Isle of Skye

This year we decided to escape for the Christmas break, although as the weather worsened prior to Christmas we were regretting planning such a long drive! We woke on the 24th to blizzards in Yorkshire and a recommendation not to travel, so we set off anyway. Yorkshire had the worst of it and by the time we hit the M6 the weather and the roads were clear. We made the cottage by tea time and well ready for a trip to the local.

Christmas Day -  With blurry eyes we dragged ourselves out of bed and into the car, our goal was Blabheinn before Christmas dinner!
The car thermometer showed -7C and as the sun came up there was not a cloud in the sky. The going was slow and as we headed up to the first corrie, plenty of snow, big patches of ice on the path and loads of hoar frost. Hoar frost crystals are created by vapour rising up from layers of deposited snow and then freezing on the surface, quite rare and very beautiful, also a precursor to a high avalanche risk when more snow falls on top! We reached the summit at 2.30pm and were treated to some of the most stunning views I have ever seen in Scotland. We could see as far as Assynt in the North, Rum in the West and the Nevis range in the South East. One problem! It was too cold to loiter and now we were all thinking about Christmas dinner! So down we went, powder snow cushioning every step. Just time for a pint of Red Cuillin in the pub, dinner was cooked and eaten by 8pm, what a day!

A big thanks do Dolly and Frank for sorting the accommodation.

Looking forward to the next trip!

Simon

Road to Dalby

Sunday 20thDec: Just back from a most fun day out! Santa Phil and myself met up with Cliftoner’s, Reindeer Steph, Reindeer Pete, Santa Rich and Santa Alex, for a mountain bike ride in Dalby Forest.

Santa Phil

We all braved the most extreme weather we have all seen in a long time. On the way out the cars thermometer was showing -13C and the roads were white over. Our meeting point of the top car park in Dalby was unattainable low profile rubber did not offer enough grip to get up the hill out of Thornton. We all re-grouped at the bottom of the hill and set off to cycle up the hill the cars failed on. One wheel drive won the day and we got to Low Dalbya short time later. We headed deeper into the forest with little difficulty whilst the snow stayed thin, as soon as we hit the axle deep stuff we had had it! Off and push.

Reindeer Pete

Lucky for us under the trees the snow stayed thin and me generally made good progress if a little slow, the downhills were fantastic, carving through deep fresh snow, just like skiing if you could remember were the berms were under the snow. Even falling off didn’t hurt! Bonus!

Which way now!

We made it back to Thornton by 2.30pm a little less frozen than we started off and with an average speed enough to make any roadie envious! 4mph Not bad I say in the these conditions.

Great ride, great day, looking forward to the next one.

Simon

PS. next time you see Phil ask him why he has a pink saddle!