts of the village of la Montagne. There were cows, many chickens, including a fine cockerel, and some dogs to greet me. One dog even followed me for a while and then nudged me with his nose! I was just giving him a piece of my mind when the farmer appeared on his tractor, so the dog followed him instead. The path soon left the road and began to wind down through the trees, finally arriving at the Abbey of Boscodon. I was early, again, so I wandered about and took a few photos of the Abbey.

{Abbey of Boscodon}

John arrived, we found a suitable quiet layby where we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing under the trees, in the shade. The temperature reached 35 degrees down beside the lake, but here it was a little cooler with a pleasant breeze.

Viewranger says (although take this with a pinch of salt) that I walked 18 kms, climbed 1375 m (??) and managed a maximum speed of 41 kph. And all that in 4 hrs 25 mins. Mmmmmm!

Tour du lac - getting started.............

2011-08-18T20:29:00.003+01:00

Finding a map which would post on here has not been easy. My Memory Map doesn't seem to have an option to lift pictures of a map for me to use in that way. After much searching I've come up with this....

{Biker's tour - not really my route but gives you some idea.}

This map is really produced as an outline for a VTT tour (that's mountain bikes) so doesn't really follow exactly the same route as I'm planning. But you can see that Embrun lies at the head of the lake - and that is where I start.

At this point I should say that the IGN map for the area identifies some GR walking paths and puts 'tour du lac de serre-poncon' along them. So I had two choices - I could continue on the northern side of the lake - travelling in an anti-clockwise direction on the GR50 or go south.

Because I am not hiking every day I have to arrange to be dropped off at my start point and then picked up when I finish the day. This will cause some problems from time to time as it will impact on the length of the day's walk and my start time. I can also be a bit picky about the weather forecast which is a good thing!

My choice (taking all these things into account) was to catch a morning train to Embrun and walk south from there towards Les Orres. It's not on the diagram above but is marked as 'tour du lac' on the map. I planned to take the van down to the station at Montdauphin-Guillestre and leave it there for John to pick up later, by bike. As it happened, he was up at the same time as me so he gave me a lift.

{Waiting for the 9.42 at Montdauphin-Guillestre}

{Looking over the pile of gravel - I can see the house!}

The train arrived on time and whisked me off to Embrun, where I was soon walking away from the station. It was ten o'clock, still reasonably cool and the wander down to the river took me about half an hour (well, including some time in an outdoor shop!) The bridge over the Durance rattled as cars moved along beside me, a bit disconcerting when you're walking on a wooden overhang!

{Bridge (le Pont Neuf) over the River Durance,which runs rapidly into the lake}

{Looking towards the lake from the bridge}

I found the path, with red and yellow striped markers, as it climbed through some woods and across fields. There were some steeper, worn parts of the path, which I negotiated with care. Eventually I arrived at Saint Sauveur, just as the midday bells were ringing in the church steeple.

{St Sauveur from the approach road}

Just behind the church were some wooden benches and the most spectacular view of the lake. Not the first glimpse I'd had as I climbed but definitely the best so far. My sandwiches were duly dispatched and after a little musing in the sunshine I carried on up the hill. I past several houses with occupants busy eating lunch outside who waved at a strange woman walking in the heat of the day! She waved back.

{Lac de Serre-Poncon}

On reaching the highest part of the village, Les Gaillards, there were a number of marker posts and reading them carefully, I chose what appeared to be the correct one for me, going to the right. I had a moment's doubt as there was a printed sheet attached to the sign saying the route was closed for forestry operations. I decided to just go on and hope to get past it if there was an obstruction. It would be a problem if I had to turn back as my lift was arranged for Les Orres at 3.30.

I walked on, mostly it seemed uphill, passing meadows full of wild flowers, and some crops. There was even a party of small children playing games at the edge of a stand of trees. It began to get very hot, so I stopped to top up my suncream and drink more water. Then I walked from shady patch to shady patch, trying to stay as cool as possible.

Finally I reached the Combe Noire, a deep fissure filled with larch trees, and then crossing that, the small road. A broken red and white tape across it indicated the road was closed beyond this point - the timber operations! This was a dusty road leading down to Les Orres, not the ski area but the original old town. It had winding streets and very interesting old buildings. But best of all a Gite, serving coffee but sadly no cake, where I sat for a while in the shade.

{Gite in Les Orres, le Jas de la Viera}

The steps from the terrace lead me directly down to the road where I had arranged to meet John, for my pick up. This time I was 45 minutes early.

Viewranger stats: Almost 13 kms, with an ascent of 1122 m in 4 and a half hours (including stops).

{Welcome to Les Orres.......}

Getting back on track................

2011-08-12T17:22:00.005+01:00

{Beautiful old tree used as a marker post for GR50}

I have been following the GR50 as it wends its way along the Durance valley. From the house here I can easily access the route and have walked both to the left and to the right. To the left, I explored the track that eventually leads to Chateauroux-les-Alpes finishing in the Bar des Alpes on the main street.

So it was there I started the next leg.

{Bar des Alpes on the main street}

Of course, first there would be a quick visit to the Bar, with John, who had kindly agreed to drop me off and meet up again down by the plan d'eau in Embrun. Sitting under the big umbrellas, watching the little market stalls and their customers, while drinking coffee, was a delight. Cars parked, then left and cyclists, then joggers, went by. It was definitely the French holiday season!

I set off and climbed several back streets to reach the GR50 behind the houses. Eventually passing through an old archway, then beside some very old houses until I arrived by forest tracks at the Gite and parking for the Cascade de la Pisse (yes, that is what it means!).

{Auberge Les Pinees, secluded in the forest}

The day was beginning to warm up so I was grateful for the shadow of the trees as I continued the climb. There were a good number of butterflies around, and many wild flowers. From time to time, a timid sunbathing lizard would dive into the undergrowth, away from my feet.

After a tight hairpin turn, crossing a bridge over the river, I started alongside an old canal. It reminded me that quite a few miles of these exist in this area. The farmers built them to bring water to the little terraced fields, high up the sides of the valley. Many are still in full use, although you can also see the broken pipes and silted channels where they are no longer needed. This one loudly rushed beside the path until it eventually diverted across some fields to my left.

{Irrigation canal}

I was walking way above the valley bottom by now, and beginning to feel the heat of the day. It was about time I ate my lunch, and if possible, cooled my feet. I found a small stream descending and crossing the track, with suitably placed rocks for sitting and trees for shade. I spent a good half an hour enjoying the peace, watching butterflies come and go from the water's surface.

{A treat for my feet!}

I set off, refreshed, and before long, came across not a canal, but a whole small river, using the path as a way down the hillside. The Keen water shoes suddenly became the very thing to wear - my socks would dry off quickly - as I tiptoed across the wet stones along the track.

{Walking on water!}

By now I was getting late for my meeting time with John at the lake. I had underestimated how long this walk would take me. Partly because it was now quite hot and also as the route was more up, down and winding than it looked on the map. Thankfully I reached the point above the hamlet of le Chateau de Caleyere where I had to walk down a deep gorge to the town of Embrun, leaving the GR50 for another day.

{First glimpse of Lac Serre-Poncon in the distance}

{Plunging down the gorge to reach Embrun}

The gorge was cooler but slower, as it was steep and at times, loose ground. Reaching the outlying areas of Embrun, it was no quicker, and eventually I arrived, hot and very late at the water's edge. John had just begun to worry slightly, I'm usually very punctual. This time I was well over an hour later than I had said.

{'The Beach' beside the lake at Embrun}

The plan d'eau at Embrun was a bit like Blackpool, with sunbathers, fairground rides, and stalls selling ice-cream and beach toys. I treated John and myself to an ice-cream!

