TGO Challenge 2018: DAY 9

This blog is posted with one hundred days to go to to the start of TGO Challenge 2020.

The next photograph illustrates how mankind adapts to its environment. These gentlemen of the road were asked to stand next to this stone. Neither consciously chose to adopt a pose. Lord Elpus' subconscious immediately saw an excellent stone perfectly suited to lean against. Mad'n'Bad's on the other hand found a perfect shelf upon which he could take his ease.

Both men had been on the road for a little over a week, yet already they had become at one with the Great Outdoors. You should note that this stone was perfectly vertical prior to this picture being taken. But more on this stone a little later.

It's an odd thing, but I don't recall much of the evening at the Struan Inn, but I did wake up feeling a little secondhand. 

And so to today's route maps:

CLICK TO ENLARGE

CLICK TO ENLARGE

We leave the Inn at sensible o'clock after a decent breakfast, one last visit to the porcelain and a last shower so that three perfumed gentlemen hit the road well-rested and in good spirits. Our first destination  this morning is the Atholl Arms. For convenience it means a short stroll along a minor road.

There are other equally fine routes for those who can be arsed to look at the maps that include a riverside walk, but our own Mr Walker chose instead to moan about 'bloody road walking' instead of looking at his maps when the gpx files were sent to him months beforehand or taking a peek the night before. But moaning is far more productive, so he flaps his size thirteens down hard on the tarmacadam making a hell of a din in the process, and scaring off all the birds and little creatures that would otherwise be such a joy. 

RIVER, ROAD AND RAIL

ONE OF BLAIR CASTLE'S GATE HOUSES

It was another lovely day, with far off crows cawing, distant newborn lambs and a very near Andy bleating to their hearts' content.

BLAIR CASTLE

LORD E'S ROYAL WEDDING CUPCAKES

The Atholl Arms is a wonderfully stately old lady who in her prime must have been a stunner. As it is she still holds an elegant charm, with baronial fireplaces set about with comfortable sofas and winged armchairs. Slightly stretched but still serviceable tartan carpets abound and the lighting is kind to the old girl. Any failings are completely overwhelmed by the wonderful staff. With today's Royal Wedding, the staff are dressed as though going to the wedding themselves; the ladies in wonderful frocks and the gentlemen attired in their finest suits. The smell of shoe polish mixes wonderfully with woodsmoke from the fireplaces.

There is a party atmosphere about the place and a large room has been set aside with a very large television for the hotel guests to enjoy the day. It's interesting to note the difference in attitude to a United Kingdom and our Royal Family, between the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland. 

As is our custom we spend far too long enjoying the delights of the hotel, with a light lunch added to the occasion and we eventually stagger out into the warm afternoon refreshed and blinking against the bright sunshine. Having filled our packs with our food parcels in the morning we still feel the need to visit the local food shop to add to our burdens with pies and bottles of Lucozade. There's less than ten miles to do this afternoon and so we stroll away from Blair Atholl, leaving behind a Great Aunt who's always been there for you, and in the back of your mind you hope that she will always be.

The walk alongside the River Tilt is always a delight amongst fabulous beech and birch and a soft footfall upon centuries of beechnut soil. All too soon we're taking the minor road that climbs away from the Tilt and up onto the higher grazing farmland. It's a pastoral paradise, the views broad and sharp, with roadside flowers a delight.

LOOKING BACK TO BLAIR CASTLE

THE GREAT MONTROSE: CLICK TO ENLARGE

Here's the plaque inset into the stone you saw earlier. I knew virtually nothing about the First Marquess of Montrose but by all accounts he was an inspiring character who distinguished himself in the seemingly perpetual disputes that Scotland continues to enjoy even today.

Minor roads give way to soft tracks until we head south eastwards to the abandoned farmstead of Shinagag where we come across a couple of groups of Duke of Edinburgh Students and their young instructors. One group was heading up the hill to who knows where while the second group were sitting patiently out of sight of the first so as not to gain advantage of seeing the first's direction of travel. 

In all my time in Scotland, whenever I've come across DofE groups I've never failed to be impressed by their overall good humour and behaviour. If this is Phil the Greek's legacy, then all credit to him.

You'll have noted that on this afternoon's map I've written 'Beautiful path, not on map'. However, having squinted pretty hard at Bing Aerial View I had noticed the winter before that there was indeed a magnificent grassy track here, heading along Lon Mor (name found on 1:25k maps only) and this is the route we now used to speed our travel eastwards. This isn't a new track my any means; it's obviously been here for a very long time. 

THERE'S NOTHING TO SEE HERE, ORDNANCE SURVEY...

If the Ordnance Survey spent a little more time making maps rather than spending a small fortune on pretending to be a business we would all be a lot happier and the maps more useful. It can't be too long before Google will have sorted out mapping for walking to the present OS standard but with the added advantage of all the extra layers of information that Google has built access to over the years. The OS is destined to become a business only fit for land surveyors and solicitors, and I'm sure Google will have its eyes on that business too.

Whether or not that's ideal I'm not so sure, but sadly I think it's inevitable.

This lovely track leads us to the Allt na Leacainn Moire, where a boundary stone is found:

ALLT NA LEACAINN MOIRE

BOUNDARY STONE?

We pitched our shelters on a raised terrace just above the stream on sheep-nibbles soft turf. It was still a fairly early camp, and so Mad'n'Bad decided he hadn't done nearly enough exercise today and so set off up the neighbouring hills to the north of us to explore. He's right 'Ard is our Andy. 

AIRY TERRACE PITCH

Phil and I decided to explore our whisky flasks a little further.  All three of us slept well that night. It was a good day, done. Only time will tell if Harry & Meghan will look back on this day as fondly.