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A bumpy, lumpy night. But we all awoke in great spirits to a sunny, blue sky. An estate Land Rover crawled by as we were packing up. The estate man was gazing on menacingly but it was too late now.
As we walked on through the forest we came across the old campsite which is now designated as a car park, or at least the obvious bit next to the road is. Two years ago when I was thinking of coming this way my vetter told me that nobody seemed to mind if you camped there. But this year Colin had received different advice. I guess locals want everyone to walk on to the Hotel and bunkhouse at Clova. But this is quite a long walk, along a road, and isn't really an attractive option - unless you want to hit the bar of the Clova Hotel. I had a good look around as we passed the campsite. There are many places with level pitches that are out of sight of the road. I reckon so long as you arrive later, after the warden has knocked off for the night, you'll have no problems here. It's certainly a better site than the one we'd used.
Shortly after the campsite we took a forest track to the left which climbed, through a series of steep zig zags, through the forest and up to the summit of Carn Derg. From here the views were simply breathtaking. Behind there are stunning views of the greens and blues of Clova. To the North is the rugged beauty of Lochnagar. To the South East a long chain of small hills led on, eventually to the sea.
Looking Back Down to Glen Clova
The rest of the morning was as good a ridge walk as you can get, passing over hills with the wonderful names of White Bents, Boustie Ley, Green Hill, Muckle Cairn, and Wester Skuley. At Green Hill we met the track that came up from the Clova Hotel and Loch Brandy. Originally I'd fancied camping here for the evening, spending a last night next to a high loch. But this is not an attractive place, the lakes were low on water, and the place another pretty unattractive peat bog.
Colin Ibbotson Walking the Ridge
While the day was wonderfully clear the winds were still pretty fierce. Kate is a relatively small person carrying a relatively big pack and the wind was knocking her around a lot. We let the lads stomp on ahead, over the hills. They did look as if they were on a route march rather than a long day walk though!
Mount Keen From the Ridge
We decided to drop down to the west side of Loch Lee. I'd walked past here last year in dreadful weather. The Loch though had looked interesting. A small farming and fishing community live here, with night time fishing being undertaken on the Loch. I was keen to see it in better weather. We made it down to the Loch but only after an hour or so of picking our way through thick heather, as we descended a sharp gully to meet the footpath.
Loch Lee and Boat House
The walk along the side of the Loch was delightful. Last year, as I came this way, I encountered only one other adult, a mum driving her kids to school. I met her again when she was driving back. As we walked down the Loch it was about 4.00 in the afternoon. A car approached. It was the same mum, this time bringing the kids home for the evening.
At the end of Glen Lee we took a long rest, sitting near a small ruin of a castle, in a lush, green meadow at the side of the river. We were out of the wind now and, comforted by the afternoon's gentle sunlight, I felt I could simply lie back and spend the night there.
But there were still a couple of miles to go to Tarfside and the St Drostan Hostel.
We arrived at the hostel at 6.00 and we greeted with the surprising offer of a room for the evening. The hospitality here is fabulous and I reckoned it would be good for Kate to sample it - on her first Challenge - from the inside. The Challenge take over the hostel for four or five days each year and wonderful hospitality is provided by a bunch of keen volunteers. Thanks again girls. I guess Challengers tend to come here on the same day each year, and many of the same faces were here from last year, including the wonderfully entertaining Towers twins. Bryan and Joan Crick kept us entertained with all kinds of funnies about gear and about the Backpackers Club.
We still had a wonderful evening. Alan Sloman was here again. He and I - and a lovely guy from the US, Rob Hausam - stayed up chatting for quite a long time. This was easily my latest night on the Challenge. Everyone else had turned in for the evening. Alan was left in charge of the alcohol.
Alan was keen to dissuade me from continuing on my route, which would have taken us on to Char bothy and then through the Fettereso Forest and on to Stonehaven. It is a crap route he exclaimed. Too many deer fences - and electric fences - to cross. The place was just full of sheep shit. He put me off. But then last year I planned to go that way, but then after a night in the hostel I'd gone soft and simply toddled down into Edzell and on to St Cyrus. Surely I wasn't going to give in again!