The tarmac road and occasional car snaking through the winding glen is the only reminder that I'm still in 21st Century Scotland. For long periods the silence lingers and I feel overwhelmed by the beauty of the timeless sprawling mountain landscape before me. Glenshee might mean the 'Glen of the Fairies' but I can't help thinking it could comfortably house a small army of giants without any trouble.
This glen has been used as a route north to the Highlands for thousands of years, and like numerous travellers before me, my journey is destined to end at a 'Gathering'. From cattle drovers to Kings and Queens, I wonder how many of them have also stood here in the same awe.
Before reaching my terminus at Braemar, I have to navigate the highest main road in the UK over the ear popping Cairnwell Pass, a route surprisingly well frequented in the winter thanks to those flocking to the largest ski and snowboard resort in Scotland. A further 9 miles of twists and turns through the wild terrain of the Cairngorms National Park brings me to its heart at the village of Braemar and the end of my journey.
Thanks to its geographical position, Braemar has been the ideal location for various 'gatherings' throughout the centuries. A strategic place in the days of clan warfare, a meeting point of cattle droving roads, the centre of the biggest deer forest in the country and a place frequented by Scottish Kings. The current Braemar Royal Highland Gathering is just the latest in a long list of local meetings. According to tradition it is said the original Braemar Gathering dates back to the time of King Malcolm Canmore who would call the clans to the Braes of Mar and have members compete against each other to find the strongest and quickest soldiers. Gatherings at Braemar continued until after Culloden and the failed 1745 Uprising, when they were banned by law for over 30 years and were not up and running again until 1800. In 1815 the Braemar Wrights Society was formed to organise a welfare and social insurance system. The Wrights Society subsequently became the Braemar Highland Society, with aims to preserve the kilt, language and cultural interests of the Highlands, values which continue to this day. The Society's Annual Procession laid the roots for the current Braemar Gathering which has enjoyed Patronage of successive Monarchs since Queen Victoria. I LOVE finding quirky accommodation in Scotland and it doesn't get much quirkier than the Coastal Carriage, an up-cycled vintage rail carriage set in a quiet field on a family run farm just along the coast from Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire. When the owner Carole invited me to experience this unique retreat for myself, I was determined to find an excuse to visit and luckily for me I was able to include an overnight stay during my recent #ScotCoast adventures. The first thing that struck me was the privacy and tranquillity of the setting before I was wowed with the views of the Moray Firth and Banffshire Coast stretching across the horizon. It really felt like I had stumbled upon a little pocket of paradise. I love watching George Clarke's Amazing Spaces and often wish I had the skill and imagination to redesign a small and quirky space into something not only charming but also functional and that is exactly what Carole and Mathew have achieved with the coastal carriage. On the rails from 1937 until the 1960s, the carriage was later used as storage by a crofter and gradually began to fall in to a bad state of decay before Carole and Mathew rescued it. The video below shows the journey of the carriage through its restoration. The before and after shots would make George Clarke proud! Inside is beautifully rustic with a wood burning stove to keep you toasty on colder days and you can also boil the kettle or cook your dinner on the hotplate at the same time. Wood is provided. The cupboards and shelves are packed with all the crockery and utensils you should need.
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