Day 13
Wednesday 21st May - The Builg to Dunnotar Castle
Final walking day...... (but not necessarily the end of the event!!).
Ate some rubbish for brekkies (meat paste and oatcakes and brunch bars...) and set off for a long session of forest tracks. My original route had been changed because of various reports that my intended exit from the forest was blocked in various impassable ways.
At one point, whilst stpping for a brew, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a little deer tiptoing across the burn - followed by another one in a bit of a panic. I'm not sure what they were, but they were quite small - sort of medium-sized dog size.
After the forest, I had a few miles of road walking and I amused myself by shouting rude things at the cattle in the fields. These were mainly bullocks of various sorts and they all responded by bouncing around the fields and pretending to chase me. I think we all enjoyed it!
Eventually, I crossed the A90 and a few remaining lanes lead me to Dunnottar castle - a very dramatic ending to the walk. I went down to the beach and dipped me boots and rang various people to let them listen to the surf over the phone (!)
Apparently the Scottish crown jewels were hidden at Dunnottar when the naughty English were after them...
Not quite the end of the walk, though - I had to follow a couple of miles of cliff-top path to get to Stonehaven for the bus to Montrose. Incidentally, if anybody from Aberdeenshire public transport thingy reads this, nobody at the Stonehaven Transport Interchange (two bus shelters) could understand the timetables. All I could make out was that all the buses stopped at Stonehaven and that Montrose was out of the question. Some locals knew better, however and a bus eventually arrived.
Once at Montrose, I reported to the Control at the Park Hotel for my free cuppa and biscuit and to get my badge, t-shirt, certificate and RAB fleece..... and some beer.....then off to Montrose campsite.
20 miles (total 206) and 1550 feet of ascent.
Still not the absolute final end of the tale, though.....
