Day 9

Woke up feeling rubbish. Bizarre disturbances in the middle of the night - a woman screaming at her husband whilst walking up and down the road adjoining our campsite (read farmers field). I think there may have been alcohol involved. Said au revoir to Mikey who headed back to Perth. Sad to see him go, but frankly his fresh legs were showing us up, and it was back down to the two Jameses for the final thrust. The Cairngorms were the day's challenge.

We knocked off an early 30 miles, and a wicked climb up to Glenshee ski resort, before hunger and a worsening bad knee saw us pick up bacon sandwiches and drugs in Braemar. My knee repaired by ibuprofen, Dr James then led us up to a very exposed Lecht ski centre. Banana cakes were then stowed at a local highland rug shop and café, and it was all I could so to stop Dr James adding to his old man reputation by buying some excess luggage.

I got a jump on Dr James on the last chevrons of the day and we rolled down through the Glenlivet estate to Grantown on Spey. After some debate where we knocked a few ideas around and then decided I was right all along, we opted for a night in a guest house in the town rather than a night of wild camping further on. Suffice to say we lucked out again finding fantastic hospitality at the Kinross guest house and even more at the Craig Barn pub down the road.

The landlady there, 68 year old Beryl Macrae, turned out to be a whole evening's entertainment. She was like Janet Street Porter on acid telling us her life story whilst serving pints to the local RAF trainees and cooking us pies (Dr James had 2), bizarrely imported from Pieminister in Bristol! Her most generous act was to give us a fiver for our fundraising, another random donation from a generous stranger.

Before retiring to bed I had a lovely 20 mins throwing a ball for a pleading dog in the next door's garden whilst on the phone to my mum. So it was 80 miles today and an early finish, at 11.6 mph, not bad with all the hills, I mean moutains!
Love, a steak and ale pie, and a pint of sheep shagger, J