Day 9 - Aviemore parkrun and Osprey Centre

Finally our holiday has come to an end and this will be my last post. We are now safely back in Burley in Wharfedale, after a mammoth six and a half hour journey back. I was very relieved to have taken the Monday off work too, to be able to recover and get ourselves organised

Looking back at Saturday, the morning was pretty much the same weather outlook as the rest of the week, but it improved extremely quickly.

Weather outlook this morning

I was out the door at about 8:30am to cycle down to the parkrun which has recently set up in Aviemore. I had volunteered to help them out, and for some reason they had asked us to be there for 8:45am, when the run didn't start until 9:30am. I got down fairly easily and located the group in the car park as instructed.


I was able to chat to quite a few people before the start. In the end they insisted I run the course rather than be a tail runner. The competitive side in me came through, and I finished a comfortable second, out of about 40 runner. This one young lad was off after the first few hundred metres and I barely saw him thereafter. I took this lovely photo of the timekeepers after I'd finished.

Finish line at parkrun

After we were all finished we headed to a nearby cafe for coffee afterwards. I spent another hour or so with the group before heading off to the RSPB centre for their event for the Get Together. Before I left, the parkrun were using the parking and cafe on a new industrial estate at the outskirts of Aviemore. I noticed a very new looking fudge shop across the road, so I went in to chat to the owner and order some fudge to take back with me for work.

Counter at fudge shop

I stopped by the bridge over the river Spey for a breather and to take some more photos.

View of river Spey

My "new" (aka second hand) brompton

I eventually got to the Osprey centre around lunch time. I was pleased to see the bike parking right outside the entrance booth. I paid my entry fee and headed over to the little gazebo for the event. No-one else was there unfortunately (probably a little early), other than two RSPB volunteers. I chatted to them for a while, I had my free drink too, and then ventured inside to have a look around. Unfortunately the Osprey chicks died this year so there wasn't too much to see inside.

Inside Osprey centre

Outside Osprey centre and stall for Get Together event

I set off back to the lodge. By now it was blue skies and sunshine. I'd already been outside for most of the morning, and there was also quite a strong headwind which was slowing me down considerably. At about half way back, I phoned Kathryn to ask if she could come pick me up. I hadn't put any sunblock on so could feel my skin starting to get a bit sore.

View from roadside whilst awaiting lift

When I got back, me and Kathryn went off for lunch at the Rothiemurchus cafe, which was just down the road. For some reason I didn't take a photo. We sat outside and I had a nice steak and mustard roll, and Kathryn had something that I can't remember.
We got back at packed the car a bit, we popped to the Woodshed bar for a quick drink and then went to get pizzas for dinner. We watched the final few episodes of House of Cards on netflix before going to bed.