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Trip report
Friday evening ... Jono arived at mine for an overnight stay before departure day ...
Saturday was spent loading the Landrover and the trailer with all kit required ..
7pm we set sail for Aviemore ..the trip up was somewhat uneventful and we arrived on site at 7am Sunday only to find the pitch (the quarry ) was a tad under water ...so when reception opened they gave me a few options to choose from. One of them was to use other pitches which were meant for people with motor homes. Went back to the guys and they agreed it was a good option. So off we went and set up ...
First night ... Well you all know what happened, we had one of the biggest storms to hit the area and my tent didn't fare well with the winds and I had to abandon ship at arount 2am and retreat to the safety of my Landrover ... When it got light I could see what had happened to my shelter .. the tension part of the ridge line had pulled from the shelter (stitching gave way ) so there was no way of holding the ridge tight .. So plan b was hatched and with the help of Jono we jury rigged it to hang off the back of the landy which then gave me an admin area to cook and keep warm in ..
Next problem to deal with was how to dry all my kit ... the site maintenance guys heard of my woes and promptly gave me free access to the site tumble dryers to get my sleeping bags dry (good lads).
Oot was kind enough to lend me one of his fan heaters from his van so I could dry the contents of the landy over the next few days ..
The weather battered us on and off for the next few days but then we had a few nice evenings and days which we made use of by sitting by the fire pit. We went off on a few wanders, checking out wild camping spots and also a trip up the mountain and to Loch Morlich ( thanks Paul - the driver )
We were sat around the fire on Wednesday evening and we caught a glimse of the northern lights. Needless to say everyone scattered for cameras .. luckily there was someone on the Elive estate ready for them and they took this picture.
I've been going to Scotland for a good few years now and this is the first time I've seen them ... this made the trip for me and made the weather woes worth it .
So pack up day came and we headed home ... we got to just north of Liverpool and the new bearings gave up on the trailer a quick pit stop to try and fit a spare bearing but the hub was damaged and I did what I could to keep us rolling. Next stop was Bristol train station to drop Jono off for his train .. quick inspection showed the new bearing was not happy .. without much choice I decided to press on and run for Bill's house. As expected the bearing expired 50 miles from Exeter. So, in spectaculur fashion we filled the M5 motorway with the biggest light show (sparks) from the axle stub as the wheel departed never to be seen again. The decision was made to decant all kit into thr landy and we had and to leave the trailer on the side of the motorway on a patch of grass (off the hard sholder )
We then made tracks home for the last 100 miles which was uneventfull (thank f*ck )
Kit is now unloaded and drying. The tent will be taken out to mother's house for remedial repairs and a few extra lines of stitching ..
Would like to thank @cuckoo996 @CaveDweller @G1ZmO and @Oot for their company and the banter - it was an interesting week weather wise, which was made bearable by the great guys I shared it with
Friday evening ... Jono arived at mine for an overnight stay before departure day ...
Saturday was spent loading the Landrover and the trailer with all kit required ..
7pm we set sail for Aviemore ..the trip up was somewhat uneventful and we arrived on site at 7am Sunday only to find the pitch (the quarry ) was a tad under water ...so when reception opened they gave me a few options to choose from. One of them was to use other pitches which were meant for people with motor homes. Went back to the guys and they agreed it was a good option. So off we went and set up ...
First night ... Well you all know what happened, we had one of the biggest storms to hit the area and my tent didn't fare well with the winds and I had to abandon ship at arount 2am and retreat to the safety of my Landrover ... When it got light I could see what had happened to my shelter .. the tension part of the ridge line had pulled from the shelter (stitching gave way ) so there was no way of holding the ridge tight .. So plan b was hatched and with the help of Jono we jury rigged it to hang off the back of the landy which then gave me an admin area to cook and keep warm in ..
Next problem to deal with was how to dry all my kit ... the site maintenance guys heard of my woes and promptly gave me free access to the site tumble dryers to get my sleeping bags dry (good lads).
Oot was kind enough to lend me one of his fan heaters from his van so I could dry the contents of the landy over the next few days ..
The weather battered us on and off for the next few days but then we had a few nice evenings and days which we made use of by sitting by the fire pit. We went off on a few wanders, checking out wild camping spots and also a trip up the mountain and to Loch Morlich ( thanks Paul - the driver )
We were sat around the fire on Wednesday evening and we caught a glimse of the northern lights. Needless to say everyone scattered for cameras .. luckily there was someone on the Elive estate ready for them and they took this picture.
I've been going to Scotland for a good few years now and this is the first time I've seen them ... this made the trip for me and made the weather woes worth it .
So pack up day came and we headed home ... we got to just north of Liverpool and the new bearings gave up on the trailer a quick pit stop to try and fit a spare bearing but the hub was damaged and I did what I could to keep us rolling. Next stop was Bristol train station to drop Jono off for his train .. quick inspection showed the new bearing was not happy .. without much choice I decided to press on and run for Bill's house. As expected the bearing expired 50 miles from Exeter. So, in spectaculur fashion we filled the M5 motorway with the biggest light show (sparks) from the axle stub as the wheel departed never to be seen again. The decision was made to decant all kit into thr landy and we had and to leave the trailer on the side of the motorway on a patch of grass (off the hard sholder )
We then made tracks home for the last 100 miles which was uneventfull (thank f*ck )
Kit is now unloaded and drying. The tent will be taken out to mother's house for remedial repairs and a few extra lines of stitching ..
Would like to thank @cuckoo996 @CaveDweller @G1ZmO and @Oot for their company and the banter - it was an interesting week weather wise, which was made bearable by the great guys I shared it with
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