Hi everyone
Just wanted
to tell you all about our fabulous weekend in Plockton,
which was a real epic in that we actually got to FLY!!!
Gordon and
I decided to make a real break of it, and to make trailering
the plane worthwhile, so we arranged hangarage
through the nice chaps at Connel Airfield, Oban and spent three nights there. We stayed at our
old haunt, The Holly Tree Hotel in Kentallen, which
is about half an hour's drive north of the airfield and which we try to go to
every year for our anniversay - ahhhh!
Wednesday
was a washout, weather-wise, so we cycled and walked that day, but Thursday was
a really beautiful day and we flew out to the
Got back to
Connel to find that Mike Forsyth had flown in, with
his folding bike in the passenger seat, and had taken off for a B&B in Oban called the Wide Mouthed Frog or something.... Mike
never does things the 'normal' way!
Mike and
Gordon got together on Friday and took off to to fly
to Plockton in less than ideal conditions, which
improved steadily the further north they got. I drove up and arrived
shortly after them (they left a long time after me!) and were happy to meet up
with George Addison, Ali Gannon and Chris Elder who had been in Plockton for a few days. Cyril and Katherine
Richardson had arrived the previous day and Mark Macrae
had driven up on his motorbike and Jonathan Helm in his car. Bert Barrott then arrived, having flown up from East Fortune -
well done, Bert! It was shaping up to be a good night....! Booked
into the B&B and then hit the Plockton Hotel
where Mark very kindly bought a bottle of champagne for us, since that day was
our 5th wedding anniversay. Thanks again, Mark
- that was really nice of you.
Off the
Rails - without doubt the best restaurant in Plockton
- was the venue for a delicious dinner, then on to the Plockton
Inn for whisky...... so the grape and the grain had been well and truly
mixed and yes, we had hangovers the next morning.
We had
decided that, whatever the weather (within reason) we were going walking on
Saturday and Jonathan Helm (another keen walker) came along with us. We
went up a hill called The Saddle which has a slightly tricky ridge called the Forcan Ridge, which involves quite a bit of scrambling (ie using hands as well as feet to get about!). By the
time we got to the foot of the ridge it was blowing about 30-40mph and it was
pretty unpleasant up there, hanging on for dear life. Got to the top and
back safely, though I was pretty knackered by the time we got back to the
car. I heard this week that two women lost their lives on the Forcan Ridge last month - one having been blown off in
strong winds - glad I didn't know that before we went.
Got back to
Plockton to find that Gary Wood and his wife Linda
had flown up from East Fortune! In 30-40mph winds! They had had a
very 'interesting' flight - I never want to do anything that 'interesting'
myself - ever! Linda doesn't want to repeat it either! But they
made it and I'm sure they really enjoyed their wee sherries
that night! Alistair Kinnear also arrived, but
in his car - sensible chap!. Another night in
Off the Rails but Gordon, Jonathan and I were very quiet - ready for bed
after our big day. The Forsyth family (Mike, Kim & Stuart) joined us
for dinner that night, having spent the previous night on Skye, walking up the
Old Man of Storr at midnight and then swimming naked
in 'fairy pools' the next day - no, I don't really know either, but I did say
that Mike doesn't do things the 'normal' way!
Sunday was
another lovely day, so Gordon and I flew over Skye in the morning and then
later on, when everyone else had gone, went for an extra flight up to Glen Shiel where we had been walking the previous day.
What a wonderful flight! Over The Saddle and the Forcan
Ridge, across to the North Glen Shiel Ridge where we
had walked last year with Graeme Ritchie and Bill and Moran Swan, and down the
Five Sisters of Kintail, where we hope to walk next
year! It was stunning! Down over Eilean Donan castle and low up the loch there - the air was
smooth as silk and it was a perfect end to a lovely holiday. Back to Plockton, derigged and had the
hellish drive back avoiding the
For the
record, both Bert and Gary/Linda flew back to East Fortune safely on the Sunday
- everyone else trailered. So a great weekend
with no mishaps - perfect!
Already
looking forward to next year! Hope even more of you can come up - those
of you who've just got or are about to get your licences,
it really makes all the hard work and money you expend getting that bit of
paper worth while - flying on the west coast is simply breathtaking!
We're going to ask Graeme Ritchie to put some of our very substandard photos on
the website to give you a taster of our weekend. Sorry to lower the tone,
Graeme!
Back to
normal again now, and we've just had a call to say that Gordon has been given a
cancellation on Tuesday for an operation he's been waiting for months to hear
about - a hernia repair (not surprising he's got a hernia - all the heavy stuff
he's always lifting) and so he's going to be out of action for a while, I'm
afraid. Those of you with lessons in the near future I will have to
contact when we've heard how long he's going to be unfit to work. Those
wanting solo supervision, I'm sure he will be at the airfield quite a bit doing
whatever he can that doesn't involve doing very much - he's been looking
forward to having a go on the new grass-cutter, so this sounds like the time
for that. Otherwise, George will be around to cover you, I'm sure.
He'll get back to flying as soon as humanly possible - pulling the plane in and
out of the hangar and refuelling will have to be done
by others though. I'll do what I can but I find the 912s pretty heavy
myself, I have to confess.
One more
thing - Strathaven Airfield
We have had
a notice from Strathclyde Gliding Club who operate
(at present) from Strathaven Airfield.
Apparently as from 31st August the airfield will be closed for maintenance and
no arrivals or departures will be permitted until further notice.
OK, that's
it for now, folks.
See you
soon!
Jill &
Gordon