Introduction Like many hill walkers I live in a city, a long way from any major mountain range. A trip to somewhere fabulous - such as the Scottish Highlands - requires no little amount of planning. This report follows a trip made in July 2008 up to the Cairngorms, using the sleeper service to make the most of a long weekend. Although I've written extensively about two TGO Challenge crossings of Scotland I'm still really a Scotland novice. A couple of years ago I realised that I'd not done nearly as much walking - and wild camping - in Scotland as I should have done. I entered the TGO Challenge because I reckoned it would give me a good way of getting to understand a little of many regions of Scotland in one go. Scotland wove its magic on those trips and I've made two trips north each year since. For my second Challenge I used the sleeper service to go north for the start of the event. How would this work for a short break? I knew that a number of walkers regularly made use of this service and when I found myself with a few days surplus around a weekend I decided to take a plunge. So, this trip report covers my quick jaunt to the Cairngorms, taking the sleeper from Birmingham one Thursday evening, starting to walk from Aviemore early on Friday and returning back by train on Monday. Three days walking is never enough, but this did feel as if I'd been away for a while. This report may encourage you to explore the sleeper option - or it might just serve to heighten interest in Scotland in general. I've added a separate section which reflects on on the sleeper service experience and also another which reviews the gear used. Hope you enjoy reading this. As ever, feel free to get in touch. |