I had now reached the start point for my next venture; to walk round the whole lake of Serre Poncon. Not all in one go, but as a section hike, completing it in a series of day hikes, perhaps about 10. Serre Poncon is a huge reservoir dammed to create water storage by EDF with a monster of an earth 'barrage' at the other end. In the summer it's used for sailing, fishing, swimming and pleasure cruises. I believe it's the largest artificial lake in France. I'll post more about its history as I walk.

Viewranger tells me I walked 19.5 kms and climbed 1204 metres in around 5 hours or so.

Happy Birthday! (One year old today)

2011-08-08T20:25:00.002+01:00

I'm feeling a little calmer about the Shanghai move by my daughter's family. We've had a few chats on Skype and a special Birthday call today!

{Maree and her Mum talking to us from Shanghai}

Of course, plans are afoot for a visit to Shanghai later this year.............

Better indoors today............with some new gear to review........

2011-08-07T14:38:00.002+01:00

I think it started raining heavily sometime during the night but it hasn't stopped yet! I keep looking outside to see if the thick white cloud has lifted a bit, but it hasn't!

{Rain glistening on the patio furniture}

Time for the gear review then!

I was very impressed by the number of walkers I've met recently who have started wearing lighter, open-type trainers, even when carrying a rucksack and having long days out. My old trainers are well past their best and never did have a good enough sole for serious walking so I did a bit of research and came up with these.

{My new trainers}

My Keen boots have definitely been the most comfortable footwear I have ever used for hiking. They are quite warm in hot weather being made of leather and a full boot type height. I had a good idea that Keen would be a good way to go for a pair of new trainers.

I bought a pair of Keen McKenzies which are advertised as a cross between a sandal and a shoe. They have a kind of sturdy mesh top with synthetic filled in bits, and the usual Keen sturdy toe protectors. The laces are not tied but pulled and tightened with a plastic thing. They are lovely and wide to fit my spade-like feet. I've worn them around the house, for a few shopping trips and for one more serious walk. So far, so good!

{Close-up of the lacing system, and the mesh}

The soles are extremely grippy, even on wet rock. Because the sides let in a lot of air, they are also very cool to wear. My feet hate being hot, when they tend to swell and become very uncomfortable. This seems not likely to happen when wearing these trainers. They may let in some grit but that's not too great a problem.

{Showing the sole, and rubber toe bumper}

I have been wearing them with short walking socks. I went for a size larger than I might usually get for a trainer, which enables me to wear the thicker sock without any tightness.

Nothing to complain about then? Only one thing, the insoles that came with the shoes are soft, pathetic things that gave me no support at all. I have replaced them with new insoles, specially for walking, which support my high(ish) arches and cushion my feet a bit.

{Keen McKenzie trainers with replacement insoles}

The walk I did was up into the forest here where I have often ventured before. The ground was very dry, sandy and a bit loose, but there was no slipping. A light shower of rain made some of the rocks wet, and still no slipping. Even walking down the steep incline back home there was no discomfort or slipping. I wasn't carrying a heavy rucksack but that's not unusual for alpine day walks. The temperature was around 25 degrees but my feet stayed cool and comfortable. Any water droplets from some wet undergrowth dried off very quickly.

I'm impressed so far. Anyone else tried these, I wonder?

Nothing ventured..............

2011-08-05T16:10:00.001+01:00

Those of you who met me on either this year's TGO Challenge or on last year's brief attempt, will know that I have been using a Deuter rucksack. It's an ACT Lite SL in the 45 + 10 version. I find it very comfortable to carry, with a good hip belt, and excellent pockets. It's a well-made bag with good stitching and suits me very well.

{Deuter ACT Lite 45L + 10 SL}

During the Moffat to Peebles trip earlier this year I noticed that the shoulder straps started to slip slightly. Then during the Challenge this year the slipping became more noticeable and rather irritating. After the first trip I had tried re-sizing the back length to give the straps slightly more to pull on for tightening but this did not work for very long (if at all.) Since the weather took up most of my attention as I struggled across moorland, and river, I didn't think too much about the rucksack straps.

However, since the end of the Challenge and being asked by TGO to give some thought to my gear choices, I remembered about the straps. So as a first step in remedying the problem I fired off an email to Deuter in Newcastle. Today I had a very pleasant reply from Adam who wants me to send off the rucksack to him so he can have a look at the problem. I'm afraid that will have to wait as the rucksack is in Scotland and I'm in the Alps BUT I'm VERY impressed with Deuter's customer service.

I hope a solution can be found or it will be a search for a replacement to use on my future backpacking trips.

Learning to dance in the rain................

2011-07-31T07:08:00.002+01:00

There's been a storm raging around my ordinary life.

I walked a bit. Looked after my grandchildren for a week or so. Lead some fine walks in Northumberland, both along the beautiful coast and inland, but somehow missed seeing my eldest son during his lightning fast visit from Canada. Helped prepare my daughter's house for letting.

Then, finally, at the beginning of this week, waved goodbye to her, my son-in-law and my small grandchildren as they set off for their new life in Shanghai.......................

.......so I've been learning to dance in the rain.

Friday walk....

2011-06-12T19:23:00.000+01:00

After almost two weeks of the Challenge, following a map, it was a great relief to leave all the planning to someone else and go walking with the local group last Friday. I usually go with Pat from the farm up the road but she wasn't walking this week so I thought I'd give it a go on my own.

As you probably gather I mostly walk by myself or lead a group so it was very relaxing to just be lead around, chatting to the other walkers without worrying about missing a turn or getting somewhere by a certain time.

I was given a lift from Aboyne by two other walkers and we met the others at the Clatterin Brig carpark. This is not an area I know well at all. Looking later at the map I noticed I had been quite nearby when I completed the Challenge by re-routing through Edzell.

The route we took was very easy, undulating and quite picturesque in a farmland sort of way. Some of the rivers were only just crossable without wetting the boots too much. We eventually had lunch just above the track which leads down to Fasque House.

After a stroll through the grounds, admiring the small groups of various deer on the lawn in front of the big house, and also having a look at Fettercairn House, we arrived in Fettercairn where some cars had been left for a return drive to the start point.

{Fasque House}

A very pleasant walk in good company and NO RAIN or WIND!! I think we did about 7 miles.

The new phone was used to take the photo.

On the topic of the phone, I have now transferred all my maps along with the Viewranger operating system from my old one. It seems to be working although as this phone has a touch screen some of the controls are a bit different. Hopefully the weather will be good enough tomorrow for me to take it out and try it.

More testing

2011-06-09T11:37:00.001+01:00

Sending a photo...........

WOOHOO! - it works - that's a photo of the flowers in the grass outside my house....

Testing, testing........

2011-06-08T16:29:00.002+01:00

This is a test post from my phone :)

Now I'm all sorted for posting from my phone - although sending the message while sitting in my kitchen at home probably isn't a really good test of the system! And I haven't tried sending a photo yet...........

First Aid..............

2011-06-06T13:16:00.002+01:00

All weekend I've been in Aviemore staying at Glenmore Lodge for an Emergency First Aid course run by B.A.S.P. It was very good, thanks to Chris the instructor and the other participants, with lots of outdoor scenarios, and now my First Aid Certificate is refreshed and up to date.

However, it was a bit claustrophobic having to be a student all day. So after the session on Saturday afternoon and just before dinner (a prompt 7 pm) I took myself off up the track towards Ryvoan Bothy for a little walk. The forest was very calm and peaceful and the Green Lochan looked beautiful. I used my new phone to take a few pictures.

