June 18th - 22nd Tour 1 (Part 8) Braemar

Tuesday June 18th - After our 14 hour calm overnight crossing from Shetland we arrived in Aberdeen at 7am and then we had a 70 odd mile drive to the Braemar Camping Site where we'll be staying for the next 5 nights.  Braemar sits within an area called Royal Deeside ( Braemar to Banchory) and I did wonder why it had the title "Royal" - it seems it was because  Queen Victoria  came to visit in 1848 and greatly enjoyed herself so this was where she and her husband  Prince Albert  built Balmoral Castle

Because we'd disembarked from the ferry so  early we had time to kill before we could arrive at the campsite so we stopped of in a lay-by for a quick breakfast of crumpets and jam.  This resulted in us getting there at about 10am and we were quite happy to find that the water pump that we 'thought' we needed to fix our water system  had already arrived.  Therefore, as planned, John was quickly fitting it in the hope that our waterworks problem would be solved - but oh no - as soon as the water was switched back on the glugging continued and now not even a drip drop was emerging from our taps😫.  So after a bit more faffing we decided to call for additional help but when it turned out that the call out charge + mileage was going to be over £200 before anything else was done we decided to think again.

Our Water Gubbins

So while we were thinking we had a walk into Braemar to do a bit of sight seeing and also a bit of shopping cos our cupboards were bare.  Braemar sits in the heart of Royal Deeside on the eastern edge of The Cairngorms National Park and it is surrounded by the Grampian Mountains. The village itself is dominated by the Huge Fife Arms Hotel but along with that we found a myriad of gift shops selling all things Scottish, a lovely butcher who sold lots of delicious meaty treats and a small grocers were we did our shopping.

We also stopped off to admire Clunie Water as it bubbled into and out of the village

A war memorial of a Pegasus Engine out of a Wellington Bomber

The lovely architecture of St Andrews RC Church

And of course The Duke of Rothesay Highland Games stadium where The Braemar Gathering (which is always attended by the Reining Monarch) takes place every year.

We both said we'd love to attend but as it's always held on the first Saturday in September that wasn't going to be possible this year.  Therefore,  we decided to have a little 'Games' all of our own! John tossed the caber and I did a Highland Fling😂.

Then once we got back to the van and John had had more time to cogitate on what might be causing our problem he decided it might be that we needed a new hose that brings the water from the barrel outside into the van. We located one at Deeside Caravans but that was 48 miles away. But not to be defeated off we went on near a 100 mile return wild goose chase 😜.  We got the part but to no avail - still no water😠.  

Wednesday June 19th- dawned as a lovely sunny day and stayed that way throughout 😀. So it was on with our walking boots and off we went for a stomp around a couple  of the trails that linked up and start in Braemar itself.  The first part of our walk was out over Morrone Birkwood (birk is Scots for birch) where we took in the pretty Duck Pond and then followed the track to a viewpoint (with a comfy bench) that provided views back down through masses of birch trees and juniper bushes across the valley to the river Dee.

Then in another direction we had the wonderful vista of Ben Macdui and Cairngorm the tops of which were capped with pockets of snow.  

Our way was then through a forestry plantation and that was were we added an extra bit to take us on a trip down memory lane! By adding about a mile to our walk we headed to a tranquil  lay-by that overlooked  the Dee Valley with the river meandering through it - this was were we had spent a free night in our motorhome 8 years ago!  We sat and ate our picnic there while reminiscing but we still had quite a long way to go so we didn't linger to long. 

We then retraced our steps for a short distance before heading down over some rough moorland and picking up a path that wandered along first beside the River Dee and then beside Clunie Water. And it was here that we were rewarded with views of Braemar Castle which was first constructed in 1628 and is a possession of the Chief of the Clan Farquharson.

Our walk ended back in Braemar, where after 8 long hot miles, we treated ourselves to an ice-cream to munch as we walked back to the campsite and it was there that we might have had a 💥Eureka moment💥!  John had another look around our waterworks and discovered a crack in the housing on the water inlet and that is probably causing the pump to suck in air instead of  water💧. Now all we have to do is obtain the new part and fix the leak.

