Scotland Ways x3

Speyside Way, Craigellachie to Ballindalloch

/ runningforthegate / 1 Comment

Wrapped day 3 of 5 on the Speyside Way with a flat, flat, very flat walk from Craigellachie to Ballindalloch today.

After a near full Scottish Breakfast (missing the haggis and black pudding), we left the Highlander Inn and walk literally a few steps to join back up with the Speyside Way where we left it yesterday.

The day started flat and stayed flat for us ALL day – a speed bump would have been exciting! But no complaints here, it was a well groomed path along the river (in some places so close you could hear the water rushing over the rocks) that connects small village to the next and made for such easy walking!

To make the 19.6 flat terrain a little more entertaining we started to map ahead the number of kilometers to the next milestone – a bridge, a tunnel, a train station turned into someone’s home, a church, etc! Definitely some gems enroute!

We stopped at Dailuaine Halt for our 11-sies break. This was a train station in year’s past but there are no longer any buildings although it still boasts a very nice picnic table that we enjoyed. Then we stopped at Tamdhu for our 2-sies break which was also a train station and still has buildings but they are now a classy whisky tasting room.

As we were wrapping up our walk we crossed a long, amazing aqueduct bridge – so long and really just a great finish to a long day.

We arrived at our pick up spot, Ballindalloch Station (now someone’s home), 30mins earlier than the arranged time. Luck was on our side though, the taxi also arrived early just a few minutes later! We are staying at the same place as last night, The Highlander Inn, so will taxi back tonight and tomorrow the taxi will drive us back to the Station to start again!

The threat of rain was real all day! We lucked out through, despite a few short stints of mist and pretty ominous clouds all day breaking up across the blue sky, we stayed dry all day! The strong winds kept the clouds moving on. Perhaps this explains the heat rash on both feet and under my knee brace 😦 booo!

We wrapped up the day with a pint on the sunny deck at The Highlander Inn. Maybe a nap, maybe some reading, maybe some social media scrolling and for sure some fish and chips followed.

The stats:

  • Trail: Speyside Way, Scotland
  • Day: 3/5
  • To/From: Craigallachie/Ballindalloch
  • Start/Finish time: 10:09am/3:31pm
  • Distance: 19.6km trail (20.1km Hiiker App)
  • Steps: 21,046
  • Terrain: flat, flat, so very flat
  • Weather: 14C Overcast w Wind
  • Breaky: Full Scottish Breakfast sans Haggis and Black Pudding
  • Lunch n Snacks: banana, cookies, 1/2 Mature Cheese on White Bread with Prawn crisps
  • Dinner: Fish and Chips
  • Pints: 3
  • Tonight’s home: Highlander Inn
  • Mood: happy big style
  • Body: feeling great knee does not hate me, rest of the body is loving this but the heat rash could tone it down a little please
  • Highlights: taxi arriving at near the exact same time we did end of day (30mins early)
  • Lowlights: Rosa feeling all blah
  • People of interest: the nice old gramp that recommend the vanilla and raspberry scone, told us it has no calories; and the distiller dad at the bar chatting up how fantastic his kids are
  • Funny bone: discovering you are sitting next to a cabinet of whisky bottles that all cost a 1000bucks then you proceed to elbow the thing putting your sweater on
  • Spontaneous dancing: stay tuned for tomorrow on this one

We are off to Grantown-on-Spey tomorrow!

Brande

Speyside Way, Fochabers to Craigellachie

/ runningforthegate / 3 Comments

Today is day 2 of 5 on the trail for us, walking the 21km from Fochabers to our new place to stay in Craigellachie at The Highlander.

A day of classic Scottish weather for us. Aka you don’t know what you are going to get from one minute to the next but you at least know the rain is never quite done with you. Keeping on eye the trail and one on the sky today we made our way across 10km of minor roads and the rest 11km rest forest track and woodland path. Putting on and taking off our waterproofs as often as the trail switches from flat to steady incline.

We started the day back at the Speyside Way path just a couple of blocks from Gordon Arms Hotel in great, only overcast conditions. T-shirt’s and sunnies! The first long stretch of minor road was ahead of us first, about 6km I would say. A nice wide section with almost 0 cars making for easy walking and great conversation as we walked along.

From there, the path turned to take us along some farms, a fantastic country mansion (who rudely didn’t not even notice us passing or invite us in for a tour and a tea despite our thinking they most definitely should) and then into forest track for a lot of kilometers.

