Dingwall
We went out for a walk to the MacDonald Memorial and back through the village last night.
Queen Victoria Memorial in Dingwall – shot late in the evening
Walking
Walking and Geocaching – Grantown on Spey – New Gear
The boys went fishing today near Grantown on Spey, so after dropping them off I set off to do some walking. There are plenty of good forest walks around Grantown on Spey and a lot of geocaches have been hidden there so planing a route was straight forward.
Several of the geocaches were challenging to find (I did get some help on one of them from a local) but searching them out is part of the fun. I was planning on getting 10 – managed 7 as the boys wanted to be picked up earlier than planned.
For lunch I found a shaded spot, essential for today as it was very hot and sunny, with a very convenient tree stump. Before setting up the stove I was very careful to clear the ground of the dry leaf litter as I did not want any risk of fire.
Gear
Top of the list today was water.
1l roll up Platypus bottle with a drinking tube – I do not use the bladder tube very often but today it was useful to be able to sip water regularly
0.5l roll up water bottle – used to make my lunch time coffee (I know coffee dehydrates but I like it)
0.3l water with a squirt of Robinsons Squash’d citrus
Lightweight Sea to Summit pack
Map and compass
Rain jacket – not really necessary today but I still packed it
Lunch – including a snack pot of tinned pineapple for the liquid
Backpacking cooking set
GSI lightweight insulated mug
Sit mat – pads the back of the pack
Sun stick and lip balm
Bush hat with wide brim
Victorinox Camper Swiss Army Knife on a paracord lanyard
Long sleeved lightweight shirt
Crag Hopper long trousers
Karrimor hiking shoes with Bridgedale hiking socks
Pocket first aid kit, pack of tissues, whistle, space blanket, length of cord, four large safety pins, glucose tablets
Head lamp
Emergency power pack for my smartphone
Plenty of factor 50 sun screen applied before setting out.
New Gear
GSI Infinity Backpacker Mug
I bought a new mug yesterday – a GSI lightweight insulated mug, that is big enough to be used as a bowl to rehydrate a meal in when camping or backpacking. The lid has a sturdy lift up flap for drinking out of and to protect from swimming flies.
The insulated jacket is removable for cleaning.
Capacity 500ml
Weight 99g
Coffee
I saw this flavoured instant coffee in the supermarket the other day. Tastes great so I have added a Nalgene bottle if it to my kit.
Walking and Geocaching – Grantown on Spey – New Gear Read More »
Walking – Grantown on Spey
Taken whilst walking near Grantown on Spey.
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Walking and Geocaching
I headed out for a couple of miles walking today. The Craigellachie National Nature Reserve is a few minutes away from the timeshare so it is a regular destination when I do not want to get the car out. The plan was to walk a bit then find somewhere to make a brew, eat my lunch and read.
A few years back the boys and I used to go geocaching a lot. Then we stopped – the boys grew up and I started walking more on my own again and did not need the incentive of looking for a cache to get out and about. Now with both of them off looking for Pokemon – did I mention that they had grown up – I thought I would go and start searching for caches again.
Found it!
Gear
Lunch using my Alpkit minimalist lightweight cookset
Lightweight Sea to Summit pack
Map and compass
Rain jacket and bush hat
Lunch
Backpacking cooking set
1l water
Sit mat – pads the back of the pack
Swiss Army Knife
Long sleeved lightweight shirt
Crag Hopper long trousers
Karrimor hiking shoes with Bridgedale hiking socks
Pocket first aid kit, pack of tissues, whistle, space blanket, length of cord, four large safety pins, glucose tablets
Head lamp
Emergency power pack for my smartphone
Lightweight roll up jumper, fleece hat and gloves
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Walking near Sudbrooke
I took the MX-5 out this morning and drove over to Sudbrooke. I had been looking at the OS map and there is an interesting network of paths around Sudbrooke.
Tea break
I was using a mix of old and new gear today. On the way out I stopped off and bought some Karrimor walking shoes. The pack I was using was my brother-in-law Phil’s, a traditional canvas, leather and brass rucksack. It is a useful size for a day pack or overnight bag but if it not packed carefully, or packed too heavy it is uncomfortable to carry. The walking shoes on the other hand were very comfortable. I am planning to use them rather than my Berghaus boots, for lighter, good weather walking, such and this morning.
Karrimor Bodmin Low IV weathertite walking shoes
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Borders Abbeys Way
It is a grey day, with nearly constant light rain. For something different I drive out to Melrose and walked some of the Borders Abbeys Way but the poor weather meant I soon headed back to the car and back to the campsite. Time to watch some videos on my iPhone in the dry.
Melrose Abbey
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Southern Upland Way – Galashiels
I covered another length of the Southern Upland Way today – out from Galashiels.
The weather was excellent until just after lunch when it started to hail.
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