Cairngorms

Bronach and I went to the Cairngorms this weekend. We stayed at Boat of Garten, which is famed for it's collection of wild osprey. Needless to say, we didn't see any osprey, but chanced upon a herd of rabid horses:


Apparently this shifty looking equine is a highland pony, and if you aren't careful he'll have your wallet and belt without you realising it. They're canny beasts, or as a passing Highlander said "Och aye, thirr cannae wee beesties, arr".

The Cairngorms are Scotland's snowy playground, and Aviemore - just south of Boat of Garten - is a motley collection of ski resorts, alpine-themed Indian restaurants and dejected looking Japanese tourists. On the train to and from Aviemore we passed through a winter wonderland, snow as far as the eye could see, and great herds of deer and bison roaming the prairie. Unfortunately something seems to have gone wrong with this year's snow distribution, because there was hardly any at Aviemore, making a mockery of it's status as the nation's ski and snowboarding capital. It was still nut-achingly cold, though, and the local lochs (that's Scottish for 'lakes', language fans!) were frozen over.

A frozen lake, with trees.

I tried out the Pan-O-Rama software that came with the 1000D, and this is what it turned out. You can still see the joins, and I could spend hours tinkering with each individual frame to match the colour balance etc, but it's a pretty dull shot, so I won't. It's just to give you an idea of what the Cairngorms are all about. To maximise your viewing experience, I suggest you sit inside a freezer while looking at it:


Bronach took a load of pictures of me that turned out far better than the ones I took of her. Either this is testament to the Canon 1000D in 'P' mode, or she's a better photographer than me. Anyway, I'm not going to stick them up here for you to ridicule.

So, although lacking in Roman antiquities, and face-slicingly cold, the Cairngorms are heartily recommended.