{Green Lochan - living up to its name}

After I'd dawdled about on the little beach for a while I wandered back to the Lodge via the hill track marked with a blue post. It climbed up through mainly mature Scots Pine and rocks. A few midgies were just coming out and I soon collected a cloud of them, although luckily they didn't seem to want to bite. Must have been the marmite!

{Tree roots just beginning to show through the path}

There was quite a lot of erosion in certain places as it's a popular area and evidence of the recent strong winds with some big branches and even whole trees down. After I reached the viewpoint, with a nice wooden bench to sit on, the narrow footpath became a wider track and flattened out. I could see the main track from the Lodge below me and spotted a way down through the trees. I think it was probably used more by mountain bikers than walkers, but it returned me neatly almost back to the carpark and my dinner at the Lodge.

{Large Scots Pine tree next to the path}

I was feeling much less stressed about the First Aid and that little walk was most enjoyable. Aviemore is only about an hour and a half away from home so it reminded me that I should explore the area a bit more, maybe even do a little backpacking trip over there, in the not-to-distant future.

I'm beginning to get to grips with the new phone. Although I have to own up to sending a few blank texts to the long suffering members of my family. I have yet to discover how to transfer my Viewranger maps from my computer to the phone. I have managed to install the Viewranger app. (!) and I have new registration keys for my licences ready to put in - BUT things have got a bit complicated so I'm taking a rest before I try anything more.........

NB - My apologies if you want to comment on this post but Blogger seems to be acting up again so it may not work! I'm trying to find out how to fix it.............

My gorgeous and lovely new phone...

2011-06-02T13:35:00.001+01:00

.....is a Nokia C6-01. All shiny and silver.

Still working out how to use it................

{Nokia C6-01}

Strange things............

2011-06-01T11:28:00.001+01:00

....are happening to my blog.

I'm having trouble staying logged in.

I still can't post more than one photo without publishing then editing each time.

If you want to leave a comment, the system doesn't recognise you.

Most strangely of all - now I appear to be one of my own followers......!

That after-Challenge glow...............

2011-05-29T15:58:00.004+01:00

....so I'm home at last - now - let's see - the tent is hung up and drying out, dirty washing done, jackets reproofed, boots cleaned and waxed, toes washed and pampered, sleeping bag airing, Asda food delivery organised, emails read and mostly deleted, photos uploaded to computer and saved..............

Others have already posted their Challenge reports but I'm still working on mine...........

{Raindrops......are beautiful}

[p.s. double click on the photo to see them more clearly]

Here, there and everywhere........

2011-05-09T18:10:00.002+01:00

Yes - I know - I've been 'disappeared' for three weeks - but I haven't been hiding in a cupboard (well, not all the time....).

Trouble is I'm running out of time (before the Challenge Off on Thursday) to catch up with the posting I wanted to do................

So here is a quick run down of the posts I had planned to make before I wend my way via Glasgow to Oban.

1. Some photos and thoughts from my trip to the Borders with some great company - Mike, Louise, Alan and Judith have all blogged about it already.

2. A quick kit list for my 2011 Challenge along with some details of the route I've chosen.

3. A two week foray to Lanzarote. Not a lot of Challenge training but some easy walks to report, and too much eating and drinking, of course.

Blogging on the Challenge may not be possible as I haven't sorted out my phone yet. Though I do have my eye on a new Nokia smartphone.

I'm beginning to feel like the White Rabbit..........................

p.s. Just noticed this is my 100th post - I had planned to do something special for this but..........

Walks in the Ballochbuie Forest

2011-04-13T12:20:00.004+01:00

I've been trying to increase my walking days out in an attempt to get a bit fitter for the TGO Challenge which is now not very many weeks away (eeeek!). There's been some gorgeous weather too, which is a bonus!

If I leave the house here I can be over on the Balmoral Estate in about 10 minutes where there are forest tracks, moorland paths and some spectacular walks to put together.

{Approaching the Gelder Burn}

I had never explored the forest towards Braemar except for using the track closest to the river and the Glen Gelder access to the bothy so I thought it was time to remedy that. A visit to the Garbh Allt Falls was the first project, it takes me across the moorland and into the Ballochbuie Forest.

{Looking into the water from the bridge over the Gelder Burn}

The track was a bit dusty and stony but I was soon at the hut where I had some soup and a humous pitta (yum!) before setting off on the little narrow path through the heather. It was a bit boggy in places and there were some accidental detours into rather deep peaty pools.

{The hut just before the Feith an Laoigh path}

Making sure I took the right track I soon found myself fairly high up in the Forest looking down on the big pine trees. The Ballochbuie Forest was bought in 1878 by Queen Victoria to save it from being felled for timber. There are some of the oldest Scots Pine trees in the country here.

{A fine new bridge to cross the Allt Lochan nan Eun}

Once over the bridge the landscape changed, becoming more managed looking. After another, but much older, bridge, the track became a forest road, wide enough for landrovers. I could hear the Falls before I reached them. There's a Victorian metal bridge over the top of them, but by now I was concerned to get back to the road as I had planned to catch the bus home. I took a photo but didn't venture any nearer.

{Garbh Allt Falls through the trees}

{The White Bridge}

I was pleased to reach the White Bridge crossing the Dee but then really disappointed to find the door at the other side of the bridge was firmly locked. With no chance of climbing over (rather high and spiky) I had to turn round and walk further on to the Invercauld Bridge. Fortunately there was still time to catch the bus home.

This walk was measured by Viewranger as 17.7 km.

{Invercauld Bridge}

I was back at the bridge a couple of days later, Him Indoors having dropped me off on his way to Edinburgh. The plan was to walk up through the Forest and then climb over An Slugan and drop down past Loch Phadruig.

This high part of the Ballochbuie was nothing short of spectacular. It was very calm and quiet among the trees and I caught sight of several roe deer feeding together. My attempt at a photo was not very successful - nice trees, but the deer swiftly ran away.

{The Ballochbuie Forest}

The track was easy walking but once I arrived at the fishing hut I knew I would have to strike out across the heather to climb up to the bealach. Although it was a bit wet in places there was a sort of path to follow some of the time.

{Fishing hut}

The ground was very wet around the Loch and took some careful walking so as not to fall into the peaty water. Once at the edge of the loch I had my sandwiches and enjoyed the peaceful setting. Unlike mountain lakes in the Alps there was no-one else around.

{Loch Phadruig}

After lunch it was more heather and bog hopping to drop down to the Loch Callater track and then back to Braemar. Fortunately it was a dry day, I think this would be a miserable descent in the rain!

{Waterfall}

Viewranger stats for this walk (including the slog back to Braemar on the tarmac) were 15 kms and 519 m of ascent.

{Beautiful, mature Scots Pine}

I'm having a rant............

2011-04-11T17:50:00.002+01:00

about irresponsible wild campers!

I was walking from Auchallater back to Braemar after a spectacularly good walk up to Loch Phadruig. I'll post a report on this walk later - but for now I'm just horrified at what I saw!

The area beside the river on the A93 just out of Braemar on the way to Glenshee has been used as long as I can remember for wild camping. Not generally by backpackers but more often by car campers and motor caravans. I'm sure the litter was left by only a minority of these but it makes quite a big impact on the area.

I had only just been reading about the recent camping ban beside Loch Lomond and wondering how long it would be before other areas of Scotland were included. The right to responsible wild camping is enshrined in the Scottish Access Laws. It would be terrible if these rights were taken away because of the actions of a selfish minority.

The key to this is obviously the word 'responsible' and leaving any trace of your stay is contrary to this.

{Floating in the ditch....}

{A pile of rubbish}

Some of the rubbish I saw was too dreadful to describe but as you can see from the photos there was also more mundane stuff left behind. All along the river bank and in the water itself were plastic bottles, bags, tubs, boxes, and several old camping chairs.

