Oh Happy Day!

We nearly didn't make it to this year's Grampian Tibet Support Group walk (one of my favourite annual events).

First of all Gail was saying "Bertie, I know your poorly foot is looking much better, but are you really up for an eight mile hill walk?" But of course I told her I was feeling tip top and reminded her that anyway, several of the participants are not as young as they used to be and the pace would not be too demanding.

Then Gail was saying "Oh but look at the weather Bertie, it's bucketing down, maybe we should stay at home today". But I made her check the weather on the BBC website, which forecast the rain would clear by mid-morning.

Then Gail forgot that the drive from Aberdeen to Ballater takes an hour if, and only if, there are no Sunday drivers on the A93. On a Sunday…

So we arrived late. (I will admit that being late is an exceptionally rare occurrence in our household, given a certain person's tendency toward obsessive punctuality, a trait she inherited from Human Grandad).

Oh but I am so pleased I was able to take part in this event once again.

Does it look like I was having fun?

I think it does.

Poorly foot? What poorly foot?

Race you to the top!

Sure I can catch those mountain bikers...

Phew, Gail has remembered my lunch

Oh this is such fun!

Look, I have a rival in the beard department!

It is windy on top of Pannanich Hill

Everyone's furs are in disarray. 

But if I sit here looking cute, some one will surely feed me...

Oh. Gail says I have to show you the view of Lochnagar too.

PS Remember, you have just one more day to enter 'Darwin-lite'.

Lochnagar

Well Gail forgot her camera when she took me for a walk up Lochnagar on Sunday, so I shall try to paint you a picture in words.

****************

Arrive 10 a.m. at start point in Glen Muick. Lochnagar summit in clouds. Put trust in the weatherman, who says it'll clear later.

No wind. Super!

Stop to talk to talkative German hiker. Discover lack of wind not so super - dense swarm of midges descends before Fritz has finished telling Gail how Austrian Alps better than Swiss Alps. Humans start dancing a midge-induced Highland Fling. WFT unperturbed. 

Round corner, startled by a group of ten young men, heads covered in black nets, plus video cameraman. Gail relaxes on realising it's midge protection gear being filmed and not a Jihadi recruitment video.

Reach summit in record time, due to impossibility of stopping. Clouds lift. Half of Scotland in view.

Wind gets up, sun comes out. Midges dematerialise.

Humans can now stop to eat picnic lunches. Rich pickings for cute looking fox terrier (a morsel of ham sandwich, an apple core and almost half a bag of cheese and onion crisps).

On leaving summit plateau, enjoyable encounter with one year old Bedlington terrier bitch - pretty silver curls and a fragrant rear end. Owner comments that a Bedlington/WFT pairing would make gorgeous puppies. Bertie prepared to give 'puppy making' a go but is dragged away...

Meet Fritz again, now philosophising about harmony of Scottish landscape. Or something.

Rocky and  precipitous descent by side of waterfall, Bertie nearly wiped out by brainless mountain bikers.

In woods by Loch Muick, Gail looks enviously at ceps gathered by French foragers.

White sand beach at head of Loch. Bertie dips a tentative paw in the rippled water. Chilly.

Return to car 5 hrs 20 mins after setting off.

No riots here (and Michael is forgiven)

Well I know that those of you who aren't into hillwalking might be getting bored of yet more pictures of me bouncing and skipping around in the Scottish Highlands, but I want to show you that not all parts of the UK are as troubled as recent news reports may have led you to believe.

Plus, I want to boast a little.

On Tuesday this week, I bagged my second Munro! Lochnagar this time, a whopping 3789 ft above sea level.

There were seven of us on the expedition all told. Me, Gail, her friend Michael, his grandsons George and Albert, neighbour Neil and his flat-coated retriever Jake.

It is thanks to Neil that I was able to travel out to the start of the walk (a ninety minute drive) in a separate car from Michael...

At twelve whole miles, it was my longest walk to date, and also my highest climb.

Here we all are setting off. Lochnagar is the peak you can see faintly in the distance (top left).

And here we are, half way up. Can you spot me, leading the way? You may have to biggify the picture.


I wanted to rush right to the top, but every now and then Gail made me stop to pose in front of what she thought was a scenic view. As if I am not scenery enough!


For some reason everyone kept shouting at me: "BERTIE KEEP AWAY FROM THE CLIFFS!"



Do you like this picture of Gail and me at the summit?

Guess what? Michael took the photo (and some of the others in this post). Yes, it turns out he isn't so bad after all.

I will admit, that right at the very top there, I was a little scared, which is why Gail is giving me a cuddle. But I don't want anyone to go away with the impression that I was carried all the way up. That absolutely was not the case at all.

On this fine walk, Gail even remembered to bring me things to eat and chew. Although of course, her own sandwich box smelled so much more interesting than any of the stuff I was given.


Jake and I were not the only dogs to conquer Lochnagar that day. Meet, Fergus, a friendly Keeshond.


After lunch, we set off back down by a different route.


So pretty. The landscape I mean. Oh, and me too, if you insist.

Yes and didn't us youngsters all do brilliantly?

It was George and Albert's first ever Munro, so HUGE CONGRATS to them!

And finally, I would like to point out that, at the end of the walk, besides Loch Muick, there were swarms of midges that were definitely more irritating than me...