Day 3 Part 3 Cromdale to Cragganmore

After breakfast in the hostel which was more or less the same each day, fruit juice, cereal, peaches, yoghurt, toast, croissants, cheese, ham, jam, tea or coffee, we were treated to a display by the red squirrel who also dropped in for breakfast.

I took a short

walk after breakfast as the sun was shining brightly and checked out the adjacent Catholic church, what a splendid view with the Cairngorm mountain

range in the

distance.

A few people missing this morning as the delights of

Nairn and Inverness tempted them away from the main walk.

We started in Cromdale walking along a disused railway track past the station building, now a private home.

It was a beautiful sunny morning and we thought we were in for another easy stroll but we soon discovered that the Speyside Way doesn't always follow the river and we climbed up much higher with only distant views of the Spey. The walk was quite varied with woods and hills and streams but most people felt it was more like 11 miles than the 9 we had been promised.

It was a day for stiles today and we seemed to pass through at least 99 of these or could it have been 199? If you counted them let me know! They were very well designed stiles that were easy to negotiate. If we had to climb over them all we would probably still be there now!

We stopped for lunch by a stream and it was good to get the boots off and refresh my feet in the cool water.

.

Day 2 Part 2 Nethy Bridge to Cromdale

I know we are supposed to start with part 1, but when did CHA ever do anything simple! All will be revealed in due course.

We had been entertained at breakfast by some very large rabbits running around the grounds and a tantalising glimpse of a red squirrel running up a tree. The people in the hostel had to either walk up to the hotel to catch the coach in the morning or wait at the end of the road to be picked up. I walked up and soon everyone piled on to the coach eager to start the walk.

It was a bit drizzly as we set off from Nethy Bridge but it was pleasant walks on tracks most of the way to Granton-on-Spey where we were greeted with music to sing along to blaring through loud speakers in the street and a parade of vintage wagons and tankers. After a lunch stop the track led us through the ancient Caledonian forest. As the day progressed the weather improved and that was the last time we had to wear our coats, It just got better and better. The rain overnight had fallen as snow on the Cairngorms and the best skiing season they had ever had was extended into June.

We finished the walk in Cromdale and were back in Aviemore for 5.00 pm. Plenty of time for shopping at Tesco or just relaxing in the hostel with tea and carrot cake. In the evening Jean taught a few of the hostelers a dice game while I read my book. The hostel had the advantage of plenty of communal rooms that the hotel lacked and was much more relaxing but of course the people in the hotel had lovely spacious bedrooms with ensuite baths and had their meals prepared for them. You win some. you lose some!

Day 1 The Journey

This is a personal account of my holiday.

Here we go again, off on another walking holiday with Bradford CHA Walking Club. This time to Aviemore to walk the Speyside Way. Some people stayed in the hotel but I opted for the cheaper option of the Aviemore YHA set in woodland and close to a nature reserve.

The party consisted of 39 people on the coach and Rita's sister Janet who travelled up by train from the deep south!

We left Bradford at 9.00 am and apart from a lengthy traffic jam south of Glasgow we had a good journey up arriving just after 7.00 pm. The hostel was spacious and comfortable but it was rather cosy in the ladies dormitory as all 6 of us were in one room! However once we got our luggage under control and got ourselves organised it wasn't too bad apart from being much too hot at night

Everyone made their own arrangemants for a meal, some choosing to go out and others cooking what they had brought with them. Then just time for a quick look around in the rain before bed. Sheila had been chatting up the hostel mananger and we were treated to an enormous carrot cake that was sitting in the fridge just waiting to be eaten.