Butterflies and barmy sheep......

2011-04-09T22:35:00.002+01:00

Louise has already posted a fine description of our walk together yesterday but I thought I'd add a few photos and a comment or two.

We parked beside the Cromdale Outdoor Centre which I vaguely remembered staying at once for a Ski Leader Refresher course in the dim and distant past.

{Louise - modelling her smart Tilley hat}

After we left the road and started to climb through the forest along the Speyside Way we spotted quite a number of butterflies. Here's a beautiful Peacock settled on some grassland - I couldn't get any closer without it fluttering off and landing somewhere else.

{Peacock butterfly resting briefly}

Cromdale Station lovingly restored made an interesting site - at this point the Speyside Way uses the route of the old railway track and makes for pleasant, if flat, walking.

{The old station platform at Cromdale}

There were quite a few low(ish) fences to climb over along the way. Here the lovely Louise demonstrates how to do this with a smile.

{Carefully avoiding the barbed wire}

Neither of us took photos of the barmy, charging sheep (3 in all). You'll have to imagine them for yourself.

Viewranger stats for the walk are recorded as:- distance 20.6 kms, ascent 312 m, descent 313 m (don't ask me what happened there!).

To read Louise's account of the walk, go to her blog and look for 'Another fine day'.

First things...............

2011-04-07T11:41:00.005+01:00

I've been meaning to post for the past few days but my computer has been mis-behaving and wouldn't load my photos from the sd card - until this morning............

Last Sunday was our first day back at home after the 'progress' up through England into Scotland, visiting relatives, going to a lovely birthday party, then the Outdoor Pursuits Show in Edinburgh, and finally, after a trip to Tesco's in Blairgowrie, arriving home on Saturday evening.

Sunday was a beautiful, sunny April day, so I couldn't resist the temptation to go for a quick walk. There's nothing to beat the route up to the pyramid on Balmoral Estate - so I set off after lunch having failed to persuade Him Indoors to come with me (well, there was football on the tele!)

I walked into Glen Gelder to investigate the fence I had spotted during the winter (but couldn't get up to in the deep snow. (click here). Actually it appears to be an enclosure and I noted on my GPS that there was only one gate I could see. The fence runs more or less parallel to the Gelder Burn alongside the landrover track. However, as I discovered on a subsequent walk on Tuesday, it doesn't go very far into the Glen and should cause no problems if you're walking over to the bothy.

{Looking along the fence towards Lochnagar}

{Looking back towards the forest - the gate at NO 25410 92845}

I turned back and climbed the hill up to the pyramid. Queen Victoria had this built in memory of Prince Albert. I had a neighbour here once who told me confidentially that the present Queen rides round this monument on Mid-summer's Eve, naked, to retain her powers.

{Prince Albert's Cairn}

No sign of anyone around as I walked on down the other side of the hill towards another monument - this time Princess Beatrice's cairn.

{Princess Beatrice's Cairn}

Obviously Spring is here. I saw large masses of frog spawn in the ditches and the daffodils in the garden are blooming.

{Frog spawn in a ditch}

This is a great little walk to blow away cobwebs and stretch the legs.

{Daffodils in my garden}

*There should be photos to go with the text as I said at the top - unfortunately now they won't upload to the blog - I'll try later (when the Gremlins are sleeping....shsh)

Success!!!

Training?...............what training?

2011-03-25T17:30:00.008Z

We skied our last day yesterday before packing up to return home over the weekend. On the days we haven't skied (usually because the weather hasn't been co-operative) I have tried to walk for at least a couple of hours, in a vain attempt to get fit enough for the TGO Challenge in May.

Snowshoeing had to stop a couple of weeks ago when the snow conditions changed and the avalanche risk increased dramatically - there were sadly a few people killed in the last week or so. They were mostly ski touring and had set off the avalanches themselves. However it's not an exact science and I decided to err on the side of safety.

Throughout the season the downhill skiing has been on very good snow and mostly under deep blue skies. As the days get longer the air begins to warm up, which means quite a few excellent picnic lunches at the summits but also wetter, heavier snow by the end of the day.

For my walks I have mostly been exploring the local hamlets, often with interesting short walks which I've been able to link together. I've been aiming to do about 12 kms and always more than 600 m of climbing.

In the more sheltered parts of the forests I came across quite a lot of snow still lying, normally very icy on the surface and difficult to walk on in just boots. My microspikes have been well used to get across these sections! What a great bit of kit - I can't recommend them highly enough. I would add that it if you need to take them on and off frequently (as I did) your hands do get rather muddy - thank heavens for baby wipes!

{Microspikes - on an icy path}

One of the local walks, which I have often done in the summer months, takes a path up to a remote farmhouse. It's not a long walk (maybe an hour or so) but goes through a very interesting, ancient and rare forest of juniper trees. These trees are usually found in Morocco and other very hot dry places.

As you go up the hillside there are storyboards with facts and photos to read. The trees themselves were giving off a very pungent smell of turps in the warm sunshine. I had a brilliant view down on the little village of St Crepin, with all the houses nestled into one another beside the church tower.

{Looking down on St Crepin}

Some of the trees have wonderful, twisted trunks. One is apparently (according to the information board) called 'la mere' and looks like an old elephant, a sort of icon for the people of the village. I took a photo but it's hard to see the elephant I think....

{The elephant tree}

There was a photo of this tree taken in 1879 on the board, looking quite remarkably the same!

Extending this walk took me higher up the side of the hill above the River Durance where the tiny villages are very old and feel as though time has passed them by. One called 'les Chapins' claims to be the birthplace of the Chopin family from the 1600s.

The small strips of land that the farmers work are often cultivated largely by hand. Traditional methods are dying out though, along with the older inhabitants of the area. Extended and refurbished homes usually indicate they have been bought as second homes by the people of Marseille or Grenoble.

{Bales of hay collected by hand outside a traditional farmhouse}

Walking above the house here on the opposite side of the valley brings me to our main village, which consists of about 13 small hamlets. Our hamlet is round the hill away from the main village but it is easy to walk to it along the tracks through the forest. The loggers have finished their work but have left debris on the paths, making progress a bit slower than usual.

{Broken branches litter the path}

Following the paths here is fairly straight forward, although in common with maps at home, not all the tracks you see are shown. Often there are signs to help with direction and distance. I find these quite comforting especially when walking in wooded areas where navigation can be challenging. Main local paths are marked with yellow markers from time to time, and most helpfully, there will be a yellow cross which indicates you have gone the 'wrong' way.

{Sign posts with general timings}

I know there is a strong lobby at home who are against signage of this kind, but here it seems the norm and accepted. The signs are mostly unobtrusive and carefully placed at difficult junctions. They can even be just a splash of paint on a rock or tree.

The end of a great winter - now I'm looking ahead to May and the TGO Challenge. There are still a few weeks to get organised - and fitter!

{Sunset from Ceillac - earlier in the season}

Winter trousers..............

2011-03-20T16:21:00.009Z

Last year I decided that what my 'walking' wardrobe lacked was a decent pair of winter trousers. I have Paramo Cascadas but they are not very comfortable except in really dire weather. They are the old kind without articulated knees and have heavy insulation.

I wanted the new trousers to be warm, comfortable and usable for winter walking, snowshoeing and maybe cross country skiing. That's a tall order for one pair of trousers and once I started looking around (for bargains of course) I managed to acquire various pairs, all black, which I have worn this winter.

