Aviemore: A good & a bad trip!

Who doesn't love snowy mountains? The Cairngorm Mountain in Scottish Highlands is one such place. Skiing, sledging, reindeers, serene lakes, mountain tops and snowwww! Could I be asking for more on a snow mountain trip? Little did we know there was so much more in store for us that we didn't really ask for.

We started early on a Saturday morning from Glasgow. We took the 3 hour train to Aviemore. Running through beautiful snow-clad landscapes, Scotrail ensured we had an eye-pleasing experience of the Highlands. The way we started out built up so much excitement about the whole trip that we didn't expect anything but a great outing.

We reached Aviemore station and were waiting for our bus to take us to the Cairngorm mountain top. The weather was co-operating so far and we were looking forward to reach the top. Snowstruck, thinking of rolling in the snow, making snowballs and tossing them in the air, sipping hot chocolate in the cafe watching the snowfall, sledging on snow beds. Just then the bus arrived and crashed our train of thoughts (pun intended).

To our dismay as we boarded, the driver informed us that there has been a storm warning, Storm Dennis is on it's way and the bus cannot go to the top as it would get toppled over. That sounded like one hell of a storm! The bus would only be running uptil Glenmore and that's where the lake and reindeer center was located. Well we definitely didn't intend on returning after coming all this far without seeing anything at all. Might as well visit the lake we thought. So we took the bus to Glenmore to visit Loch Morlich and the Reindeer park.

The stars just weren't in our favour that day. On reaching the reindeer center, we were informed that due to the storm a tree fell and broke the fence and all the reindeers ran away from the paddock. Fortunately no reindeer was hurt but I sure was starting to sulk.

It was 3 miles one way to the mountian top from Glenmore with a well built pedestrian path. An hour's journey on foot and it would take us to our destination. Although the bus wasn't running any further, we decided to trek our way to the mountain top. It was worth a shot, besides, cars were still going to the top so it couldn't have been that bad we presumed.

We geared up and started walking. An hour and we would be up there living the trip that we planned. Simple as that. But it has been a bumpy road up till now, what were the odds that things would start to get easier right then?

Suddenly, the weather decided to stop being so co-operative as we thought it was. It started to rain. Winds we can handle, but rain and winds for 3 miles while we weren't prepared for it? Yet that didn't bring our determination all tumbling down. It sure was starting to get difficult for what we thought would be an easy trek up but we decided to keep going. The rain got heavier and we only had so much gear to protect ourselves from it. We started getting drenched which was still acceptable. The real disaster was when our shoes couldn't withstand the rain and our socks started soaking up. Oh boy! With temperatures dropping to 6 degrees, the place wasn't getting any warmer. What a time to be wearing wet socks and shoes!

The mountain was right infront of us, and we felt so helpless standing before it. It was right there and it was just a matter of reaching the top. And moreover there was a proper path built. The only thing standing in the way was the rain.

Just then it dawned upon us. Let's hitchhike our way up and we'll descend down on foot. We decided to ask for a lift. Plenty of cars were going up. We had come far enough in the forest area that someone would definitely consider giving us a lift in the stormy weather if we asked. Quite a few cars passed us by. Some were full as they were traveling with families and some had their dogs in their baskets in the back seat. We tried our luck for 15 minutes or so when a gentleman stopped for us. He was visiting from Central London with his friends. His friends had decided to take a stroll down in the city but being an amputee he decided to pass and instead drive up to the mountain for a solitary retreat.

He let us hop into the car and drove us up to the mountain top. As we started approaching the last lap of the mountain, the thick blanket of snow on our sides had us spellbound. It was indeed a beautiful drive up! With the extended help of this kind human we managed to reach the mountain top where stood a cafe and our first instinct was Hot Chocolateee😍 I don't know if we earned it or deserved it but it definitely felt like the elixir that we just needed at the moment.

There was this machine in the cafe that turns any penny into a souvenir penny by embossing the Cairngorm on it. It is one of the most unique souvenirs I have taken back with me from a place I have traveled to.

Got ourselves a souvenir, had some hot chocolate, warmed up a bit near the fireplace, watched the snow outside. Sounds like the trip wasn't such a bust afterall?

Wait that doesn't seem right! That's too easy! Believe me when I say this, it was just getting started. The plan was to stay at the top for a while and return to the Glenmore on foot in time before the weather could get any more worse than it already was. We stepped out to click pictures. Enter - strong winds!

Sudden gusts of roughly about 90mph started blowing. For an average of winds at 10-15mph usually, 90mph was a new high! We started descending holding the railing on the mountain edge but the winds were too strong and at times we just had to cling to the railings really hard so that we wouldn't get blown away.

