March Madness

Well, I was scratching my head to remember what my March adventures were like, then Susan kindly found these photos to remind me!
I wasn't allowed to join in the fun and games of the Hen Weekend, which by the smell involved lots of girly pampering. And I decided I was safer staying in the bag for Crufts - far too many crazy people and dogs for my liking!
I thought that would be us all travelled out for a bit, but the end of March saw Susan packing her bags again for another trip north. This time she was going to be Bridesmaid at her friend Adie's wedding, and I know she was really looking forward to wearing the shoes I helped her pick out in Chester. For some reason, she decided to make a "holiday" of it and went up a week before she was needed - something about being on hand if anyone needed help last minute. As it was, the wedding plans were going smoothly, so she had a week off and we planned a few adventures!
Her mum suggested a drive up Glen Coe to see the snow, and maybe do some photo shoots with the dogs. I tagged along as I've never been to this really impressive landscape before. We stopped at a lay-by to take some photos, and I struck a pose away from the edge of the waterfall (it looked cold!) Susan's new puppy, Wish was also wanting to have photos taken, so Susan decided to pose with us both while her mum took some photos. It was very nice, and we attracted a bit of attention from other drivers as they went past on the main road.

Next stop was the turn off for Glen Etive, which stretches all the way back to Oban almost! We didn't go down the road, but Susan wanted to take some photos of the Sianworth Show Team posing with Buchaile Etive Mhor in the background, one of the most photographed mountains in the UK. While her mum was getting the dogs ready, I snuck a quick shot at the mountain, which was very impressive with all the snow. We had to be careful with the dogs, as there were some deer around and they make for a good chase.
Now, I love Susan's dogs, and I like to think they like me too. But I'm not so fond of this new young upstart she has! I was sitting admiring the view, minding my own business when she grabbed me from behind and proceeded to prance around like a loony. After Susan managed to stop laughing, she retrieved me from the jaws of this demonic dog and carried on with the photo shoot, keeping me nearby to protect me. Unfortunately, Wish had other ideas. She must have been hungry because the amount of drool on my fur was worse than when I have my annual bath, and I was worried that I might have icicles!

After retrieving me for the third, or maybe the fourth time, I decided to stay in the van while Susan finished taking photos. Her mum thought I would have made a good distraction for the dogs, as she'd left their toys at home... HMPH! Good to know that I'm useful!
The drive home was nice though, with some spectacular scenery to drive past. I took up my usual position in the front of the van and really enjoyed the view.

A few days later, Susan persuaded her brother Tom to take us for another road trip, this time heading north east to the Cairngorms. Unfortunately, when we got there it was raining quite heavily so we made a short stop for buying postcards then headed to Boat of Garten, where we had a lovely lunch at the The Osprey Cafe, run by her friend and ex landlord from University.
Then it was back on the road, following an old Military Road that Tom thought would be good to drive. I'm not sure Susan understands his passion for cars, but I think she enjoyed herself. I saw lot's of wildlife but didn't like to ask if we could slow down, just a little bit, to get a better view. After a while, Susan recognised where we were and asked that we go for a short detour to visit the Linn of Dee, a favourite hunting ground of Queen Victoria's. There is a really nice river with some pretty waterfalls, so we stopped at the top car park and went for a stroll.
After the storms, a few of the trees had been felled, so I got a bit distracted counting the rings on this old tree - I reckon it was well over 100 years old!


On our way back to the main road, Susan decided to post the postcards she'd bought at Aviemore, and because she is part of a large community of "postcrossers", she decided to get Tom to take a photo. I must say that I quite enjoy helping her to choose and write cards for people around the world, and love reading the back of all the postcards we get back. She has even put me on some, so I seem to be travelling even when I'm tucked up in bed! Maybe she will use some of these photos for her next personal postcard.


 Tom has a nice car (despite Susan calling it an old banger because it's as old as he is!), but unfortunately it doesn't have a Simon seat, so for me to watch the view, I needed Susan to hold me up. I think she kept snoozing, as I missed quite a lot of the breathtaking landscapes, but she woke up around Glen Shee and remembered to take some photos.  Despite all the snow at Glen Coe just a few days before, the snow cover here wasn't really enough for skiing so the slopes were quiet. Susan said that a few years ago she saw Snow Buntings and Ptarmigan up here, but there was nothing but deer on this occasion.

There was some argument about the best route home, but as Tom was the driver, he decided and took us on a very nice road past another landmark that Queen Victoria would have visited, namely Queen's View, just outside Pitlochry.

It's quite a view from the viewpoint and I was getting a little dizzy from the height. After a couple of photos, I thought it might be a good idea to move away from the edge and sit on the information rock, but came over feeling all weird and ended up taking a tumble! 

Thankfully, Tom doesn't hate me as much as I thought he did, and he helped me back up again, before giving me some tips to overcome this sudden onset of vertigo. I was thankful for the tips, as the setting sun made this a really beautiful place to spend the evening. Part of me didn't want to leave this amazing place, but we needed dinner so decided to get on our way.

Oh, and I can't believe it's taken this long for Susan to get a photo of me at the World Famous Pink Shop that is in her village!