It has been a short week this week after a long weekend with the children off school Friday, Monday and Tuesday. With Carolyn also off work on Monday we all trekked out to Chapel of Garioch in the Shire to climb Mither Tap at Bennachie. The last time I would have climbed it must have been around fourteen or fifteen years ago. We were trying to remember if we did once climb it when our eldest was still a baby. I cannae remember, but what I do know is that it felt a lot harder work on Monday than I ever remember it...

Age and weight are fearsome enemies to hill-walking! However, much panting and heart racing having passed, we all got to the top, or rather I joined everyone at the top for our photo moment. Of course, those youngsters immediately wanted to head back down as the clouds gusted around us. It was one of those days when you got a much better view from lower down than you did from the cloud-wrapped peak. As everyone else departed, I stayed a while to count the years before giving my heart a break for the way down, and instead let the knees take the pain.

As we sat and had some food after our climb, I did a few wee calculations just to emphasise that I had had to expend a collosal amount more energy shifting my bulk to the top and preventing that bulk from coming down too quickly on the return! Well, it made me feel better...