In August 2019 I moved to Aberlour for work… or attempted to move. Sadly, there was very little accommodation in the small Speyside town so I spent my first couple of weeks with an adoptive family in Rothes, the next town over (I had no car at this point so everywhere was a commute). After three weeks of commuting by bike, I decided cycling through a field everyday to get to work would not be sustainable through the winter months (not to mention large distillery lorries flew past my little bike leaving me within an inch of my life everyday). Cycling was not a long term solution and I needed to find a home within Aberlour ASAP.

Luckily, the following week, colleagues were up from our Edinburgh office and were staying in an Airbnb just outside Craigellachie, the town between Rothes and Aberlour. They suggested I join them and I gladly accepted, quickly going from sleeping on someone’s floor to a luxurious five star Airbnb experience. A barn house kitchen, soft white linen, and a power shower to die for, was all I needed to perk my spirits back up.

During the week at the Airbnb, I decided that finding accommodation in Aberlour would be dependent on word of mouth. After spending the day in a lovely distillery, and drinking perhaps too many drams, I tipsily printed off a poster with my ‘flatmate’ credentials and plastered the advert around town in the hope that some local would take pity on me. From shop to shop I drifted, as locals offered valuable advice on accommodation and potential flatmate candidates. It was in my third shop that the owner led me through to her house and showed me a spare room that was available. Alas, I had found somewhere to stay in Aberlour!

That weekend, my cousins (who I am eternally grateful lived in close-ish proximity) invited me on a relaxing camping weekend in Aviemore. The weather forecast looked amazing and camping was the sort of thing I had envisioned myself doing as a Northerner. I eagerly said yes.

Sadly, after successfully hitching a ride to Aviemore, my cousins ended up being  three hours late. Whilst waiting for them, I treated myself to dinner in the Old Bridge Inn. As I was attempting to kill time, it  was convenient that my dinner did not arrive for an hour and half! Famished and lonely, I dug into my meal and only after I had licked my plate clean did I realise I was surrounded by bearded men in leather jackets. I cursed myself for being so unobservant, realising I had walked straight into a death trap. I left the bar briskly, seeking refuge on the high street of Aviemore. There I was greeted with even more men and came to the conclusion that they had come to ambush me.

Reader, I am still alive and I am glad to say that I was not the victim of a gang attack. Instead, these bikers had come to Aviemore for THUNDER IN THE GLEN, an annual Harley Davidson bike rally. Admittedly, bikers are not my typical scene, but the men were very pleasant and I would consider attending next year. My cousins finally arrived, dragging me mid-conversation away from my new befriended hairy biker. We drove to the campsite where we pitched our tent and spent a lovely two days camping.

On the Saturday my cousins decided we were to climb The Monadhliath Munros, a’ Chailleach, Càrn Sgulain and Càrn Dearg from Glen Banchor. Until this point, I had only climbed Ben Lomond and Schiehallion so I was definitely succumbing to my amateur hiker status. Luckily my cousins were anything but amateurs, and guided me swiftly up the trail, bagging all three in under eight hours. The path that is normally boggy was dry due to the wonderful sunny weather that had fallen the week before, and the views were to die for leaving me to question why some people call these Munros ‘undistinguished’.

On Sunday, my cousins opted to climb Geal Chàrn, the westernmost of the Monadhliaths. It’s further away from the three Munros that we had tackled the day before meaning most people opt to do this Munro by itself. As we climbed our fourth Munro, I had to reevaluate what my cousins considered a ‘relaxing’ weekend. However, at the end of the hike we found a wonderful waterfall for wild swimming, the water so blissful and relaxing that any strain caused by the week’s extremities washed away.

I finished the week off happily, having had my first adventure up North in the hills. Heading home to my newly found room, I realised my Munro journey had really begun. 

Onwards and upwards!

Róise