Britain 2011 - Day 20

Introduction

We were hopeful that today we would be able to see all of Scotland, well at least most of it, from the top of Cairngorm Mountain. We were planning to take the railway to the top for the view. But.....

From Cairngorm we drove back down the mountain then turned east, staying the night at Aberdeen.

Cairngorm Mountain

The day dawned clear, but with a fiery red sunrise. Not a good omen ("...red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning..."), and sure enough, the wind got up and the clouds appeared. We drove up the mountain and arrived a few minutes before the first train of the day. Joined the queue for tickets and waited a long time while a group of eight young tourists tried to buy theirs. How much??? Oh, we will have to pay by credit card. Declined?? Try this one. Declined. Try mine. Declined. Try cash. You are 2 Pounds short. Search pockets. Still 50p to go.... Get the picture. Then the train arrived and they all dived for the front window crowding everybody else out. But did they want the view, or to take photos. No they stood with their backs to the view and talked. Hmmmm.......

The train is an amazing trip. It is actually a funicular type of cable car, with two cars joined by a long cable. The top terminus is undergound, so as not to detract from the natural lines of the top of the mountain, and not to compete with all of the ski tows and towers. But they do have a good tea rooms and they do sell REAL coffee. It was the best coffee we had on the whole trip.

Great sunrise over the Aviemore Railway Station...	but an omen of bad weather.
The hotel remained in sun.	And so did the countryside around Aviemore.
	But it was cold at the top.
Even the maps	looked cold.
Bundled up against the wind	Finally we departed on the cable car.
That's the track going up.
The half way point where the cars pass	The steep part..
Nearing the top	The tunnel into the top station.
The top.	What a view.....
Yeah right!	Mist..
It cleared... for 30 seconds	Now back down again..
The car park below	Entering the terminus..
Looking back though the cable car	Back to the car and the heavy clouds..

The road to Lost and Aberdeen

After coming down off Cairngorm we turned north and ambled along the A95 and then the A939 going east. We found sculptures and castles and we also found Lost although it knew where it was so did not need to be found...... At Tomantoul we decided to stop for lunch at the Old Fire Station Restaurant. It looked nice, had a big car park, but the food did not live up to the appearances. We had soup. It was watery and was just a packet of Chicken Noodle Soup heated up. Even the bread rolls were less than ordinary. Oh well....

Mountain and forest views..	A small castle in the distance.
The four-sided sculpture.
The War Memorial at Bellabeg	And the adjacent sign to Lost.

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Last updated: 19/06/2017