Loch Muick

We took Boris, Norris and Doris up to Deeside at the weekend to show them one of our favourite places, Loch Muick. It's a delightful glacial trench, now filled with icy, clear waters and ringed by high mountains such as Broad Cairn in the Glen Shee hills to the west and the wonderful Lochnagar high on the East. It's a place which Queen Victoria fell in love with, buying the land around it and Balmoral Castle. The lovely country house at the side of the loch, Glas-alt-Shiel has a plaque commemorating her purchase of the estate. Its easy to imagine her in a carriage being pulled along the lochside track from Ballater station.

Lochnagar is a place which holds particularly fond memories for us, as it was a place we often visited before the "girlfriend" became promoted first to "fiancee" and then "wife". Our memories of long walks and conversations were, of course, not revisited courtesy of the presence of three noisy young children who neither wanted to walk far - nor let us converse.

Young Doris was the least happy of all of them. We only realised when we got back to the car, just how cold she had got. Despite being wrapped up in a vast bulkage of hats, gloves, coats (plural) jumpers etc etc - she had got far too cold. Although we could feel the chill in the air we weren't uncomfortable as we were walking, and at least of one us carrying her in the 'Macpac' too. However, sitting immobile in the pack, she had got far too cold. Once back in the car, with blankets and the heaters working flat-out she soon cheered up.

If you are really interested some nice German person has posted a 3min video of the scenery around the Loch on YouTube. You can see it here.