Ben Nevis

6.20am and we were out, bright and breezy to head up Ben Nevis, with only a handful of people in front of us we made steady progress reaching the 1345m summit just after 10am.  We were teased with a brief hint of sunshine on the way up but the top was very definitely in the clouds, apparently on a clear day you can see Northern Ireland but we did the last section peering into the gloom for the next Cairn and trying not to stray off the path.  We didn't go up for the views however, we went up to stand at the highest point of the UK together.  Coming back down was a slog, though for the first thirty minutes we cheered the now steady stream of people ascending with encouragement "you are nearly there, honestly!"  It was also a slightly surreal people watching experience - while I didn't see anyone in flip flops you very quickly got to see why the Mountain rescue is out on a regular basis.  The highlights for me were the the lady carefully carrying her handbag (no hint of waterproofs or water) and the lad who had a joint before hurtling of back down the track on his mountain bike muttering "my buttocks are twitching!"  The ascent of The Ben is via The Pony Track which was laid to service the Summit Weather Observatory back in 1883, all I can say is "Spidey wouldn't like it!"

Holiday - Part One!

Three nights in a pod booked and a vague plan to climb a big hill so we headed up North, stocked to the gunnels with Krispy Kreme donuts.  A quick swing in to show Craig the Kelpies then we headed on to Fort William.  An evening leg stretch took us along the Caledonian Canal to Neptune's staircase, this is an amazing feat of engineering which raises the canal by 19m in a quarter of a mile.  It takes around 90 minutes for a boat to travel up or down the locks. Built by Thomas Telford between 1803 and 1822, it is the longest staircase lock in Scotland.  I am more used to seeing photos of Chamfron Colorado navigating the wee narrow bridges over it!

Day Out - Edinburgh

The last two Fridays we have been out OUT in Edinburgh, properly in a pub, OUT (Jason's Never Really Here Liquor Lounge to be exact) and then on the Saturday we bimbled around Edinburgh.  The festival is on this year but it feels pleasant not manic, though Arthurs Seat resembled Everest with a queue of people waiting to summit.  We wandered around the hidden gardens and previously unknown spots like the Stones of Scotland.  According to the bins Craig has already been up Carlton hill... with Carla...!! 

SERC Team Selection

Jessica and Chamfron Colorado have been selected for the Scottish team for the Home International in Yorkshire this year.  

Posers!

Jessica took these fabulous shots of Chamfron Firefly and Chamfron By Dand when she was visiting this weekend.