Macdonald Highlands Hotels Aviemore

... like me... hmm! This road literally passed over the top of the world... jaw-dropping...<br><br> <br><br> <br><br>When the road came out, almost in civilisation, we were around Braemar. Not much civilsation for long though - the other side was Glenshee, home to ...

... worthwhile (and hopefully worth the money, i'll see when I work out how much I've spent). I obviously won't be uploading the 4000 photo's I took but anyone is welcome to see them, they need only ask; and set aside around 5 hrs to go through them. This is Mike's log.......signing out.

John<br><br>My only recollection of Inverness prior to this visit was a ditty that Garth Glover, an old Ayr basketballer, used to sing . <br><br>Four and twenty virgins went up to Inverness <br>And when the day was over there were four and tewnty less.<br><br>The drive to Inverness was also spectacular and included the famous Loch Ness. We did the obligatory Loch Ness cruise but no sign of Nessy.<br><br>The highlight for me of Inverness ...

... a quick stop, I realise that someone has left their wild campsite, just off the path, in a real mess. They've left an empty gas can from a stove and plastic packets everywhere. Suddenly I turn into a Womble - I can't bear it when people leave litter like this, especially so obviously - and get a spare plastic bag to pick up the worst. Having tied to my pack, it then bangs about and annoys me the whole ...

... path would be a let down after the delights of the lochs and canals but actually as a start from Inverness it's quite a good introduction to the Great Glen and this section of The Highlands.  The outskirts of Inverness are quickly left behind and the path winds it way up through forests and moorland.  True, Loch Ness does remain hidden tantalisingly behind the forest for quite a bit of walk but from the several viewpoints along the way the views are stunning.<br ...

... was making my journey all the more luxurious due to its descriptions of the decrepit trains of Eastern Europe. Additionally, it made me very glad to have a cabin to myself, and so there was no chance of coming across Mr. Theroux. He seemed to interrogate every poor soul he sat beside during his journey (which took him halfway around the world &#8211; that&#8217;s a great deal of interrogation, and a great many souls), somehow extracting from them all the grotty details of their homes ...

... in the nice "warm" (freezing) water of Loch Ness. Scrambling down the side of the hill we were finally at the banks where Katherine discovered one of the witches hats that had gone AWOL. Net me just tell you that Scotland is the land of witches hats. During the weekend we had passed by quite a lot of roadworks (as you do), where they use witches hats to merge lanes etc. However in Scotland they don't leave gaps between witches hats, basically they are placed ...

... Club and another one with the Dundee Rotary Club. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces from our travels. After the banquet they had a composer who knew the District Governor sing show tunes that he had helped write along with a couple of back-up singers. If you polled the audience the opinion was pretty well split down the middle i.e. you either loved it or hated it. It was then back to the Elgin group for a night cap and on to bed.

... w*nted us to d*nce so we did *nd * couple times took me *nd keep spinning me like * top in the middle of the floor! Wh*t * mix; cider *nd spinning! I then h*d to t*ke * bre*k *nd ch*tted with G's friend, B. We h*d * bl*st *nd s*dly it h*d to come to *n end *nd we s*id our goodbyes to BMG *nd went b*ck to the hotel. I did get my 1st Scottish kiss even though it w*s * peck on the cheek. I tried not to w*ke Le*nne *s we were sh*ring * room *nd I got in pretty l*te.