There was a great view point along route called Earth Pillars where you could look over the Speyside River and compare how it looks today with a photo from the exact spot in our guide book from 1983. Still impressive but wow so different. There was a fly fisherman in the picture and one today … thinking it’s not the same guy or has at least gone home a few times between then and now for snacks.

Before heading up, up, up hill into the forest we first passed Boat O’Brig Bridge. The bridge was named over 400 years ago when the bridge of the Spey River collapsed and the ferry had to float over the bridge remains .. boat over bridge. We took a micro break at this spot and even got to see a train cross this beauty.

The ever climbing, most gently and some sections not quite as gentle, took us up to the shoulder of Knock More and then Ben Aigan. Don’t be too impressed yet. Yes, a Ben is a Mountain here but they are not what our Canadian readers would consider a mountain, aka the Rocky Mountains. Ben Aigan is just 471m high. So a fantastic workout but not anything sketchy for this gal who hates heights.

We rambled along the shoulder of Ben Aigan for quite some time rewarded with great views over lush farmland with far views of the coast where we started our day just yesterday.

Some kind soul put a picnic table along the route tucked nicely off the track – the sun was shining as we passed so of course we had our 2-sies stop here. (2-sies is afternoon or second break and often around 2pm. Not to be confused with 11-sies which is morning break and often around 11am and may or may not be the favourite break of hobbits).

We took full advantage of the bench and break in the clouds to get the feet up, get socks dried or new dry socks on, and give my bum knee a little time off too.

From there we had a long, gentle decline along forest track and then minor road for the rest of the afternoon. This section, as warned by the guidebook, did get a little monotonous but great conversation, random dance moves, short bursts of song lyrics, taking off and putting back on rain gear, and munching on naked Skittles broke it up quite nicely.

As we came back into civilization at the end of the day we stumbled upon the Fiddichside Inn. This Inn was built in 1842 and first served as a place for refreshment (think whisky) for rail workers, then expanded to an Inn and is now still a tiny wee pub (maybe 20 x 10 feet) with a huge deck with picnic tables for those rare sunny days and an Air BnB on the backside.

A great decision to stop! The gran (Gail) behind the bar was so fantastic. She was telling stories about the bar’s history to us and in such thick Scottish with all the ken’s instead of know’s and dinnae’s instead of did not’s and w’ instead of with and more. Love!

We tried to get a photo with Gail but she would have no such thing and instead took a photo of us behind the bar – Rosa got to get up close and personal with the whisky she was tasting! I on the other hand discovered Speyside Way Lager. Yummy!

After our pints, we walked the 500m along the River path to our accommodation and accidentally had another pint on their porch before some dinner, showers and a tuck into bed to rest up for our walk to Ballindalloch!

A few stats for ye:

Trail: Speyside Way, Scotland

Day: 2/5

To/From: Fochabers/Craigallachie

Start/Finish time: 9:28am/5:36pm

Distance: 21km trail (21.1km Hiiker App)

Steps: 27,653

Terrain: gentle climbs and declines (forest track, 10km of minor road)

Weather: 14C Overcast w Rain and Sun

Breaky: Full Scottish Breakfast

Lunch n Snacks: Mature Cheese on White Bread with French Onion crisps and baked Skittles

Dinner: Mac & Cheese

Pints: 4

Tonight’s home: Highlander Inn

Mood: happy

Body: feeling great but getting grief from the right knee

Highlights: The Fiddichside Inn

Lowlights: road walking

People of interest: Gail the barkeep at Fiddichside Inn, and Whiskey the poodle

Funny bone: Ordiequish the Octopus

Spontaneous dancing: seldom, damn rain

Deep thoughts: a good marriage includes remembering your wife’s Starbucks order

Brande

Speyside Way, Buckie to Fochabers

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We kicked off the Speyside Way today and could not have asked for a better day! After a full Scottish Breakfast at the Struan House B&B in Cluny Square of Buckie, we left our front door at 930am and literally walked steps to the official start of the way!

After a brief photo shoot and video upload to Instagram, we started the first 8km along the coast, skirting between side streets to stay close to the water as we searched the waves for bottle-nose dolphins, and minke whales. We didn’t find any of those but found a Mecca of harbour and grey seals – did you know they sing? It’s amazing and really unsettling actually it sounds so mournful. But so cool!

We wrapped up the coastal portion / half way in our day with some time at the Dolphin Centre were we enjoyed the hospitality of a warm cafe with such kind servers. We loved the scone with clotted cream and raspberry jam they served us. Washed down with a hot pot of tea, of course! Perfect warm up before heading out again to finish part 2 of the day.

