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Scotland Aviemore 2023 pictures and trip reports only

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Well what can i say :rofl:

the trip was all i had hoped for and more :cool:.
the drive up was uneventful and we got to site in good time around 8am the site owners were cool with us setting up early so we didnt have to wait around till 2pm .
Kit set up and the fire going so we got the kettle on and waited for Paul to turn up :)

Paul arrived and got his kit set up and settled in to the rhythm of the camp :)

we had a few trips out planned so they took up a few days the highlight was the tram/train ride to the top of the mountain where we got to play in some deep snow :thumbsup:

we had most evening meals at the food van on site which didn't disappoint with the quality and the amount of food for your money

we went for a wander around the camp site and we spotted a few red Squirrels was a pleasure to see them as they were the first ive seen in the wild ...

got no more pictures to add as i posted them all earlier in the thread :thumbsup:

would like to thank @WildWood1965 for the company driving up and back and for keeping me fed with "pick and mix"
was nice to meet up with @G1ZmO and spend the week on site with him :)

im looking forward to the next meet up in April :cool:
 
THREE MEN IN A QUARRY

As is the norm on these trips our time of depature changed a few times before we settled on 8 p.m. The journey up was incident free & when we stopped at the services we only had a quick break.

We got to Dalraddy Holiday Park earlier than planned & they very kindly let us in early. Basecamp was soon established & we awaited Paul's (@G1ZmO) arrival. Paul soon got himself sorted & we gathered around the fire to chew the fat. We soon got to know the site via several trail walks & as mentioned we had the privilege of seeing the elusive red squirrel.

During the next few days there was much consumption of tea, frying of eggs, bacon & lorne sausage etc & @Matt rustled up a rather nice corned beef hash with myself being on cheesey mash detail. Our evening meals for the last 3 days were provided by the excellant Alvie Forest Food mobile van with offerings such as Beef brisket, beef burritos, chicken tikka masala, North Sea haddock goujons all served with a genorous portion of chips.

Paul kindly offered to act as our local taxi driver on trips to Loch an Eilein & on a jolly up to the Cairngorm Mountain Centre where we caught the funicular railway in the quest for snow & hot chocolate. We also went on a recce to try to find a suitable overnight hammocking area for future adventures. Paul drove up one track that led to a large rented lodging house that I later discovered had been used as a training base by the Special Operations Executive during WWII.

As usual the final day crept up on us all too quickly & after striking camp we ventured into Aviemore in order to fill up the tank for the long & winding road back to Devon.

Thanks again to @Matt for his company & skill at the wheel of his trusty trouble-free Landy. It was great to see @G1ZmO again who kept us entertained with sounds via Bluetooth speaker.

All in all I really enjoyed the trip & we are hoping that the pictures & write-ups will encourage more of you to consider attending these gatherings in the future.

Finally I would just like to say that if you are living in & around the East Kilbride area of Scotland & are in need of a plumber please contact Mel on 01355..........:D

Take care folks !
 
Last edited:
CaveDweller said:
Nice pic! Is that the Pleiades towards the right?
Click to expand...

Top center is Capella, middle center is Mars with Pleiades below and off to the right and Taurus below and left.
I think 15 seconds exposure was a little too long as the stars are a bit elongated but it's hard to judge in the dark on a small screen. lol
 
OK I'd better do my write up.

I said to Mel before I left that Matt would be there long before his ETA. I was not wrong. He said 12:00 and was there 4 hours early!
I got there at 12:15 and got set up.

As the lads have said we did a wee bit of driving around during the week investigating various places.
Evenings were spent around the fire (lots of old pallets supplied by the site maintenance guys), chatting and listening to some awesome music and some of Matt's selection too. :whistle: Well, there's only so much that 3 people can chat about for 6 hours of dark evenings.

Weather wise we had a very mild start to the week at 11 deg which dropped down to 2 by the end of the week and hit -4 overnight.

The Cairngorm funicular was a highlight, as was the walk/recce around Loch An Eilein and a couple of clear(ish) evenings for some astrophotography.

It was good to catch up with the guys again and hopefully more folks will get involved next time eh?

I'll get the video done soon :thumbsup:
 
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