For cross-country skiing I had always worn my Ronhill stretchy tracksters with one or sometimes two pairs of longjohns underneath. This made them warmer but not really windproof and rather tight round the knees. I did try on some Odlo trousers sold especially for x-c skiing but found that my tree-trunk legs didn't fit into them very well. Obviously made for ladies with slender, twig-like legs!

For snowshoeing I only had the Ronhill set up or some skiing trousers. Neither seemed the best option: the ski trousers made annoying swishing noises as I walked and they were a bit too warm, the tracksters not warm enough or snowproof at all.

Here is a review (short and very personal) of the trousers I have been trying this winter.

Craghoppers Winter Pika (Short length)

These are very cosy but not at all stretchy which makes them suitable for shopping trips mainly. They also have quite astonishingly flared legs and are a bit short in the rise for me. I also feel the legs are too short for me and flap around my ankles.

I did wear them for a couple of short walks but the lack of stretch made them uncomfortable stepping uphill.

Montane Terra Thermic (Short length)

When it was very cold before Christmas in Scotland I wore these trousers a lot, even indoors. I like them a lot. They are cosy on the inside and easy to vent with long leg zips. I've been wearing them for snowshoeing although fitting gaiters over them is not very easy (because of the zips).

They are also a tiny bit short in the rise, and I have not worn longjohns with them as they felt too tight then.

They are a good length for my legs though. The material they are made from is very nice to wear even though they are not stretchy.

Berghaus Cascade (Short length)

I immediately liked these trousers when I first put them on. They are very tough and stretchy. I did discover though that without longjohns they are not very warm, even cold to wear. They are also not very wind-proof. I wore them one day to get the bus into Aberdeen and nearly froze to death at the bus stop!

However, they fit me very well, especially round the waist and hips. So with a pair of merino wool longjohns I have been wearing them for cross-country skiing. The knees are very well articulated and length is perfect for me.

Sprayway Warm Challenger (Short length)

These are my latest pair - still hoping to find the perfect trousers. They fit me well and are very stretchy, a bit more windproof, and light to wear. I have to wear a belt with them otherwise they stretch too much round the waist. There is a zip down from the knee to the bottom hem (although I'm not sure what for) and one on the leg for venting.

At the waist there is a velcro tab which seems to be the wrong way round to really tighten the waist at all. However, with the belt on I don't need to use this.

I have been wearing these mainly for walking and without longjohns underneath.

These are the trousers I like the best at the moment.

Conclusion

I think I have not yet found the perfect trousers for all these winter activities. Most of them are fine for cooler weather walking although a bit of stretch helps to make them more comfortable round the knees. None of them are windproof enough for really cold conditions. Maybe it's just me but I find having to wear longjohns means the knees feel tight on me.

I will add that I did not pay full price for any of these trousers, having bought them either in a sale,

or on E-bay.

Tundra sleeping bag has arrived.....!

2011-03-12T08:59:00.001Z

My new sleeping bag has arrived (postage free) at my daughter's house in Yorkshire.....

That means I've only seen it on Skype. It looks good. Very lofty, and (she says) very soft to touch.

We're heading back home the last week of March so it won't be long till I get my mitts on it..............

It came with two bags, a small one made of nylon and a larger cotton bag. I've asked her to put it in the cotton bag so as not to crush it for the next few weeks.

If the skiing wasn't so good at the moment I'd be keen to get home and play with it. However, the sun is very warm here and the snow perfectly groomed - what more could I ask for?

OOOOPs! ..........

2011-03-06T17:15:00.005Z

I suppose some of you may have noticed that I've been very quiet lately! (Not like me, I have to add!)

Well, there are several explanations - I had the family visiting for a week so that meant that for a few days before they arrived there was a great deal of cleaning, tidying and general sorting to be done. Then the week they were here I was too busy to sit down at all and when they had all gone there was more tidying and washing to be done. Phew!

So all done and dusted (quite literally) and Him Indoors is away for four days working and OOOPS! the internet connection that we have here provided by Orange France goes down; the so-called Livebox is more like a Deadbox, and I can't get it mended for SIX days. But finally I'm back!

I've been planning a couple of posts while I've been out of contact. Here is the best!

Just before the family arrived I took a quick walk up into the forest behind the house, to stretch my legs and try to start my TGOC training.

I was perturbed to discover the foresters were working, felling trees and making huge muddy tracks where there were little paths before. Added to that my favourite walk was blocked off with a notice saying 'Interdit au public'. So I took a bit of a detour and some photos.

{The notice closing the path to the public}

{Ooops! Don't walk this way either!}

Then, after I turned back, I came across a patch of hard snow where I discovered these frozen tracks!

{Large prints in the snow}

{My hand next to one of the paw prints}

I will admit to being a bit overexcited and rushed back home - this time with photographs! I have no proof they are wolf prints but they are exactly the same as the ones I saw before.

I googled 'un loup Reotier' in the hope of finding something interesting and I certainly did! By the way, I have not got permission to show this photo but I'm very pleased to find it and I'm 'borrowing' it to show you. It was taken in February 2009, by someone called Googleyse.

{A wolf photographed running across the road less than a kilometre away from here}

Col d'Izoard - well, almost..................

2011-02-12T08:55:00.003Z

We parked the car on the verge at Le Laus, which is a short twisty drive up from Briancon. The road from here up to the Col is closed to vehicles in the winter - but still accessible on skis, snowshoes and on foot. In fact, it is tidily pisted and marked out in two halves so that the x-c skiers do not have to share their track with those on foot. It can be ridiculously difficult to control those skinny skis when the snow is rutted!

I was spending the day with Jeff and Maryann - they had invited me to join them to explore the snowshoe tracks here.

As we walked up the road I kept thinking 'people cycle up here' as the Col d'Izoard is probably world famous as one of the gruelling mountain climbs undertaken during the Tour de France. There were various 'cut throughs' to avoid following the road as it climbed in zig-zags up the mountain side. The French call these zig-zags 'lacets'. This form of road building was 'invented' by Napoleon - so he could get his troops up steep inclines quickly. What he actually invented were carts which had wheels fitted on an axle thus enabling them to make sharper turns. Before that, the mountain tracks climbed in wide loops so you could push a handcart with fixed wheels.

{The last stretch up to the Refuge}

Eventually after much puffing and panting (mostly by me!) we reached the Refuge. This is one of the Inns on the mountain road supposedly visited by Napoleon on his march through France and is therefore called Refuge de Napoleon. We enjoyed a huge cup of hot chocolate each and a well-deserved sit in the sunshine. We watched a few people continuing up the road to the Col - but we didn't feel inclined to join them.

We thought it might be impolite, never mind 'interdit', to eat our packed lunches there, so we put on our snowshoes and started our descent. The track went down along the route of a frozen and snowed over stream. Lunch was eaten sitting on a bridge parapet, swinging our legs like large children.

{One of the easier bits going down}

Following the path down we clambered between rocks and over what must be small waterfalls in the summer. Some bits were quite hairy-scary but do-able, trusting the spikes on the snowshoes to hold in the snow.

{The old village houses in Le Laus}

As we reached the road just before Le Laus, we had completed 10.1 kms and climbed 845 ms (according to Viewranger).

Definitely a day to remember!

Walking with wolves...........

2011-02-05T09:11:00.004Z

Well, x-c skiing actually.

Yesterday my friend Christiane and I were cross country skiing between Abries and Ristolas in the Queyras Park, which is about 40 minutes from here.

Climbing throught the forest alongside the river I saw large dog-like paw prints on the snow beside the ski track. The girl in charge of the pistes came along a little later and asked us if we had noticed the 'wolf' tracks.

A second set joined in a little further on, and the animals appeared to walk beside each other. There were also droppings and urine markers.

Did I get a photo? Short answer?

No.

Sleeping bag..........decided!