We spent the rest of the afternoon, 8kms and about 3 hours kitted out in waterproofs but we were not bothered. The temp was great and the rain was only moderate not the torrential sideways stuff this country is know for! The rain started almost as soon as we left the Dolphin Centre so we even had a nice warm, dry spot to get our waterproofs on!

The afternoon had a fantastic detour (about 300m off trail) to this very long and neat aqueduct bridge! We loved it and just had to spend a bit of time taking some very cool photos. We had the place to ourselves which was fantastic!

After the bridge, we were on a well covered and flat forest path with loads of pine trees, rich ferns and some beautiful wild flowers that stood out so bright against the grey sky and green backdrop. Rosa snapped some of her epic flora pics!

We wrapped up our second 8km at just after 3pm when we arrived at our accommodation for the night, Gordon Arms Hotel, just a block of the trail. A tired but neat and clean 18th century hotel with creeky floors and ghostie vibes!

Along our way we met some great locals. The man walking Suki the greyhound / husky dog who told us about the seals in the harbour and whereto look for them; and the nice lady in the dream home built on the water who gave us the history of how she received the land from a fisherman’s bothy owner; and the amazing lady at the Dolphin Centre who was so kind and dropped off Rosa’s hiking poles to is at the hotel! She was not even coming through Fochabers but made a detour for us!

The stats …

Trail: Speyside Way, Scotland

Day: 1/5

To/From: Buckie/Fochabers

Start/Finish time: 9:30am/3:19pm

Distance: 16km trail (18.9km Hiiker App)

Steps: 28,557

Terrain: flat (forest track, tarmac, trail)

Weather: 16C Overcast AM, Rain PM

Breaky: Full Scottish Breakfast

Lunch n Snacks: Scone w Clotted Cream and Raspberry Jam, Sour Kids

Dinner: Steak and Ale Pie w Chips

Pints: 2

Tonight’s home: Gordon Arms Hotel

Mood: happy as all heck

Body: feeling great, right knee (torn PCL) misbehaving only a little

Highlights: seals singing!

Lowlights: lost poles

People of interest: Suki the dog) and her owner who told us all about the seal on the coast line

Funny bone: ‘special’

Spontaneous dancing: at least a few times

Deep thoughts: walk for the walk, the sights, the feels, the smells .. not for the finish line

A day to be grateful for and we assure you the gratitude was running deep! We had fun, we feel good, we are reminded of human kindness and the amazing places we are so blessed to hike through. Wow, what a day!

Tomorrow we are off to Craigallachie!

Brande

Speyside Way Starts Tomorrow

/ runningforthegate / 2 Comments

After some bumps in Rosa’s travel plans (thank you airport power outage in Calgary), Rosa and I have finally arrived together in the small coastal town of Buckie, Scotland where we will start the Speyside Way tomorrow!

The Speyside Way is a 106km (66mile) ramble from Buckie on the North Coast of Scotland down to Aviemore, a fantastic little ski town in the Cairngorms mountain range. The route is never far from the Speyside River which feeds the many distilleries along the Way. A wee dram for ye lass? Yes please!

I have the pleasure of walking this one with Rosa my sis-in-law-law and we are here in Buckie staying at the Straun House B&B (so cute, they even have teddy bears!) getting out gear ready for tomorrow – our first day on the trail!

Our next 5 days on the Speyside Way looks a little like this:

  • Day 1, Buckie to Fochabers, 16km
  • Day 2 Fochabers to Craigellachie, 23km
  • Day 3 Craigallachie to Ballindollach, 19km
  • Day 4 Ballindollach to Grantown-on-Spey, 23.5km
  • Day 5 Grantown-on-Spey to Aviemore, 26.5km (the finish line!)

Tomorrow we have a nice 8km walk along an ocean path where we will hit a dolphin centre that boats dolphins, otters and seals … and a cafe where I will be looking for a cuppa (tea or coffee) .. and then another 8km along the Speyside River to a small town of Fochabers. A nice warm up to the days ahead.

The weather is looking fine for tomorrow’s walk, 50% chance of rain (that’s basically a dry day for Scotland) and a high of 17C (perfect hiking temp). We will be sure to have our rain gear on hand when we head out in the am.

I will be posting a before we start walking, highlights from the trail video and after we finish walking videos on the Running for the Gate insta and new YouTube – see ya soon!

Brande

Loco Local – 2 Weeks to Go

/ runningforthegate / 3 Comments

We are in the 2 weeks-to-departure window now folks!

This close to departure my excitement meter goes way up and, full transparency, I also experience a few moments here and there of anxiousness too. All part of the process I think! It helps to focus on being prepared. So, this last pre-departure stretch will be about packing, confirming travel plans, figuring out why British Airways has changed my seat on a 9hr flight from the one I paid 100 bucks for, and making sure all the things I leave behind are left in order.

