Day 9 - Braemar to Ballater

Today would be a mixture of woodland trails and road walking on the 29 km distance between Braemar and Ballater.

Woodland Selfie

We had a pretty restful sleep last night. It did not rain for too long, but the sound of rain on the tent can be somewhat soothing - as long as it stays outside!! The campground started stirring quite early when our next door neighbour thought it would be a good idea to start talking and packing up around 5:50...🤪. We tried our best to stay sleeping, but by about 6:30 we got up and started our own preparations. Getting on the trail early is always a bonus, and we did a good job today by starting our walk at 7:30.

We have seen some of the devastation done by Storm Arwen last November on this current trip, and today was another good example. There are so many mature trees that fell victim to the storm, and it is a bit sad to see it first hand.

The first half of the walk was pleasant and uneventful. We did connect with one challenger early in the day but that only lasted for about 15 minutes as he peeled off in another direction. At about the halfway mark we made it to Balmoral Estate which is home to Balmoral castle where the royal family take their Scottish vacations twice per year. We saw several beautifully groomed horses being walked and trained on the front side of the estate. It was very impressive. Before we know it we were in front of the castle itself. There looked to be lots of people on the grounds touring and visiting. It was a nice diversion on the walk and we were both happy to have seen it.

Amanda Playing Hiking Pole Golf On The Balmoral Course

View Of Balmoral Castle

The second half of the walk was a little tedious, but we have gotten better at taking more frequent rest stops throughout the day which seems to help temporarily rejuvenate the feet for another 30-60 minutes.

Rest Stop

Interesting Things We Saw Today 1 - Gnome Village

Interesting Things We Saw 2 - Several Stone Bridges

We were really pushing near the end and resorted to playing some music from my phone to keep our minds off our feet. It was about 3:15 when we finally walked in to Ballater. We found a tea house first, since we couldn’t check in at the hostel until 5:00. We shared a sandwich and soup, and had tea and cappuccino. After a good rest we headed to the grocery store to stock up for the next couple of days. Our very good friend Moira who we first met during TGOC 2017, and who was going to meet us here for the evening, spotted us on our way out of the store and gave us a very warm greeting right away. It was sooooo good to see her!! I didn’t know, but she booked into the hostel for the night as well so we could spend the whole evening together. What an amazing treat!!

After checking in and showering up, the three of us met for tea in the common area, then headed over to the hotel for dinner. Dinner was amazing, as was the company!! We had many laughs, and Moira shared some great stories with us. It was a great diversion from the crossing, and it is already a fond memory for us! Thank you,
Moira!!! ❤️

Three Amigos!!

We will likely remain on our FWA tomorrow as after reviewing the planned route, we both agreed it was going to be too arduous for the current weather forecast, and for our current state of mind.🤪 We will be out of service for two days and will update again on what should be the eve of our last day walking.

Thanks again for reading, everybody. Goodnight!!!

Day 9 Route - 28.75 km, 285 m ascent