We were lucky enough to spend the weekend in the Cairngorms, in celebration of Colin’s auntie Sheila’s 70th birthday. As tourism season in the Highlands was coming to an end, auntie had booked the entire Cairngorm Lodge Youth Hostel for the festivities, which saw hordes of family from all corners of the UK and beyond descending on Glenmore one wet Friday in October.
Although time was short and we only had two nights and a full day, we made sure that we packed plenty in, including swimming in Loch Morlich, climbing a mountain, eating enough chilli and pizza to sink a ship and even bumping into some friends at a quiet lochan high up in the mountains!
Where we stayed
We stayed at the Cairngorm Lodge Youth Hostel – seven miles from Aviemore and just a two minute walk from the shores of Loch Morlich. It offers a range of rooms, from singles, twins and doubles to dormitories, with clean, modern showers and a large kitchen. There’s also a refectory, a conservatory with spectacular views of the mountains to enjoy over breakfast, and a large living room with a pool table.
What we did
As well as ceilidhing the night away, eating our body weight in pizza, catching up over coffee and French toast made by Colin, and enjoying a few games of pool, we wanted to make the most of the stunning surroundings of the hostel.
Loch Morlich is one of our favourite Scottish lochs, where we’ve spent summers kayaking and swimming and winters walking round the beautiful Rothiemurchus forest that fringes the loch …. and swimming! It’s just across the road from the hostel, and with its wide golden sandy beach, views of the majestic Cairngorms and still, clear waters, it would have been rude not to (although I did just watch from the shore!) The temperature was a brisk 6.5 degrees, so no one stayed in for long. There were also paddle boarders and kayaks on the loch, undeterred by the chilly temperatures and rain.
Meall a’ Bhuachaille is a four hour circuit from the foot of the hostel, through pretty woodland and then on to the slopes of the 543m high mountain, leading to incredible views across to Loch Morlich and the Cairngorms. The last ten minutes of the ascent are steep, with steps instead of a path for much of it, so you’ll definitely feel you’ve earned a rest at the top. We sat in the sheltered cairn and replenished our energy with some sugared almonds from House of Bruar, where we’d stopped on the way up the road to Aviemore.
The way down leads you past an Lochan Uaine, where to our delight we encountered the Wardie Bay wild swimmers of Edinburgh, who’d taken a trip up to the Cairngorms for the weekend and had just enjoyed a dip in the green lochan. We also passed the Ryvoan bothy, which was kitted out for walkers with a fireplace, candles, table and cooking equipment – the hiker we met there looked very cosy enjoying some biscuits while his socks dried outside!
What we ate
We all sat down to dinner on the Friday night in the large refectory, where Colin’s cousin Jenny was a total superstar and made three types of chilli, including this vegan chilli. She kindly shared the recipe, which serves 4.
Ingredients
1 stick celery, chopped
1 large white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
Splash of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp veg stock
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2 tins kidney beans
2 tins black beans
1-2 tsp chilli flakes depending on how spicy you like your chilli!
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
Lime to season
Method
Heat a tbsp oil in a large wok and fry the onions over a medium heat for five minutes.
Add the garlic and spices and fry for another minute, then add the tomatoes, vinegar, beans, celery, stock and nutritional yeast.
Bring the mixture to the boil then leave to simmer on a low heat for 40 minutes.
Enjoy with a squeeze of lime, rice and tortillas and our vegan soured cream.
On Saturday night, thirty pizzas from Cheese and Tomatin were ordered in and eaten for dinner, post ceilidh snacks, and breakfast the next day!
Already dreaming of our next trip to this wonderful part of Scotland!
If you liked this, check out our post about a week in the Black Isle.