2011-01-30T16:58:00.002Z

Well, it's all been decided now. Who said Librans couldn't make decisions?

I've ordered a short version of the Tundra Pure -5.

Chris from Tundra says it'll be 2-3 weeks.......so I'll have to wait a bit............

.

Which sleeping bag............part 3

2011-01-29T10:03:00.001Z

Looking at the length of the Tundra sleeping bag I have my eye on it seemed too long for me. It didn't take me long hunting on the net to find an email address for them. So I took a chance and emailed to see if they could make a bag slightly shorter for me.

Response this morning - YES, THEY CAN - and it won't cost anything extra! It'll take about 3 weeks (no problem) although I haven't worked out the details of how it happens yet. The short version of the Pure -5 will be for someone 180 cms tall so as I'm not even 160 cms, it should be fine. That's customer service for you!

As you can imagine, I'm quite excited now.

WOOO HOOO!

Which sleeping bag.......part 2

2011-01-28T16:58:00.002Z

First of all, a big THANK YOU to all of you who've taken the time to try and help me with the sleeping bag decision. I've had loads of good advice and recommendations. What a great community this is!

However, here's an update.

The 'feather' thing keeps raising its head with me. My ethical conscience has gone into overdrive. So for that reason I've been investigating the 'down' business a bit more deeply. There's some interesting stuff on the net about it, though it doesn't always make easy reading.

During my search for information I came across 'Tundra, ethical down sleeping bags'. Now the Pure -5 gets a good crit from Trail and this bag weighs in at a respectable 850g. No, it's not as light as some of the others. But it does have a full length zip and water-resistant head and foot.

Seems like this could be the answer for me.

{Tundra Pure -5}

I haven't bought one yet but I'd be interested if anyone has experience of one?

Which sleeping bag....................?

2011-01-25T11:27:00.005Z

I've been busy making a list of the down sleeping bags I am considering to replace my Vaude synthetic bag.

There's nothing really wrong with the Vaude bag - it has served me well. It's warm and cosy but it's not lightweight (maybe 1.4 kg, more with stuff bag) and it doesn't compress very small. In fact, it takes up the whole space of the bottom compartment of my rucksack.

{Vaude Kiowa 200 sleeping bag}

So here is the list of candidates. They are all 3 season down bags. Now I do have a bit of a problem with feathers, after all they really belong on birds! I don't like the idea of supporting the meat-eating industry nor do I like the idea of live birds being plucked. However, I have to admit that if I could save a good deal of space in my rucksack, and carry 500g less, but still be warm and cosy, I might be tempted to buy one of these bags.

Mountain Equipment Xero 550
RAB Neutrino W 400
Mountain Hardwear W Phantom 15
Golite W Adrenaline 3
PHD Minim 400 (short, with zip)
PHD Combi bag (short, with zip)

So how do I make the decision? Should it be by price, size, compressibility, durability, or even colour?
After all, I am a Libran - HELP!.............

Yes - I've been Vetted............

2011-01-22T10:04:00.002Z

Well, more truthfully, my Challenge route across Scotland has been Vetted!

Not all bad news though, apart from a small re-routing to avoid a 'tick-fest' with ME as the main attraction!

My Vetter made some very helpful suggestions and passed on some snippets of extremely vital information about the route I have chosen. So thank you, Mr Vetter!

Once I've re-submitted the route with the changes I'm planning to make, I'll put up a more detailed post.

So now it's back to the training and the listing.....................maybe a bit of serious shopping too!

{Montrose beach - 2009}

Tinkering over............

2011-01-17T09:17:00.003Z

Finally stopped fiddling with The Route - returned it to almost what it was originally - and sent it off. Roger has acknowledged receipt so I'm waiting for The Vetting. There's bound to be some glaring errors, which I didn't see.

I'll be starting at Oban, then more or less a 'trade route', mostly low level, through Glen Tilt to Braemar, then Tarfside, Brechin and Lunan Bay. It visits quite a few places I've not been to before and some very close to home! I've tried to avoid too much road walking except the first day to Taynuilt which seemed unavoidable. I rejected the option to go North of Loch Etive or even to Port Appin (that was too much ferrying!).

The hostel in Oban is booked for the Thursday night but I haven't booked anything else. I have scheduled in some campsites on the way but they're mostly not open yet so won't be taking reservations till nearer Easter.

I think I'll probably not send any parcels, too restrictive if I have to change my route at all.

That's it.

{Reaching Montrose, 2009}

NOW - what new kit will I need? Should I change my sleeping bag from synthetic to down? It would save a lot of space and some weight, but I need to think about the feather thing. I've already bought a new jacket, a Paramo 3rd Element, before they disappear completely. My rucksack and tent are well tested and I love them both.

I'm sure I'll think of something.............!

Which are you?.............

2011-01-13T19:47:00.002Z

Just around Christmas bored with watching the endless films I turned to a comedy programme. I can't remember which one. I've since googled for the stand-up comedian I saw. His name is Jon Richardson.

He introduced a brilliant concept. He proposed that it's possible to divide the world into two groups - Putters and Leavers.

To start with, answer the question...........'Where are your car keys?' Your answer will help you identify to which group you belong.

A Putter knows where they are, e.g. in the front pocket of my handbag, in a dish by the door etc.

A Leaver has no idea. They are where he or she left them.

You can develop this theme of course. Putters like to plan, be in control, have homes for things. Leavers are constantly abandoning things, finding them by accident but never in the same place twice, always asking 'have you seen my keys, boots, book, wallet, phone, etc.?'

I suppose that marriage and other partnerships work best when there is one from each group. Two Putters would have real problems as they both would have to know where everything must be. Two Leavers would live in a rather chaotic world.

So in our case we are happily one of each.

Can you guess which is which?

And more importantly - which are you?

Watching woodpeckers........

2011-01-11T15:13:00.004Z

Writing this while watching two Greater Spotted Woodpeckers pecking in the tree outside the window. It's beginning to snow again - I'm in the Alps.

Despite heavy rain and 'dubby' weather for the last couple of days we have managed a bit of downhill skiing. Fortunately the rain fell as 10 cms of snow in the mountains and covered the pistes with a nice creamy layer of new but slightly wet snow. Hard work for the old legs!

{Ceillac - fresh snow but low cloud}

We arrived here on Friday night after a long slog down through Britain visiting various relatives on the way. Everything in order in the house we set off to collect our season's ski passes, take a couple of runs (yipee, we can still do it!) and celebrate with a late lunch of coffee and cake.

Sunday was miserable with thick mist and flat light. So Monday we headed off into the new snow for a couple of hours.

And I was wearing my new ski helmet - yes, I know, but it is comfortable and John has been nagging me for a while to get one. Bashing my head, not only on the ground but on various metal objects in and around ski tows, is always a risk, and now I'm not so nimble getting out of the way of others, more and more likely. Last season the major risk was definitely John, wearing his helmet, bumping into me and doing me damage with his head! A risk only narrowly avoided several times. I have long held the belief that humans are magnetic and dangerously attracted to each other, particularly when there are only two around!

{More Ceillac, with a view this time - and John}

We made the most of the empty slopes, though the legs were really tired, but finished just after 3 o'clock.

Now I'm going to try and complete my TGOC route.

I'm at the tweaking stage now!

Best Wishes.......

2010-12-27T10:26:00.001Z

This is a quick post for Christmas survivors!

I'm not doing much walking this week as I'm doing dog sitting, baby feeding and a bit of cooking instead! All great fun.

I have my TGOC route to finish off. It's pretty much settled that I'll go from Oban to Lunan Bay via Glen Tilt. Once the festive rush is over I'll put up more details. I've also a short journal post to complete of the 2010 Challenge.

