Oct 6, 2008
Part 5 of my journey across Scotland. From Tarfside to the coast and then Dunnottar Casle required me to walk about 53 kilometers. While the journey can certainly be done in two days I stretched it out to 2 and a half days. In some ways this bit of hiking was the most challenging and most frustrating of any I would do. My meandering travels especially in the vicinity ending not far west of Burn of Badymicks (starting west of grid refernce NO557 812) slowed me down to a crawl. The three deer fences did me no favors either costing me considerable time finding secure spots to climb over them. What should have been an easy 16 or so kilometers ended up comsuming the better part of the day. The kilometers I would cover after my afternoon tea at Charr Bothy themselves were no bull of cherries seeing me go the wrong way more than once especially when I went the wrong way around a fence into a farm field trying to figure out how to cross the Water of Dye.
My annoyances would continue as I went through Heatheryhaughs. What was most irritating about that little area was not so much my losing of the trail and having to bash through high heathery and then up Heathery Hill was the considerable time I wasted trying to figure out the right path through the fields and barbed wire fences. Had I gone the right waya round the old buildings (along the right side, not the left) things would have been so much better and I would have saved a substantial amount of time. Ironically it was the works of man that caused me the most headaches not the natural terrain itself which was merely physically demanding but at least I was always going the right way. I certainly could have pushed on into Stonehaven after passing Mergie. But I settled in at Mergie for a rather early night and short walk along the roads the following morning into Stonehaven and from there Dunnottar Castle.
That final walk through gorse lined fields that contained cows and bulls was OK until I reached the seemingly deadly A90. If a speeding car had stopped to ask if I needed a lift I would have said, "Yes, please just enough to ferry me across the awful road." I was very happy to meet up with fellow Challengers, after considerable dithering on my part at the A90, and cross that road with them.
Though climax of the day remains the dipping of my feet in the ocean surf off the beach at Stonehaven. While the stroll with John and Steph to Dunnottar Castle was nice and the castle itself looks incredible it was a bit anti-cimatic for me.
Places I stayed at:
I had not booked lodging in Montrose. I really should have done so while I was in Braemar. Had I not lucked out and learned that Mark Alverez was willing to share his room at Murray Lodge with me I may well have ended up setting up camp at some campsite. Murray Lodge was nicee nough and just a few minutes walk from Challenge Control at the Park Hotel.
Sites of interest:
You can find some of my trip journals for this trip at A Wandering Knight Blog. Other journals and much more at my main personal site.
The official site of the TGO Challenge.