Thursday June 20th - Bright sunshine greeted us this morning as we rolled up our blinds and that lasted for most of the day - we just had a short cloudy period around 1pm.  The first order of today was to try and locate the spare part that we needed to fix our water system and that was very easily done - but it meant another long drive to get it! Deeside Caravans said they had plenty and would save one for us but as that required another 100 mile round trip we decided to leave fetching it until tomorrow when the weatherman says it might not be so sunny.

So for today we set of for another 6 mile walk first along Queen's Drive and then through Creag Choinnich Woods. It was only a hop skip and a jump to get on to Queen's Drive and this turned out to be a gentle route that is said to be one of Queen Victoria's favourites. The track proceeded through tall fir trees and along the way we came across the ruins of a cottage called Dubh Chlais which translates to Black Hollow.  In the nineteenth century the cottage's tenants were Mr and Mrs Thompson and it seems Queen Victoria would come to visit them in her carriage using this route. She came with her servant John Brown who was related to the Thompsons and the Queen would bring precious gifts of tea and tobacco. 

Dubh Chlais

There was a very convenient bench at the site so we paused for a short rest before proceeding into the Creag Choinnich Nature Reserve were the path meandered amongst very tall trees before dropping down to run alongside the A93 and also The River Dee. Next came a steep climb that took us to another bench that sat under a 300 year old Scots Pine and as it was past lunch time we decided to stop there for refreshments.  The views from this lovely dining room were over Braemar Village, Braemar Castle, Invercauld House and we also had the upper Dee Valley spread out below us and the Cairngorm Mountains in the background. 

The final part of our walk took us back downhill towards Braemar village but just before we got there we came across a small hide from were we could watch red squirrels feeding.  Additionally, the bird feeders attracted chaffinches, coal-tits and a selection of other little birds, and we were even lucky enough to see a greater spotted woodpecker flitting through the trees.

Friday June 21st - a dull overcast day but still quite mild! Unfortunately John is feeling quite rough cos he's managed to pick up a cold from somewhere 😫! So apart from the 96 mile round trip to Deeside Caravans to collect our spare part for our caravan's water system we've had an easy day.  However, on the way back we picked up some nice goodies from Tesco and then stopped in a picnic area by Deeside Gliding Club to feast on posh bread with cream cheese and smoked salmon.  

John is going to leave doing the repair till he hopefully feels better tomorrow so everything needs to be crossed until then for a successful outcome!

Saturday June 22nd - another mostly sunny day and 'Hip Hip Hooray' 😄 after more than 3 weeks running water has been restored to our van and it only took John 5 minutes once he'd got the right part!  However, after that and along with a bit of shopping we were quite late going out so we chose somewhere quite nearby and it was another trip down memory lane - we'd visited The Linn of Dee 8 years ago with our motorhome.

From the campsite it was only about a 6 mile drive along narrow roads that mostly ran beside the  Dee so it didn't take us long to 'nearly' get to our destination! I say nearly because the Linn car park we were aiming for was full and a temporary one was in operation - it seems the main car park is also the trail head for major expeditions into the high Cairngorms  so there was fierce competition for spaces especially as it was weekend.  However, the temporary area was fine and it just added about 10 minutes at a leisurely walking pace each way. 

The Dee is said to be one of Scotland's mightiest rivers and at the Linn it is abruptly reduced to a width of just a few feet as it squeezes through a 300 metre long deep gorge. The churning waters and waterfalls have carved out beautiful shapes in the bedrock along with deep pools where, in season, salmon gather while mustering the strength to leap up some of the high drops.

John Admiring Linn 😂

There is also a path that runs away from the Linn but continues beside the Dee and it was there that we strolled completely undisturbed by any other visitors so we were able to take in the peace and tranquillity as we went.  We didn't really go far because John is still feeling unwell with his 'man flu' but as this is day 2 he'll hopefully feel better tomorrow cos that's another moving day and he's got about a 140 miles to drive.  However,  if he's not up to it maybe he'll let me have a go😂