We'll be taking up residence in the Alps for plenty of skiing and snowshoeing very shortly.

So..........here's wishing you all a Good New Year for 2011.

The spirit of Christmas............

2010-12-21T23:35:00.003Z

Today was a blue sky, white snow day. We had to go shopping though. I won't go into detail about Tesco's - you've all been there, and done that.

Last week, just before another dump of snow, I had ordered a new gas bottle for the fire. These are tall, red bottles which are stored outside and feed the lounge fire. Unfortunately no delivery was made and we ran out of gas two days ago. We went into the suppliers (a local 'General Merchant') on our way through Ballater but were told there was no gas as the lorry hadn't delivered from Edinburgh and they would let us know when it arrived.

Eventually, with the temperature hovering around a cosy minus 14 C I came home this evening with all the Tesco shopping, and as I made my three journeys from the van to the house and back, I noticed tracks in the garden. These were wheeled trolley tracks so I was delighted - it meant the gas had been delivered after all.

And I wasn't wrong. The gas fire worked a treat. I had a cup of tea and a buttered crumpet before putting the shopping away.

Then I noticed the screwed up invoice from the gas delivery stuck at the back of the front door. Written on it, in large shaky capital letters was the following message:-

THANKS FOR

SHIELING URE

PATH, I WOULD OF

LIKE TO OF SEEN

U DRAG A 47 KG

UP THIS PATH

BUT I'VE
DUN IT

Ah! That's the spirit...........

'Consumables' gear review.........

2010-12-10T16:06:00.013Z

As I'm still under the weather (in more ways than one) and only able to think about walking, I thought I could post a review of the various 'consumable' products that work for me.

Creams and Potions
I particularly like Vaseline for treating hot-spots on my feet. I used to buy those tiny tins but I had a problem opening some of them from time to time so now I buy a bigger tub and replenish one that DOES open. I'm not so keen on putting it on my lips as I think it tastes horrible. For that I really like Blistex cream that comes in a little tube. It lasts for ages and tastes good. Although it does escape alarmingly when you squeeze the tube too hard.

Nikwax
As a wearer of Paramo clothing it goes without saying that I buy and use Nikwax reproofing stuff. However to save a bit of cash I wash my walking clothes in ordinary soap-flakes. These are becoming quite hard to find so I've built up a stock of a few different boxes from various supermarkets. The best were some called Granny's Soapflakes but I can't remember now where I bought them. They have to be swished up with some warm water to dissolve them before they go in the washing machine.

Nikwax for Boots
As I still have leather boots I do reproof them now and again with Nikwax leather reproofer. It's specially formulated (so it says) for Goretex and Event lined boots. It's quite easy to use although I would like a better spongy bit on the end of the bottle as it wears away before the liquid is finished. It doesn't seem to soften the leather like some other treatments do.

Whittards Spicy Teabags
I'm not sure whether it's still possible to get these Whittards teabags (I'll find out when the box is empty) but as soon as I start carrying a flask for a hot drink I start packing one of these bags in my lunch box. I can drink this tea with no milk so it makes it easy for using on the hill. Delicious!

GORP
I walked the West Highland Way some years ago with a small group and one couple from Chicago made their own trail mix from a delicious but unexpected mixture of Smarties and Salted Peanuts. I now copy this and add a few other nuts and dried apricots. It provides that instant bit of sugar and something salty that I need at the summit of hill! Just a small handful.....

{On the WHW}

Ok - now my mind has gone blank.....(not unusual I hear you say!) ......so I'll stop here.....

A Very Short Walk...........

2010-12-08T15:14:00.006Z

Getting out seemed a priority this morning, so I set off to try and get to the bothy in Glen Gelder. I carefully climbed out of the front door as it's now so icy it's impossible to put your feet safely on the step!

I went along the road first as the path is still uncleared and then took the track across the bridge onto the Balmoral estate, making good progress. The snow is still very cold and powdery which makes it difficult to walk in unless you can find either footprints or tyre tracks to follow. Luckily I found a vehicle had already been along there.

{Not this way!}

I headed up towards the edge of the forest hoping that the landrover had gone into Glen Gelder. Unfortunately that was not the case, so eventually I had to turn back as the snow was deeper and deeper (well above my knees) and I began to worry about getting stuck!

{Reaching the edge of the forest}

{Looking across Glen Gelder to Ripe Hill}**

The 'high' stepping in the snow was quite hard work though, so at least when I finally got back to the road I felt as though I had exercised a bit!

Taking the loop round past the gates of Balmoral added some extra distance to what was now quite a short walk. On the way I noticed the curling rink was being prepared for use.

{Curling rink almost ready to use}

** Sharp eyed readers may notice a new fence across this landscape - I don't think it was there the last time I walked in the glen - when the snow hardens up or melts away a bit I'll go and take a closer look!

Snot.............and more snow!

2010-12-06T16:04:00.001Z

I've spent the last few days wishing I could get out and about but feeling a bit grotty with the snottiest, yukiest cold I've had for a long time. Probably caught from my grand-daughter on last week's trip to Yorkshire.

In fact we only got back through the snow and ice because we have a 4 wheel drive VW van and plenty of experience of travelling in these kind of conditions. We couldn't get over the A66 nor Glenshee as the roads were closed, so it was a long journey. John drove steadily and carefully all the way - well done!

We have had a couple of days when it was not too bad over-head and I've been able to take some interesting snowy photos.

{Bridge over the Dee}

As I said before, the garden is under at least 2 foot of snow. Not the usual heavy wet stuff, but proper lightweight fluffy snow, the kind you can't use to make snowmen! There's been no satellite TV either, as the dish is frozen up behind some huge icicles. There are some of these icicles hanging dangerously above the front door, as the postman pointed out to me this morning.

The roads are much clearer today and the local school is back in action. But until my snot clears a bit I think I'll stay close to home.

Just a note that the Keen walking boots I'm enjoying wearing so much, are very grippy on the snow and warm too. However, my winter trousers, Berghaus Cascade, need a pair of good leggings underneath to keep out the cold.

{Strange fence posts at Balmoral}

Snow...........

2010-12-02T19:05:00.004Z

Wow! Wot a lot a snow!

{Ballater bin}

Made a foray for desperately needed provisions into Ballater today. Just getting to the garden gate was a major expedition. My new winter trousers (Berghaus Cascade soft shell from Ebay, of course!) were well up to the challenge.......

Can't wait to get out on a walk or two but I really wish my snowshoes were here and not in France!

To pass the time indoors, I'm considering my route across Scotland for the TGO Challenge. As I didn't finish this year's I had thought of using the same route, perhaps changing the first few days, but today's plan is to start at Oban and include Glen Tilt on the way to Montrose.

{Phone box at Crathie}

Hip Hip .......Hurry!

2010-11-24T05:14:00.002Z

Yes I do mean 'hurry' but also hooray! Finally I've got my blog back!

I've been struggling for a couple of days with unwanted pop-ups, pornographic videos, fake virus alerts and worst of all, I haven't been able to put any text onto my blog page.

I now have no idea why it's working again but hey-ho I'm making the most of it!

It may have frozen up again the next time I come to type something............?

However I don't seem to be able to up-load photos yet.

Must be the Gremlins again........

Virus problems............!!!!

2010-11-22T17:04:00.003Z

A cold and frosty morning...........

2010-11-16T14:50:00.009Z

{Frost on every bush}

A heavy frost and a bright clear blue sky encouraged me out yesterday to walk to the other side of Creag nam Ban and maybe try to access the hill from there. There were frozen puddles and mud along the lane going towards Balmoral so the temperature was still below freezing.