Seems I also need this next couple of weeks to pick my lip up off the floor and figure out a little adjustment to my approach to the 400km I have on trail ahead of me … why?

Sadly, frustratingly, madly, grumpily, growly … I am fast and furiously wrapping my head around a new injury. I messed up the PCL in my right knee in a soccer match. Noooo!

Honestly, the knee has been misbehaving for a while now. Ever since I tore the ligaments in my right foot last year (dramatic details here) I have been landing quite differently when I jump. To protect my sore arch, I am landing flat footed which is jarring my knee. I have had some pretty sore days following soccer and volleyball matches. A jumped to head the ball in a soccer match a couple weeks ago and it did me in I guess. When I landed, I felt a rip (not a pop so that’s actually fantastic news) and yikes a good amount of pain. The PCL in my right knee now has my full undivided attention!

What is a PCL you ask?

Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) is a ligament ‘is a band of tissue that crosses inside the centre of the knee joint. It connects your thigh bone to the bone of your lower leg. The PCL keeps your knee stable when it moves forward or backward.’ (thanks HealthLinkBC.ca)

I mean let’s think about this … is knee stability important? Sure. Will I be moving my knee forward and back as I walk 400km? Most of the time. Is it a 6-12 week recovery and I only have 2 weeks before departure? Yes. Am I sad but also mad and pouty as heck? Also yes!

The good news, my PCL is intact it’s only a tear. My knee doesn’t feel too hugely unstable – just not right on inclines and declines and stairs, and a misstep over extends it quite easily. And, also good news, when hiking – unlike soccer and volleyball – I can watch exactly where I put my feet. Heck I won’t be doing anything but watching these dogs for the next month! Also good news, there is a brace on the market specifically for the PCL.

The ‘bad’ news, I had to shell out a bunch for said brace (think the equivalent of my entire spending money budget for the trip in the UK for 30 days – I am gonna need a bake sale before I go so I can refresh my pint budget). More worrisome, I am breaking my most cardinal hiking rule – never ever EVER hike in something you have not trialed at home. Nothing gets packed unless it is tried, tested and true and a BUNCH of times before you depart. Well not this time B – we will adapt on the trial with a smile and as many spontaneous energizing dance parties I might need!

Stay tuned – lots more to come as I wrap my head around this turn of events and a brace a around my rebellious knee. So much to think about but also not over think. I got this! Right? Right! Absolutely!

Brande

PS the injury has also caused a Baker’s Cyst on that same knee (lovingly named jumbo prawn thanks Lana) which I hope just magically goes away and I never have to blog about! A girl can dream …

Excitement or Anxiety or Bit of Both

/ runningforthegate / 1 Comment

In the build to a big trip, or even a small one, sometimes excitement can start to feel a little bit like worry, or nerves or even anxiety. Don’t let this dampen the joy of your pre-departure prep. Instead focus on the things you can control about your adventure to ground any anxious thoughts – what you pack, what you plan, how you prep, etc.

My good friend Niki, trail name Spicy Hobbit (and her rockstar mom) are part of the crew I will be hiking the West Highland Way (WHW) in Scotland with this summer. Their first time in Alba and first time shifting their day hikes into a long distance, 8 day hike. Niki joins us today as our guest blogger sharing her excitement about our adventure …

Scotland! I can’t wait for this trip. Scotland has been at the top of my list of places to go in the world, since I was young. I never in a million years thought I’d be going in this way, to hike the WHW with friends and my 71 yr old mom.

What a way to see a country, I can’t wait to smell the air, see the countryside, look at the trees and sites, take in the history, taste the food, listen to the accent, talk with the people, enjoy the music and drink the whiskey. Not only am I hiking the WHW, my mom and I are going on a wee road trip after the hike. We can’t come all this way to not see where my mom’s family is from.

As soon as the deposit for the hike was put down, the planning was in full gear. First thing that was recommended for me to do was book the places to stay. The hike is being organized and booked by Contours, I have to plan and organize everything mother and I do after the hike. Being summer when we go, most places will be booked. So I researched, wrote, lists, compared prices, checked out locations and details for a month. Next, the car rental. After researching the roads I will be driving, prices, days needed for, pick up and drop off, I settled on a manual, which I haven’t driven in 20 yrs, yes I will be practicing before.

