Coffee Shop Munro's

Yes, you read the title right... We approached a coffee shop on the Isle of Skye thinking we were destined to be going back to Glasgow a morning later. This ended up being the plan that changed and was probably one of the most fun parts of our holiday in Scotland.

We sat in an adorable coffee shop both ordering a latte & cake, and I was convinced we would have enough time when we got back to Aviemore to do a walk in the Cairngorms. Upon researching walks, I happened upon a walk that would take us up Ben MacDui and Cairngorm Mountain.

Sarah winced at the thought of doing this that evening, she wisely said.. shall we do it the day after? A huge smile hit my face and we quickly started moving our coaches around to make time for this epic undergoing. Until finally jumping back on our trains to Aviemore from Kyle of Lochalsh.

Pot Noodle, Bread & Squeaky Beds

We booked into a larger hotel in Aviemore, it was... so... busy. Children were running around EVERYWHERE, a huge queue to check in, and harsh lighting. It was my worst nightmare being neurospicy. Sarah, being reassuring, got us through the check-in after almost an hour waiting. And yes, it was that bad... Finally, we sat onto what was the squeakiest bed. Delirious and tired we started jumping around on the bed crying with laughter over the squeak.

We unpacked our meal of a large Pot Noodle and a bread roll, got showered, in a normal shower (not a cupboard), and relaxed for the evening with foot masks on. Whilst relaxing we looked at the forecast for the mountains we were walking tomorrow and got our route downloaded.

Don't Try This at Home

Now, being more experienced this whole ordeal was probably a not-so-great idea and we should have definitely taken a much more cautious approach. We were about to walk multiple Munros, with 0 equipment on us, just the clothes we were wearing and water in hand.

So I would say we got lucky, but lesson learned, and let's carry on with the fun stuff.

We awoke after a terrible night's sleep in the loudest hotel in history, and at a breakfast of sad instant oats, but with a spring in our step we got ready, handed our bags to reception, and went to wait for the bus.

The bus arrived and what a picturesque journey this was... I and Sarah had never experienced the Cairngorms before, it was so beautiful. Time passed and here we were at Cairngorm Ski Resort, where our hike started.

There's Snow?

Both being unaware of the Scottish Climate, we started our walk, the sun was shining but it wasn't long until we started to notice snow...

Which then turned into snow paths and more snow. I was so shocked I didn't think it snowed much in the UK, so seeing snow part way up a mountain at the start of April seemed barmy to me.

We didn't have crampons, hiking poles, etc that would be useful for walking in snow, but we saw others carrying on up in similar attire to ourselves, so we cracked on.

The views were outstanding all the way up, I couldn't believe I was in the UK, it was so intense, with mountains in every direction covered in snow, glistening in the sun. I had completely fallen in love.

Ben MacDui

After some fairly easy path walking and some sketchy moments across the snow. We made it all the way up to the summit. The summit of Ben Macdui, which is the second-highest peak in the UK. We both celebrated with a chocolate bar & a sit down taking in the views. It wasn't too busy at the peak so we made the time to just enjoy the views.

This was certainly the best peak view I had ever experienced so far... until the moment was ruined by the buzzing of a drone. (hehe)

We slowly made our way back down the steep snow-covered path hoping not to land on our butts and started the walk over to Cairngorm, by this point the sun had started to melt the snow, which changed how easy the walk was, we were now trudging along in melty snow.

Every foot sank deep. It was slow, but our momentum was high, we played around running, petting random dogs until eventually, it felt like this walk over in deep melting snow would never end. Sarah ran off ahead, to try and get it over with quicker, while I slowly walked on.

Are we nearly there yet?

We reached more solid ground, with a lack of snow, and oh how we were grateful. This side of the mountains was much busier with people, lots of people coming from Cairngorm. With the lack of snow on this side you could really see the beauty of the mountains. They were so rugged and wonderful to look at. We eventually noticed a steep hill that would take us to the top of Cairngorm mountain, both absolutely shattered, we begrudgingly started the final ascent.

Cairngorm, and the never-ending path home.

Atop Cairngorm, we took a moment to really take in the breath-taking views, this Munro, although shorter felt much harder to get atop, but it was worth it. I took an adorable photo of Sarah.

Once we were ready, we started the path down. This was covered in snow and ice, and now we realised how silly we had been to come unprepared ... to make matters worse, the rope had been removed for repairs, and when we left the path the man working the repairs would tell us off. So, we proceeded sticking to the scary icy path, taking each step slowly. At one point, I almost had a meltdown because it got so steep and was so slippy. We however were not the only ones suffering, I distinctly remember seeing someone in flip flops coming up. So I hope they managed to get down okay.

Eventually, we made it down to the ski center that was close to the top of Cairngorm, and from here, the path became easy again, but this time... never ending.

We walked so fast but the path just never seemed to end, the views were great don't get us wrong... but at this point, we just wanted to get back so we didn't miss our bus to Glasgow. Hence the lack of photos, we were running out of time.

Taxi? Taxi please?

After what felt like an eternity, we were back at Cairngorm Carpark, after having a quick selfie in the loos. We started the impossible task of trying to book a taxi, turns out taxi drivers are not keen on heading up here. We eventually managed to convince a taxi, and 20 minutes later we were on the road back to Aviemore.

On the route, we stopped off at the hotel to collect our belongings (don't worry we did not forget them)

Danielle then went to the chippy and got herself a well-deserved chip bap with curry sauce, Sarah got herself a fancy meal deal and we awaited the bus to Glasgow. The bus was the end of our adventure.

But what an adventure it had been.

The bus back to South Wales began. I had never been both so tired but also so fulfilled from a holiday before and thus the addiction to Scotland and hiking in general began.