Just as we were getting a hang of it, adjusting our pace with the winds we realized that the railings ended abruptly further and it was an open patch on the mountain with a valley on our side that we needed to cross to get to another railing. Since we had come this far with our little adventure we decided to risk it and just as we let go of the railing the winds started propelling us forward and with the snow on ground it was all the more difficult.

The winds were so strong that we almost broke into a run that was more like sliding on the snow with a constant pressure pushing us ahead and no friction due to the snow to help us slow down. It was alright until the winds were helping us in the direction we were aiming to go even though we had no control over our movements. But things took a massive turn when the winds started driving us towards the edge of the mountain, beneath which, lied a valley so deep we couldn't see the bottom of it.

So no control over the running, nothing to grab onto to stop, no friction with the ground and hello - valley ahead! Should have really paid attention in the physics lecture!

As the edge started getting closer, my own voice was choking me so I couldn't call out for help but God bless the sudden epiphany of my presence of mind, i decided to squat and sit down while still running and dig my hands as deep as I could in the snow! That seemed to have done the trick or you wouldn't have been reading this right now!

Made our way back to the railings and back to the cafe and decided going back on foot was clearly not an option. While we waited there freezing, trying to figure out how to get back, it was about time something good finally happened. A family who was headed back to Aviemore, saw us struggling and approached us asking if we wanted a lift back and just like that - Faith in humanity restored!

We asked them to drop us at the lake as the buses were running from the lake to the train station and decided to spend some time at the lake.

Lake Morlich practically has its own beach. It is this vast expanse of water with a thick sand bed at the shore and snow clad mountains in the backdrop. The view was mesmerizing!

We took the bus back from the lake to the train station. The weather had grown colder and we were still soaked up. We decided to grab a bite at a restaurant at the station until we waited for our train to arrive. We took that opportunity to dry ourselves up near the heaters and stay warm too. We ordered food and just when we were about to finish it in time for our train there was an announcement that the train was canceled because the storm had brought in a lot of snow over the train tracks and hence they won't be running.

Wait.. What?

I thought the bad part was over! We checked the train timetable board and it showed that the current train was canceled but the next one which was an hour later did not show as canceled. We didn't have much choice but to wait for the next one but out in the cold again? We decided to stay back inside the restaurant and kept ordering food and drinks for another hour just to stay warm.

Only to find out an hour later that all the trains were canceled. Great! So we were drenched, it was cold and stormy outside, we had no spare clothes, all the stores around us had shut down and the place was starting to get deserted. What were we supposed to do? How were we to make it back home? We could only spend so much time in the restaurant, we had to leave sometime.

We tried checking with the station master but there wasn't any. The station was deserted too. By sheer stroke of luck, we found a button near the station master's office that read - Press to speak. We pressed it and we heard a voice on the other end. We told our dilemma and we were advised to go outside the station at the bus stop, as the railway authorities were running buses in compensation to the canceled trains. The only downside was the bus would halt at all the stops from Aviemore to Perth and from Perth the trains were running as per schedule so we will have to switch at Perth. It was a fair deal as long as we could go back home. Also we didn't have to pay a penny extra as we could travel by bus on our train tickets which was some relief.

We went out to the bus stop and in just about 10 minutes the bus showed up as we were told. All hail Scotrail! We hopped on and found a cozy seat. It was a semi-recliner and most importantly the heater was on max blow! We were so tired that I could have fallen asleep right away in the cozy atmosphere inside the bus but with the storm and snow the whole place had turned into a winter magicland and I didn't want to miss the beautiful views of the Highlands on this bus ride.

It was a 2 hour bus ride to Perth and the storm had hit some places so bad that they had started flooding. Yet another adventure with winds maneuvering the bus if it caught speed and massive water crossings along the way. To our relief, our bus driver was such a cheerful gentleman, he sang songs all along our journey and kept encouraging the spirits of the passengers! His job was the toughest right now and most tedious. He had to drive into every single town along the way from the highway and pick up stranded passengers and get us all to safety through the storm. As we drove through the snow terrain and started closing in on Perth city, the weather started to look better. The dark clouds started to clear up and we finally saw some sun. It was the most relieving moment of my day.

I was so grateful to see the sun after a mighty storm and to have finally returned to the city safely after a roller coaster ride. Thanks to our amazingly brave and cheerful bus driver! We reached Perth and had an hour to kill until our train to Glasgow arrived. We decided to grab a hot cup of coffee at Costa and while we charged our phones, we watched Still Game and unwinded a little.

When you have been through a tough day as this, ain't nothing like a hot cup of tea or coffee, a little warmth and some laughter!

Aviemore was A-wee-more than I expected it to be!

Aviemore Railway Station