Facts of the Day:
Date: 14/August/2002
From: Laggan
Via: Kingussie
To: Pitlochry
Miles: 120
Midges: none (I think)
Weather: Mostly cloudy, some rain
Mood: Good

Well, the sunshine didn't last, by mid morning it was overcast and even the odd drop of rain fell. On my way to the Cairngorm Mountains I stopped in Newtonmore and Kingussie to visit the Highland Folk Museums, both complementing each other. They give an interesting overview over Highland life from the early 18th to the mid-20th century. Exhibits range from a village school to different examples of Drystone Dykes. Three versions of drystone dykes on the left: Front left an example from Skye with rubble top, behind it also from Skye one with a turf "coping". On the right a "Badenoch" style with larger stones as the coping. So far all of theses had looked the same to me, but now I know there are differences. There is also a recreated early 18th century township, where traditional skills are used and rediscovered to build a complete township. The Farming Museum gives an overview about the various activities and how they were performed, from ploughing and sowing to cheesemaking and sheep sharing. I spent almost three hours exploring these two museums before continuing to the Cairngorm mountains.

When I arrived at Loch Morlich I could already see that this wasn't a perfect day to visit the Cairngorm Mountains: A thick band of clouds covered the top of the mountains and there was also quite a lot of haze around, not to mention the odd rainshower. I decided to drive up to the base station of the Cairngorm Mountain Railway nevertheless. At the station the weather was not improving and a fierce wind was blowing combined with occasional showers. After a quick discussion about my options with a ranger I went for a short walk at the same level with the station. Due to the haze the distance views weren't very good, but in the brief moments when the sun came out the burns and the heather were just beautiful. I returned to my car late in the afternoon to drive on to Pitlochry, where I had a reservation at Kinnaird House. For Dinner Victoria's in Pitlochry was recommended to me, where I had a very nice grilled Salmon.

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