Inverness pt1
It is not so sunny today – so we have come into Inverness, first for tea and cake and then to walk out along the River Ness.
Aviemore
With today being the last day of the Olympics Jeremy and I want to watch some of the last events on the BBC – including Mountain Biking in Essex! The event is being held near Canvey Island, a place not know for high ground – however the Olympic organisers have built a spectacular course with rock imported from Derbyshire. (I know South Essex very well as I come from there.)
(The race has just finished and it was really exciting.)
So today, having watched the fencing in the Women’s Modern Pentathlon we went for a walk through the woods that surround Aviemore.
click on the above image for a larger version
Lunch
We found some suitable rocks to sit on for lunch.
Jeremy had packed a new solid fuel stove, his Mother had bought for him – when I was at school I had a similar army surplus stove. We set the stove up on a board, to protect the grass and to give it a stable base. The pot stands were locked at an angle because we were going to use a Crusader mug on it.
Lunch was instant chicken noodles and it took two fuel tablets to boil the 600ml of water. I had a hot drink so that was another tablet. Some care has to be taken when lighting the tablets as you have to hold the gas lighter on them for several seconds and the angle of the lighter has to be just so or you can burn your fingers – I did!
The burning tablets give off some fumes (which Jeremy did not expect that) but they are OK to use in the open air. They also soot up the bottom of the pot – so some care has to be taken when the pot is put down – rubbing the pot bottom on the grass can clean most of this off.
Jeremy is very pleased with this stove – he still has a sealed pack of twelve fuel tablets as he used some of mine – and he is packing this as a lunch/second stove for when he is walking.
New Equipment
When I was in Wales the other week I bought a drinking tube kit for my roll up, 1l Platypus bottle. I have a Camelbak water bladder but I have had trouble with it going mouldy between trips – even though I have a Camelbak cleaning kit and hanger, which I use and I take care when drying it out. I now store the Camelbak with water in it and the air squeezed out. On the other hand I I have had no trouble with the roll up Platypus bottle – again I take care to dry it out before storing it away. The drinking tube kit will convert any Platypus roll up bottle into a bladder system – I can use it as a drinking system whilst on the trail and easily use it as a water bottle at the campsite.
Next month I am planning a wild camping trip to The Old Man of Coniston – when I will need to carry the water I will need for overnight – so I have bought another Platypus, a 2l version for extra water storage.
Here it is stored in my GoLite Jam backpack.
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Scandinavian Village, Aviemore
Early morning tea sitting on the patio.
Scandinavian Village, Aviemore Read More »
Insh Marshes Nature Reserve
We needed to find somewhere for lunch – so we went a bit further down the road from the Barracks to a car park we saw on the OS Map – this was Insh Marshes Nature Reserve. There were some picnic tables where we were able to set up the stove, for some tea. After lunch we went for a short walk around the reserve.
click on the above image for a larger version
I have reposted this entry as it was not recorded in the database correctly – I will need to get someone in the office to fix the issue.
Insh Marshes Nature Reserve Read More »
Ruthven Barracks
With the weather being so good we stopped off at Ruthven Barracks on the way to Aviemore. There was a major restoration project going on at the site – so I could not get a good photo of the whole.building so I concentrated on details.
The barracks were built on a prominent, natural hillock – so there are great views.
click on the above image for a larger version
Off to Scotland
Jeremy and I drove to Scotland overnight – unfortunately Diana is “kitten sitting” so did not come with us.
Having had the traditional breakfast in the Perth Tesco, we are heading up to the timeshare in Aviemore. Below is a shot taken of the highlands from a lay-by on the A9.
taken from this location using HDR Pro app on my iPhone 4 to bring out the colours.
Above is a shot of Jeremy texting Sakira – which is something he will be doing a lot during this holiday!