Getting the important things booked for the side trip, I then focused on my backpack. The pack I will take across the pond, carry on the hike and around Scotland. I had to get the right fit because everyone knows size does matter. Once my backpack was purchased I started to make lists of clothing to take and toiletries and extras. I have stuff sacks to keep my clothing organized and tidy. I have been pre packing and continuing to make revised lists. I dont want to take too much or not enough. Plus the excitement of the trip makes me play in my pre packing. Apparently this is stuff you do just weeks before not months, clearly I can’t wait for this trip and want to make sure I have all I need.

I have a book about the WHW and have gone through highlighted things to see along the way, or take note of, where we are walking to or by also taking notes of things to look out for or see along the way, I don’t want to miss anything. I have also done the same for after the hike, of the places my mom and I will be going to. I may be stuffing too much into so few days but I’d rather have a taste of it than not at all!

As we approach the 3 months to go marker, my anxiety and excitement are colliding, am I organized enough, have I prepared all of my essentials, is there much more I can get or do to prepare, are we there yet????

The anticipation is driving me mad, and then I think I hope it doesn’t go too fast? Remember to stop smell, breathe, look and take in the moments.

Niki

The Next Adventure

/ runningforthegate / 4 Comments

The makings of my next adventure are in full swing folks and I am so excited …

I am off to Scotland .. yes, again! I just cannot get enough of that place. It is the best small country in the world don’t you know! Don’t believe me? They will tell you, on a huge sign right when your come off the plane in Glasgow.

There is truth to this claim I tell you. The countryside, the highlands, the munros, the history, the wee villages, the people, the haggis, and more – all are absolutely pure, dead brilliant. 😉 The weather could use a touch of work but, well, it is really part of the Scottish experience. So I forgive them the near constant Scotch mist and unpredictable but yet expected sideways rain and winds that can push you right off a cliff! Still brilliant!

This trip is going to be a Scottish long distance thru-hiking trifecta – Speyside Way, West Highland Way, and Eastside Way.

No way? Yes way!

Let me wax poetic a little bit about each of these Ways for a bit so you can see why I am so excited:

  • Speyside Way is a 106km (66mile) ramble from Buckie on the North Coast of Scotland down to Aviemore, a fantastic little ski town in the Cairngorms mountain range. The route is never far from the Speyside River which feeds the many distilleries along the Way. A wee dram for ye lass? Yes please! I have the pleasure of walking this one with Rosa my sis-in-law-law and we are gearing up for a pre-walk evening in Aberdeen and a very haunted accommodation (more to come on that) before heading out to bag this Way in 5 days!
  • West Highland Way is a 154km (96mile) walk into the highlands of Scotland featuring the most beautiful of lakes, Loch Lomond. So beautiful there is a fantastic song to go with it! We start in Milngavie (right outside of Glasgow) and walk up to Fort William, an outdoor adventure hotspot. For this one, my dream of organizing long distance hikes for groups is coming true … there are 12 of us Canadians hitting the trail! A mix of sisters and friends and even a mom/daughter duo – all who love hiking but most have never done a long distance hike before. West Highland Way was my VERY first thru-hike back in 2008 and it started a fire in me that has resulted in me traveling all over the world to ‘get my hike on’. I cannot wait to see that fire light up in these gals too! We refuse to rush this experience and have given ourselves 8 days to walk.
  • East Highland Way is the icing on the cake for this trip. A 135km (84mile) hike from Fort William to Aviemore. This is tougher hike that the others – traversing through glens, hills and mountains with very limited way marking – hello map and compass! I will have my trusty hiking partner and sister Shar at my side for this one and we are up for the challenge of completing this one in just 4 days! I will be in full hiking mode after completing the Speyside and West Highland so have no doubt the 35km each days on this one will be no bother.

Each of the links above take you to the Contours Walking Company webpage dedicated to that walk. This is the company we have been working with to get all the details sorted. The team over at Contours have been just amazing to work with and I cannot tell you how much their local experience and relationships means to our hikes. It is their hard work that will ensure all of us have a cozy bed to sleep in each night, a delicious hot breakfast each morning and the pleasure of just carrying our light day packs. I am not affiliated with Contours, just grateful! I will be sure to pop up a post about walking companies one of these days so you have the skinny on what they do and how to make sure you got a good one when you plan your thru-hike adventure – they can make or break the pleasure of your hike!

The trifecta adventure starts in just 20 weeks which means my go-to 20 week training plan has kicked off! I depart on June 27th (135 sleeps) and start walking Speyside on June 30th – let’s get this body trail ready!

Off to get me a 10km hike in …

Stay tuned for more details on each hike, the prep and planning and packing, and of course a play by play as we complete our adventures!

Brande