MUIR OF ORD OR WAS IT ORD MUIR?

2014 - a New Year and a new walk and it was a new walk to us all - even Mac and Janet who had decided that this was the walk for us. Rendezvous for most of us was a car park on the left in Muir of Ord.  For the Smiths, it was the car park on the right next to the public toilets! They were closed for the winter, so there was no real need to be there at all.

Eventually, the Smiths joined the rest of us in the right, or was it the left car park and we were ready for the off, but not before Mac demonstrated his ability to move so quickly that he became a blur in a car park that wasn't an oasis of calm.

We were soon heading out of the metropolis and into deliverance country. If you haven't seen the film, then you should and you would understand the reference.

I bet the boys in Deliverance had a tractor just like this one. So keeping an ear open for a bit of banjo playing we pressed on.

We came across the bucket, but where was Oor Wullie? Had the boys from Deliverance got him and he no longer had any desire to sit on anything, never mind a bucket?

Even the sheep looked at us suspiciously - was anything quite what it seemed?

We carried on regardless.

We even ignored the giant snake under the bridge.

Although, technically he was in Australia with Susan, Robin was still with us.

Jimmy, meanwhile, had vanished into thin air, just leaving his stick and video camera behind.

A dead tree full of holes. The speculation was that the holes were caused by a woodpecker. My bet was that the boys from Deliverance were having some target practice

Next a small horse carrying  a normal sized person - was there anything normal about this walk?

At last, we came to a bridge - something normal that we could take a photo of, just like every other walk we have done. However, Hugh was in a huff and wouldn't turn towards the camera until he was promised a starring role in the blog. As you can see I lied when I told him that he would be the major character in a great sweeping epic. 

It worked, though, and I got another bridge photo. They wouldn't have looked so happy if they could have seen the rotten stonework from where I was standing.

More weird Deliverance type stuff with some kitchen utensils hanging from a tree. Who put them there and why? Was it part of some strange backwoods cannibalistic ritual? Or had someone just found them and stuck them on a tree? We will never know!

After staring at the pots and pans for half an hour, Mac and Janet were clearly getting concerned that we might get caught out in the woods in the dark by the Deliverance boys.

So, on we went and emerged from the trees to get great views of the Beauly Firth.

We were at something of a crossroads and decided to have lunch.

Everyone found somewhere comfortable to sit except for Maureen.

Pam was disappointed to find out that her cheesy wotsit was really a much more healthy piece of satsuma!

That was because Hugh had all the cheesy wotsits to himself. Tee hee.

How to get the lunch photo. Easy, the Johansens came along and kindly took it for us.

The post-lunch views to the west were pretty good. Who knew such a nice walk was so close to home?

We soon left the woods and farmland behind and found ourselves on the public road. After walking for half a mile in the middle of the road because there was no pavement we came across this helpful sign.

More strangeness! lots of fields with lots of Shetland ponies.

They were quite sweet, though.

Despite it being the middle of January, there were snowdrops in the verge.

It seems as if the locals don't bathe too often.

The Glen Ord distillery where they make Singleton malt whisky - one of my many favourites, although I didn't get any for Christmas.

Llamas or Vicuna or Alpaca - anyway, something South American out of place on Ord Muir.

A Red Kite which was at home here.

A Soay sheep, or it could be a Jacob's sheep having a picnic - nothing strange about that.

A Heilan' coo - perfectly normal.

But its not often you see a Kite in a tree.

Even less often do you see Jimmy with his head in a crocodile's mouth .......!

Only after the crocodile had swallowed him did it's teeth become apparent.

Back to the car park and on the way we passed this sign which just goes to underline some of the weird stuff we saw in Deliverance country out the back of Muir of Ord.

Seriously, it was a really good walk so close to home and no-one had been there before, which made it all the more interesting. So thanks to Mac and Janet for sorting it all out.
After the walk, we went to the The School House at Beauly for tea and cakes and it was very good as you can see. Janet wasn't really there eating twice as many cakes as everyone else, she was just in both photos.

