TGOC'24 Day 11 Corndavon Bothy to Ballater May 20th, 2024

It was another wet night in front of the bothy, but I must have slept soundly as there was another tent (an Akto) in front of the lodge in the morning and I never heard anyone arrive. I was up and by before anyone was stirring so I do not know if it was a Challenger or just another walker. 

looking back at the larger lodge and the bothy behind. 

I no sooner got walking than I came upon a large flock of sheep milling about the side of the track.

some where on the hill and some on the road.

I tried my best to get by them without scaring them, but with so many on the road they just kept running ahead and started a bit of a stampede. I was a bit worried that the rancher would come along and yell at me for disturbing the sheep... 

but, I think they actually knew where they were going as they proceeded across the bridge and then went up the hill to join their brethren. 

You climb a bit after the bridge and get some great views of the Gairn River Valley, even with the low clouds 

after a few miles I found the Jayme's gang in a beautiful spot along the river at Renatton. I waved to them as they were just starting to mill about, but I would see them all later in Ballater. 

After leaving the group, you cross the river at an old farmhouse called Tullochmacarrick. 

After that last substantial building you descend toward the river and the ground gets quite boggy and wet. 

After that you turn and get close to the B976 road and start to get back to "civilization." Walking back toward the road you can see Gairnshiel Lodge. This is now a really posh B&B for up to 18 guests.  So expensive they don't even list pricing, you have to make an appointment to call and discuss! 

Right next to it, is Gairnshiel Bridge, now only used for pedestrian and cyclist, it was built in the mid 18th Century. 

Looking over the bridge.

I had to make a short walk along the B976 and passed by Dalphuil. This is a picnic house built by Queen Mary and still kept in beautiful condition. 

My direction took me by the old school house, another old historic building made into a B&B. I like it better when they are purchased for private residences. The old buildings have such great character. A favorite pastime of Vicky and myself is to look for and rate the best Scottish cottages we see on our trip. 

Off the main B road and past the old school house I head up a hill to Tomnavey. The remains of an old farmhouse that is still used for tending the fields. Another example of paths that go right through a property here in Scotland. 

There was a little navigational error after the old farm building as the fields all looked the same! 😛but that was only a couple hundred yards. Below is a path I chose to walk. My proposed route went very close to more houses, so I took a detour through a woodland, but while pretty, it was very muddy, probably due to the last few days of rain. It was a bit of a slip-n-slide for a bit. 

The red line is my actual path and the mud

At the bottom of the hill however the winner of this years cottage award goes to Laggan Cottage. Starting at $1000 per night!  From the looks of their website it seems to be the same owners as Gairnshiel Lodge. 

It is then a rather steep climb up the road so you can overlook Glen Gairn. 

Here is the farm estate called Lary Steading Lodge- another beautiful home set with a great view and you might have guessed, a B&B as well, that can sleep up to 20.

The view from Lary Steading Lodge, below, you can see Mt Keen poking up in the distance.

It is about 5 miles into Ballater from here. Coming off the hills, I finally run into a farmer and his trusty dog tending to his sheep. He stops along the road and we chat for a moment before he continues down to feed the sheep. They do seem very happy to see him and the dog is hilarious, just riding along in the passenger side. 

Through the Morven Cottage area and more old buildings, or just parts of them. 

After that I join the busy A93, fortunately, there is a sidewalk for most of the way into Ballater. 

Into town proper and walking along the street toward the center of town, there is an array of beautiful houses lining the road

Something I have been looking forward too for a day and a half is town food,  Especially since last night I had another cold sandwich for dinner and no coffee this morning. My first stop is the Bothy restaurant. It shares a space with the Outdoor Store, an backpacking gear shop owned by the same people in Braemar. I order a Latte, Coke, the Coronation Chicken Sandwich and a Salad. 

I dropped off my pack in the Outdoor Store, because I probably smelled bad enough without having my pack sitting with me, The restaurant side is packed with no empty seats, but then I hear a voice saying "you can sit here" I turn around to see Humphrey Weightman, Challenger extraordinaire and the MC at the final dinner the first year Vicky and I did the Challenge in 2014. He was on his 21st Challenge! He actually recognized me, well to be more accurate, he recognized me as Vicky's husband, because all the talk that year was about Vicky. Humphrey even mentioned it again today about how impressed he and everyone was concerning Vicky's injury and how she carried on and finished that year. We sat together and chatted for the longest time. I told him I was staying at the Alexandra Hotel and invited him to dinner that night. 

My Coronation Chicken (curry chicken) and salad 

Just before I left the Bothy I ran into Jayme and his group, just arriving, and we all made a plan to have dinner at the Alexandra Hotel tonight, so after that, I went down to the "Alex" Hotel. Fiona, one of the owners and the person I had booked the room with,  she was there and was super nice. My room wasn't quite ready yet, as today's walk was only around 13 miles and I was here at lunch time. That was no problem for me. I got a beer in the bar and relaxed a bit.

Then I had errands to run. My first stop was back to the Bothy to tell everyone that the reservation were set, and the time that they had available. I saw Humphrey in the town center park and made sure he knew the time, then it was around the corner to the Co-Op (my favorite grocery store) and stock up. As it turns out I really didn't need much as I had figured that I would be eating mostly prepared food for the next few days, but that is for a later story. I did get some🍦and when I emerged from the Co-Op I noticed the sky had turned blue. 

Back at the Alex after my errands, I got to  my room. The Alex didn't have a guest laundry, but Fiona was so nice to say they would do the washing for me. I gathered up my dirty clothes and warned her not to get to close and then went to hang everything up in a huge gear explosion as my tent and most everything else was sopping wet from two days of overnight rain and no chance to dry anything. I showered and then I showered again! 

The local beers in Scotland have all been excellent 

I took a wonder around town as Ballater is a great town and maybe a nap! The Alex had said they needed us to book our reservation for 6 pm as they had two large parties coming at 8 and couldn't handle it all, so at bit before 6 I wondered down to the bar and had got another beer and Humphrey and Richard showed up and we sat out in the beer garden for a bit,  in what turned out to be a fabulously beautiful day. 

Jayme, (who was on his 10th Crossing and would get his plaque later this week), in the yellow, and going to his right is Graham Brookes, who was on his 31st Challenge! AMAZING, Humphrey (21), Peter, who is Jayme's friend and walking partner (14th), Audrey (1st), Mario (4th) and Richard (3rd) and this is my 5th. 

We had a grand time at dinner and it turns out that the other two groups cancelled so I was really pleased that they let us have a table and that we could give them a good amount of business as we stayed late, had dinner, wine and dessert. 

Couldn't have been talking about me... 

Back to my room after dinner, still light out till very late. What a great day and the great company is another reason the Challenge is such a grand event. 

Today's route.