Friday October 13th, approx. 1600hrs (4pm)
We’ve been in Scotland now for one week. In some ways it feels like a month, and in some ways it feels like just a few days. I’m sitting in the back of Paige’s car right now on the way back from Craig Bothy on the North West coast of Scotland. We’re heading back to her house in Perth for the weekend and then heading out on Monday for two more nights in Bothies with plans to bag another Munro for Paige. Explanations on “Bothy”, “Bag” and “Munro” to follow.
On one side of me Robin is writing in her French book translating some words into French and writing them in sentences (buffeting = battre, lovely = agréable, coast = côte). On the other side Gavin is using my knife to cut apart a paprika flavored Pringles container.
Paige is a friend who used to coach for Hatchets Rowing Centre. She coached during the summers of 2011 and 2012. In 2011 we were operating out of Wallace Marine in Minett and Paige lived in the staff house there that we painted green. She, Shannon, Kyle and Joe worked and coached from the boathouse we fixed up and painted green down by the shore - now used for yoga. This was the year that Robin was born, and all four coaches held Robin almost as much as Jeremy and I in those first few months (not quite….but a whole lot!). In 2012, Paige coached in Port Carling the first summer after we bought Duke’s - and lived in our apartment at our house along with Seaton and Tory. Paige is the only coach that worked out of both Minett and Port Carling.
Paige and her partner, Scott, bought a house in June in Perth. When we decided we were going to go to Europe, I got in touch with Paige and she enthusiastically said we should come and stay. At this moment with all five of us in her VW Polo (Haula) with partially dry gear from the on again off again Scottish mist, she may be less enthusiastic now, but she’s hiding it well!
Last week when we got off the plane, we used the airport wifi to fumble around figuring out how to get a train to Edinburgh castle and then on to Perth without too much trouble. We’d flown on the red eye flight and each had varying amounts of sleep (0-3hrs depending on who you spoke to). We spent the first couple of days getting some sleep, watching an important rugby match, going for walks, and hosting a thanksgiving dinner with Paige and Scott for a few of their friends.
A final pic in front of the house with all of our stuff. Some pictures of our Head of the Trent/Thanksgiving weekend before heading out. Some initial pictures in Europe.
Our mission in Scotland is to do a lot of walking to see some of the wild places of Scotland. We learned about a series of old buildings that are maintained by a volunteer association called the MBA (Mountain Bothy Association) that you can walk to and stay the night in. They vary greatly in size, some are owned privately, some are not. These are rustic “emergency shelters” that provide shelter for those walking along many of the trails around Scotland. Scotland has an open access code that allows you to camp and walk wherever you’d like, as long as you are taking access responsibly. So in short not invading privacy, not disturbing people’s property, buildings, livestock, view, etc. During the first few days at Paige and Scott’s, we perused their Bothy Bible, maps, personal knowledge and decided with Paige on some Bothies to try to visit.
After the weekend resting and exploring, we left on Monday morning for one night at Bob Scott’s Bothy. It was about a 90 minute drive, and just over an hour hike in. This incredible network of buildings allows trails to be accessible for multi day use, and it also brings outdoor enthusiasts together in the evening to share in their experiences and bunk down for the night together. These buildings also provide access to climb some of the 282 Munros that are found in Scotland. A Munro is a mountain that is over 914 metres (3000 feet). Paige is working towards climbing each of these - and we’re hoping to go up two this coming Tuesday that she hasn’t been up yet, thereby “bagging a couple more Munros”.
We spent one night at Bob Scotts (Monday night) Bothy, returned to Perth via Scott’s parents farm (Paige’s partner) to pick up some apples and spent the evening (Tuesday) starting a large batch of hard apple cider with Paige and Scott. Robin and Gavin chopped apples, Jeremy crushed them with a drill bit that looked like a slightly more aggressive version of a paint stirring drill bit, then Paige, Scott and I put them through the apple press, got them into the demijohns, and cleaned up - all swapping between jobs as needed. In the process we obviously tested some of last year’s batch of hard apple cider as well as the required whiskey tasting for the night.
Rescuing a kayak without it’s owner out of the river. Thankfully they were reunited later. Robin diverting some water on a flooded path from the record setting rain shortly after our arrival. Walking around town with Paige. Hiking into Bob Scott’s Bothy with Paige. Gavin scooping water right out of the river. Yep - safe to drink! Bob Scott’s Bothy group pic and finally our hosts, Paige and Scott during our Apple Cider mission.
Wednesday morning we headed out early for Craig Bothy on the west coast of Scotland (near Diabaig). This provided incredible views of the west coast towards the Isle of Skye, and lots of exploring of the rock beach. This was some wet walking at times as the whole area is a rich and fertile bog area. Robin had chosen this bothy from Paige’s “Bible Bothy” - an incredible book detailing many of the Bothies in Scotland. The building was Scotland’s most remote hostel until 2003 when it shut down, and became part of the MBA (Moutain Bothies Association) family in 2006. We had the place to ourselves for one night, and then met a group of 9 lovely folks from three families (3 adults, 6 kids) from Inverness who stayed there the second night. In the guest book, Paige wrote an entry mentioning the Great Fowler Bothy Tour. I love it. After a hike out, a stop for resupply and food - we have decided to head back to Perth and here I sit writing in the middle of the back seat of our wonderful host’s car.
The start of the walk in to Craig Bothy. Robin walking - what a view. Paige and Robin doing a bit of climbing and hiding from the rain. Gavin on a bridge near the Bothy. Robin, Paige and I. Jeremy drying his socks….a regular occurrence. Gavin working on his “wee craig” with Robin and Jeremy building in the background. Our departure from Craig Bothy.
Saturday, October 14th, 1830hrs (6:30pm)
Since I didn’t get a chance to close off this entry while in the car, I thought I would add this morning’s adventures to the blog prior to signing off. This morning we went in different directions. Jeremy joined Scott for some downhill biking, while Robin and Gavin and I joined Paige for a row at the Tay Rowing Club. I’ve included a couple pictures - we all had a grand time. Jeremy is sore from biking, Robin joined us in a quad keeping up with some quite tall rowers with ease and Gavin coxed the boat with his adult size splash suit. There was a big current from record rain falls last weekend, and a good amount of wind - the club members were impressed with Gavin’s steering and Robin’s skill.
Our coxed quad at the Tay Rowing Club in Perth.
Gavin all dressed to sit in the coxe seat in an adult splash suit.