In between this walk and the previous one, three grandchildren were born to the Dinosaurs - well obviously not all the Dinosaurs - just Sharon and Bob, Hugh and Pam and Ann and Neil. Of course the Dinosaurs weren't really that closely involved, so the congratulations go to the real parents - Elain and Darren, Carly and Sanders and Rory and Sarah for Liam, Dylan and Mary Margaret. I only have a photo of Liam so here he is. If anyone would like to send me photos of Dylan and Mary Margaret, I will add them in.

THE BUN CREW

Christmas comes but once a year and this year it came for the Dinosaurs at Reelig Glen and the Bunchrew House Hotel - and very good it was too. Having said that there was a degree of doubt in my mind before we started as poor Sandra could not join us as she was unwell. Given that she and Dave had picked the venue for our Christmas lunch - the question for me was whether she really was unwell or whether she had decided that the lunch would not be up to scratch. Well I needn't have worried - lunch was great and she really was unwell!

After parking at the half washed away bridge we started out on our walk. As you can tell it was bit damp, but not as damp as Pam and Hugh's walk at Torridon!

Here is, or rather isn't, the bridge parapet.

And here is where you end up if you don't notice the parapet has gone.

Soon we were striding past a field full of sheep who had been out for a curry the night before - at least that is what some of their backsides looked like!

Farmer Dave advised us townies that it was all to do with tups and procreation and coloured bags! Isn't nature wonderful?

Meanwhile some of us didn't care and charged on, anxious to get to the hotel with some warmth, food and alcohol.

And then it was time for the first whole bridge photo.

But it being Christmas we had to have a show and here is Singing in the Rain.

This may look like a carefully choreographed spinning of the brollies, but it actually took some time for them to learn to do this fairly simple thing!

And here they are learning.

 Now I know what David Bailey feels like with all those wayward models.

Reelig is a bit primordial.

But it has some of the biggest trees in the country. They grow so tall partly because of the rain that you can see on the lens.

Another bridge, but they wouldn't all huddle together on it for a photo!

Once a schoolteacher........

....always a schoolteacher.

 But after a couple of hours class was over and we were in the Bunchrew House Hotel for food, drinks and the secret joys of Santa, or was that the joys of secret Santa?

Drinks first in the lounge, which we had to ourselves. Either the hotel was very organised or someone had warned them.

 Then it was time to settle down for dinner and Sue said Grace.

 The other table were wa bit more irreverent and just laughed at Pam for not putting her paper hat on.

 Maureen has always been good with children and here she is patiently explaining the cracker joke to Dave. 

 B|y now Susan had lost the will to live and had taken to drink. Charlie was calling the Samaritans.

Dave had an unfortunate accident with the red wine, which upset Susan dreadfully, despite his best efforts to hide the stain under the butter dish.

 Of course, the butter dish was removed and the full horror of his actions became apparent.

He tried to make light of it, but to no avail. You could tell Sandra wasn't there to keep him under control.

 By now the drink was beginning to take effect and Mac, Sue and Sharon got very cosy.

 I was driving, so I am not responsible for this picture of domestic bliss.

 Pudding - yum yum. 

 Dave explains as best he can, the red wine malfunction. 

After dinner it was back to the lounge for coffee and mince pies and secret Santa. Except for Charlie who couldn't find the gents.

 Jacque, or perhaps Sharon, got a pair of bedsocks from Santa. Jacque just couldn't wait to try them on before Sharon got hold of them. As you might guess Jacque wasn't driving. 

After Santa was finished it was time for us all to leave the comfort of the hotel and head to Jim and Jacque's for more food and drink - like we really needed it.

A great Christmas walk and dinner all organised by Dave and poor Sandra. Thanks to them and to Jim and Jacque for putting up with us at their house afterwards.

That is the end of another year of great walks and company. 

Here's to 2014.