Helen Rose Outdoors
This was a welcome return to Aviemore but to do lower level walks. The weekend was organised by the Glasgow HF Outdoor Club https://www.meetup.com/glasgow-hf-outdoor-club/ and based at the SYHA Hostel in Aviemore. Noreen had booked a very comfortable four bedded dorm for us and we stayed for the three nights. Some stayed in hotels and B&Bs but the advantage of the hostel was that we could eat in. On the first evening we had fish suppers from the local Fish and Chip shop, the second evening we dined out at the Cairngorm Hotel and the third evening we ate in after shopping at the local Tesco Supermarket in Aviemore so catering was very good. In the hostel kitchen, the young men from Oxford University Climbing Club on a Winters Skills Course were also busy in the kitchen cooking delicious meals, no convenience foods for them!
Our club had decided on the weekend at Aviemore hoping for snow and there was some but only at very high levels. The cairngorm Plateau is over 4,000 feet. I loved the little Bug Hostel in the grounds of the hostel, no charge for bugs to stay!
Green Loch
On the Saturday walk, James had planned the walk to the Green Loch from the Visitors Centre near the Reindeer Centre. The walk was easy until we entered the Glen when the path contoured the forest fairly high up and was fairly rocky so care had to be taken. We all managed it as we had good walking boots and walking poles. We reached a forestry path and were soon at An Lochan Uaine known as the Green Loch where the green colour is attributed to a combination of factors, including algae, reflections of the surrounding trees, and according to local folklore, fairies washing their clothes in the loch.
Ryvoan Bothy.
The walk continued on a good path to Ryvoan Bothy where we could see the snow on the high tops. Two of our group had never been in a bothy so it was a great experience for them and we had our lunch inside although the weather was fair outside. There was a sleeping shelf and a fire place. Walkers spend overnights in bothies when they are in more remote places to save walking in to climb mountains.
This was a very well maintained bothy and very clean. Bothies are simple, free-to-use shelters, often found in remote areas of Scotland, Northern England, Wales, and Northern Ireland that provide refuge for hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts. Bothies are maintained by The Mountains Bothies Association. https://www.mountainbothies.org.uk/. With the permission and support of the owners, these shelters are unlocked and are available for anyone to use. All of the maintenance activities are carried out by volunteers.
Loch Morlich
We continued the walk through the Ancient Caledonian Pine Forest towering above us. The Ancient Caledonian Forest formed at the end of the last ice age is Scotland's native pine forest and once covered vast areas of the country, but now exists as fragmented remnants, primarily in the Scottish Highlands, and is home to unique wildlife and "granny" pine trees.
We continued toward Glenmore Lodge Outdoor Centre and cut off down to the river with a pleasant walk along the side of the river and through forest eventually reaching Loch Morlich. We looked over the loch to the snowy vistas and along the beaches of the loch. Scotland's only fresh water award winning beach is situated at the foot of the Cairngorms, right at the heart of the National Park. This beautiful sandy bay, at the end of Loch Morlich, provides an ideal site for enjoying a wide range of activities, water sports and loch side forest walks. The sandy loch beaches provide spectacular views of the snow-clad peaks of the northern Cairngorms. The coarse, pink sand of Loch Morlich's popular beach comes from the granite of the Cairngorm Mountains, ground down by glaciers and rivers over thousands of years. Cairngorm National Park is the largest National Park in the United Kingdom. https://cairngorms.co.uk/
Craigellachie
Immediately behind the hostel in Aviemore, there is a hill of about 1,000 feet in height. There is a path all the way although very rocky in parts. As we ascended, we had increasingly good views over Aviemore. Prior to 1790, Aviemore was in an enclave of the county of Moray and from 1890 to 1975 it was in the county of Inverness, until the latter date being within the civil parish of Duthil and Rothiemurchus. The village began to grow as a result of it becoming a railway junction in 1898 following which the Highland Railway became a major employer, constructing housing for its staff and the Aviemore Hotel. However we had travelled by bus from Glasgow on the fast Citylink taking just over three hours travelling north east from Glasgow. In the mid 1900’s Aviemore developed as a ski resort when snow was plentiful.
We reached the very large cairn on the top of Craigellachie but dropped down out of the wind for lunch. We soon reached a forestry track and decided to descend by a circular route around the lochans.
The toads were out in force and mating in the small lochs. I managed to photograph one on some vegetation but they are very well camouflaged. Toad (also known as a hoptoad) is a common name for certain frogs especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterised by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. In popular culture, toads are distinguished from frogs by their drier, rougher skin and association with more terrestrial habitat. In Kenneth Grahame’s novel, The Wind in the Willows (1908), Mr Toad is a likeable and popular, if selfish and narcissistic, comic character. Mr. Toad reappears as the lead character in A. A. Milne’s play Toad of Toad Hall (1929).
Many thanks to James for arranging the weekend and leading the walk on Saturday for the low level walkers. The high level walkers bagged many very high Munros in the Cairngorms over the weekendso a good time had by all in good weather.
Coming attraction; Cademuir, Peebles.
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