Wow time really does fly! Its November, only 5 and a half weeks to Christmas and nearly 7 weeks since the Loch Ness marathon!

What have I been up to?  Well, I took some time out (a week of slow walking and bumping down stairs on my bum because I couldn’t walk down them after the marathon) and gave up serious training for a while.  However, I have 2 dogs to exercise daily so I have not turned into a couch potato I can assure you!  I’ve been out jogging a couple of times for short runs but haven’t recorded anything on my app to prove it!

I climbed a 3,576 ft (1,090 m) mountain – Stob Ghabhar on the 12th October.

Stob Ghabhar from Loch Tulla

It was the sunniest day in October, blue skies and freezing temperatures up high.  The gentle incline on the way up the valley was followed by a slippery scramble up the rocky buttress (where my brothers dog whined with fear!) then the exhilarating walk across the short but very exposed Aonach Eagach ridge before a nice walk round the path and up to the summit next to a stunning cliff face.  The shorter steeper decent was chilly as the sun got lower in the skies and to our amazement a lone stag watched us walk out on the road next to the river and he was only 100 metres from us (thankfully Candy was upwind of him otherwise we might have lost her to the chase!).

Stob Ghabhar Summit view from top of the buttress next to Aonach Eagach ridge

View of the Buachaille from the road

Looking back down the valley we had just walked up (on the way to Stob Ghabhar)

Stob Ghabhar Summit looking across from below the buttress

Rannoch Moor

Just last weekend, despite the weather, we jumped on a ferry to the island of Great Cumbrae (otherwise known as Millport) and turned right off the ferry slip and walked 13 miles anticlockwise around the coast road.

It was another cold day and the dogs were glad of their new smart rain jackets:

Winnie and Candy in their smart winter coats

So what’s next? I am looking for 2014 challenges… Feel free to make some suggestions!