I had had an email reply from the access officer who told me that Abergeldie Estate have installed kissing gates in some places but progress is slow and difficult. The claims of 'deer management' seem to be a coverall for preventing access.

The field of sheep were still there chomping noisily on some stalks along with a strong smell of turnip. I crossed the wooden bridge carefully as it was slippery with a wet covering of frost and continued up the road towards the distillery.

The land-rover track I took from the road was almost a pleasure to walk on after the last few days on muddy trails and enabled me to get easily to the stand of Scots Pine trees which protect the old settlement of Bovaglie. I had passed a herd of deer stags watching me suspiciously from the side of Creag nam Ban and seeing how wet and deep the bog was, I decided to leave them to the hill and explore the old farmstead instead.

{The track through the trees to Bovaglie}

The old farm buildings consist of a u-shaped barn and an old boarded up farm house. There are also quite a few even older remains of houses and retaining walls. I explored an area of planted conifers but decided not to go into the forest as it involved barbed wire fencing again. The view from this settlement is astounding, looking right into Lochnagar.

{Lochnagar in the distance}

I ate my lunch, enjoying the peace and quiet, until a gunshot reminded me that other people might spend their time in the outdoors for different reasons!

{An old cooking pot in the farm yard}

{The low sun making shadows}

Heading back, I spotted two buzzards hunting low over the heather, and then some sheep obviously sun-bathing while lying down chewing. I found the frost hadn't melted on the bridge so had to tiptoe across again.

{Looking back at the frosted bridge over the Dee}

I realised, as I reached home, that I had almost forgotten about the access problem I set out to investigate.

There's always the next time!

According to Viewranger I walked 12.7 kms.

Creag nam Ban revisited..

2010-11-10T17:03:00.005Z

I'm feeling in a great mood today after the TGO Challenge news that I have been successful in the draw for next May.

{Red berries in the sunshine}

As the weather was good too, I took off to revisit Creag nam Ban. Unfortunately, this involved a bit of tarmac bashing/walking along the South Deeside Road to get to the gate onto the moorland. Although the sun was shining it was still quite wet and muddy underfoot so I had to stay alert for cars as they hit the puddles at the side of the road. Despite trying quite hard none of them 'got' me.

Creag nam Ban or 'hill of the witch' isn't very high but has good views from the summit so I took my lunch with me. There are stories that a local witch was burned on this hill in the dim and distant past.

{Creag nam Ban from the road}

I remembered the last time I tried to get onto this hill when I discovered locked gates and therefore no access to the path.

{Beech trees beside the road}

Hoping that situation had been sorted out by the Park Access officer, I headed for the gates. There are two quite close to each other, with some high deer fencing with barbed wire wrapped around the posts and threaded along the fence. Sadly I found there had been no change. The gates have latches but also very old, heavily rusted chains with padlocks attached.

{Barbed wire, padlocked chain, no access!}

The recent barbed wire 'incident' suffered by Alan [ here ] meant that I was not prepared to risk climbing among the barbs so I turned and walked back along the road. There was another place where the wall beside the road had obviously been used to access the slope up to another part of the fence. But again, there were several strands of barbed wire.

Back down the road I tried an alternate access along a track behind some cottages. This time I could not even get as far as the junction of the paths as the field gate was locked and full of large, muddy, brown cows.

So now I'm cross! The access laws should prevent this kind of nonsense. Bah! Time for another call to the Access officer!

It's a shame they burnt the witch.........

{Baa!}

Mud bath for two bloggers on Glenlivet Estate walk...

2010-11-07T17:45:00.008Z

It was a good plan. I would meet up with Louise (here) and we would toddle along, chatting of course, have lunch at the summit of Carn Daimh and then toddle back to the car-park.

Mmmmm.............

{Waymarker at the summit}

It started very well. I arrived a bit early, having over-estimated the journey to Tomnavoulin by about 45 minutes. Louise arrived shortly afterwards.

The day seemed quite good. A little chilly but not actually raining, even a bit sunny. We consulted the maps and agreed a route, then set off.

There was a little hesitation after the first stile. But eventually we took off uphill albeit on the wrong side of a fence. We did find a gate, climbed over carefully, and carried on, heading for the Speyside Way and the summit of Carn Daimh.

On the path, looking like soft ice-cubes, we found some star jelly. So I took a photo.

{Mysterious star jelly on the path}

This section of the Speyside Way was exceeding wet and muddy. Obviously suffering from a lot of erosion and very little maintenance. Nice sticky black mud and peaty pools, which we hopped over and around. The path climbed up to the summit where we were struck by a cold wind and deciding to find a more sheltered place for lunch, we continued down to the forest.

{Terrible condition of Speyside Way}

{Summit of Carn Daimh and approaching rain clouds}

Among the trees we found a suitable place to sit. Some felling had left heaps of branches and stumps, giving a desolate feel, but a view of the hills had been revealed.

After lunch we continued through the forest. The route now took us across a swollen stream, then a tricky plank to plank section across a wet field. Then hopping, sploshing and by now, giggling whenever a boot was sucked into the mud, through a forest gap to another stile, where the rain started.......and the path disappeared completely into a bog.

{Plank to plank across a very wet field}

Fortunately we spotted some posts in the distance and set about clambering through the now soggy heather to reach them one by one, although they did seem to move further away all the time. Finally, we reached the Speyside Way again. Oh dear, yet another section of the Way in poor condition.

{Bemused cows, enjoying their own mud bath}

The final part of the walk, in diminishing day light, was just a complete mud bath with cows and sheep for company. This time pale sloppy mud and murky puddles. Oh, and a forced (by the cows) detour through a very spikey, dark wood with another fence climb at the end.

An enjoyable and unforgettably muddy day. According to my Viewranger we completed 18.2 kms.

But my boots didn't leak!

Hag Hopping!......

2010-10-26T17:53:00.001+01:00

After a whirr of activity, including a visit to Zurich, we're now back in Scotland.......

Despite yet more unpacking and washing waiting to be done, I took myself off, in bright cold sunshine, for a walk in Glen Muick.

Arriving in the car park, and seeing how many others had had the same idea, I opted not to follow the crowd and took the path beside the Allt Darrarie hoping to find my way to the Shielin of Mark.

{Looking back to Lochnagar - sparkling white in the sunshine}

I crunched, hopped and sploshed my way along the footpath squinting into the sun. I had left it until near lunchtime before setting off, not quite believing the forecast for a good day.

After a great deal of hag hopping I had to admit to myself that there was no such thing as a short cut across this terrain, I finally reached the bothy, where I had my lunch sitting outside. Inspecting my Keen boots, they were heavy with peaty water but my feet were not wet. Brilliant!

{At last - the Shielin of Mark comes into view}

Lunch over I decided to return to the car park by keeping to a lower level and following the streams. I did have a little internal rant about the narrowness of the path through the heather as I approached Glen Muick again. There was no comfortable way to walk without catching my gaiters, or risking tripping on my own feet, as I was forced to mince along.

I think I was tired!

Back again!

2010-10-15T20:08:00.001+01:00

After a great couple of weeks beside the Dordogne and a longer than scheduled time in Yorkshire - I'm back at last, blogging........

The unscheduled extra time away was thanks to the strikes in France this week. EasyJet had to cancel my flight on Tuesday so I eventually flew back on Thursday (yesterday). No problems though - EasyJet made it easy to re-book through the website.

I've a few pictures of the holiday but I haven't had time to sort them out yet - so a report will follow soon.

It's very Autumnal here now with some trees almost bare and others various shades of orange, yellow and red. Also rather chilly out of the sun.

So now it'll be a few days of unpacking, washing clothes and more than a bit of sleeping..............