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Day 11

Monday 21st May - NJ271129 to Rhynie

Some desolate-sounding birdcalls this morning, and some very large birds, too high up for me to see detail against the sun. But a lovely day, and having decided on some land rover tracks instead of the summits, I found them excellent going, weaving up and down the hillsides, ideal for wide-sky, wilderness walking - highly recommended. One little ruin would, with some restoration, make an excellent bothy...After descending into Glenbuchat and a sunlit lunch, I headed up again, now aiming for the ridge at Creag an Eunah, this being my only possible way of regaining my schedule. From there I braved the peatbogs again over Dun Mount and Mount Meddin, and admired the view of The Buck, the climax and highest peak of the range. But in view of the late hour and the terrain, I decided to pass the Buck today (ouch, sorry, couldn't resist) and found the LRT leading by Clova Hill down to Lumsden, which I could soon see below, in the early evening sun. From there I turned reluctantly north, abandoning the planned Correen Hills in case of getting benighted there, aiming for Ford of Clatt, where I had a parcel to collect and had provisionally booked B&B. My hostess Lucy, bless her, had said it didn't matter how late I arrived, but it seemed a bit much to arrive in the dark - especially having walked since 7 a.m.

So I committed the cardinal sin, and accepted a lift for the last two miles into Rhynie, politely declining the offer of transport on to Clatt, because I knew I could make up the extra two miles' penance next day, but not much more. Thus I staggered up about ten, just as dusk was closing in. Lucy and her daughter Kate (in the midst of A-levels prior to a summer job at Glyndebourne, then a gap year of volunteering overseas) seemed fascinated by the Challenge, and were endlessly kind; again in my state of weariness, I couldn't face much food and Lucy provided scrambled egg - washed down with good red wine! And then there was a bath...