Got to keep the heart and lungs and muscles going as long as possible so another walk yesterday. The last time I was in Brora I enjoyed a fried egg roll in Linda's cafe so that's where we headed yesterday. After walking for 2.5 hours I felt I had enough calories 'in credit' that I could manage another egg banjo without developing a guilty conscience. Very nice it was too.
A lovely walk with the North Sea on our right, or starboard, side all the way. A grassy, albeit muddy in places, path except where we met some grazing cattle when we decided that walking on the shingle on the sea shore would be the more prudent option. Scared of a couple of cows you may ask but in fact cows occasionally take umbrage at humans in 'their' field and have even been known to kill people. Some poor man lost his life a couple of months ago. A few pics, in no particular order.
Dunrobin castle, looking rather splendid
A few of the well-behaved cows
The sun reflecting off the sea
A flock of seagulls, taking time out from flying about all day.
Peat-enriched water flowing down from the hills.
Lovely autumnal colours on this fern in the garden.
And here is Inspector Clousseau come to check the fern!
I'm sitting in my club in London, eating my 475 calories Boots meal deal, and reflecting that less than a week ago I was walking in the hills in the far North of Scotland. What a contrast.
I love travelling. Why? Mostly because it often precipitates adventures and interesting experiences. Today was no exception.
I went for lunch with my sister to a pub called "The Barrow Boy & Banker" - a few minutes walk from London Bridge railway station. I think it was allowed under current Covid regulations as although London is currently Tier 2 (High) my sister and I both live in Tier 1 (Medium) areas. They let us in and we registered through the NHS Covid app. I had a voucher from Fullers' breweries for a free bottle of wine with two main meals. They couldn't seem to match it up with any of their other offers but knocked £19.80 off the bill anyway, for the price of the bottle of wine. A result. I like it when people understand the benefits of building good cutomer relations. It's highly likely we'll go back there again now, whereas if they had disallowed my voucher they wouldn't have seen us for dust.
I was being crafty (who me?) and made sure the wine had a screw top. Hazel doesn't drink alcohol, what a star, and I knew I wouldn't drink a whole bottle in one sitting so I drank 'half' and took the other half with me to drink here in my room.
The next interesting episode occurred when I went out for an evening 'meal'. I could have eaten in the dining room here but, frankly speaking, that's a 'special occasion' kind of meal. The kind you have to save up for. I went looking for the McDonalds that used to be at Marble Arch. There was no sign of it and rather than traipse halfway down Oxford Street looking for another one I went into Boots for a £3.99 meal deal (sandwiches, drink and chocolate bar). It almost turned into a £4.99 meal deal as the young Muslim girl tried to diddle me out of a £1. And there was me thinking they didn't do that kind of thing. Luckily for me, and not her, I'm still of an age when I can quickly check the change to make sure it's right.
I walked back along Park Lane, looking enviously in at the posh car showrooms and wondering when my Premium Bonds would come up. I'm sure it won't be long now.
Back to Ramsey tomorrow, after what I hope will be a superb Big Boy's breakfast in the dining room.
It is from there that we started, and finished, yesterday's walk up to, and around, Duchary hill. Or rather from the ford at the Western end of the village. A ford, if any of my readers don't know, is a shallow place in a river where cars can (sometimes) cross. There has been a lot of rain lately (when is there not?) and it would be prudent not to attempt to cross at the moment.
The ascent was enjoyable as there was a path to follow. Even so, waterproof boots would have been a distinct advantage. Coming down, through the bracken, was more of a challenge. It would have been so easy to twist an ankle and become a liability to my walking partner. The narrative for the walk suggested 6 miles and 3 hours. We did it in 2 hours 55 minutes - perhaps we were walking too fast! My fitbit watch told me at the end of the day that I had covered a little over 20,000 steps. Not too shabby. I hope that went some way to counter the biscuit and cake tin booby traps that always catch me as I pass the kitchen
I'm sitting on the Highland Chieftain train on my way back to England and if their on-board wifi is up to it I'll add a few pictures to the blog.
Not to be confused with 'the bridge over the river Kwai, a famous 1957 war film starring Sir Alec Guinness, a Kyle is a Scottish word meaning a narrow strait or channel. These pictures are of a footbridge over the Kyle of Sutherland where I went for a walk yesterday with my friend Alisdair.
We had intended following this route to, and around, Carbisdale castle, but, since some donkey (me!) had forgotten to take the route map we deviated 'a little' from the route. Lovely paths through the woods nevertheless.
Here I am at the entrance to Carbisdale castle. An interesting story to this castle, which is also known as 'castle spite' because of where it is located - just on the border of Ross and Cromarty but looking out across Sutherland. You can read about the story here. It was used as a youth hostel for many years but is now in private ownership.
We stopped for lunch at the Pier restaurant in a town called Lairg. I
chose a hot dog and the roll contained not only the ubiquitous sausage
but also some haggis and was topped with jalapenos, cheese and mustard.
And chips to boot. Must go back and have another one some day soon.
To finish, here is a trailer from Bridge over the river kwai - just in case there's anybody left in the world who hasn't seen it!
