The 2015 Challenge, day 10: Braemar to Loch Vrotachan (1)

I woke at 7, and had a leisurely start to my day. Having decided that I was going to take my FWA to avoid getting blown to pieces up on the ridge, there was no need to hurry. Indeed, the cloud was low and lowering, and I thought it worth giving myself a deliberately slow start to day, to give the weather a bit of a chance to clear up. So I wandered into Braemar and enjoyed a cooked breakfast at the Old Bakery with Andrew Walker, who was also on his 10th crossing.

There were quite a few Challengers in the Old Bakery, and we had a bit of a chat, as one does. Everyone else seemed to be heading for Ballater or Callater. I was the only one heading for Loch Vrotachan, which is perhaps unsurprising given that this day my net longitudinal progress was going to be Westwards, not Eastwards! I left the Old Bakery at 10 o'clock, and initially I wore my coat but none of my other waterproofs. It wasn't long, however, before I was wearing my full weather gear again.

My FWA involved going south by road - but there was no need to use the main A93. Instead, I followed the back road on the West bank of the Clunie Water, past the golf club and Balintruim. There are some really lovely views of the CLunie Water from this road, even when the weather is not the best.