Saturday 18 May 2024 - Alness parkrun and a trip to Braemar

After an hour and a quarter in the car from Ullapool, we easily found a jolly band of 72 parkrunners in Alness, on the eastern coast.

It was a lovely 5km course.

"And they're off!"

Through woodland, then a riverside section.

 

All the way to the end of a wartime pier that stretches into the Cromarty Firth.

This is the turnaround point, with a bollard called Eileen.

Full results are here - Sue and I were pretty slow after our energetic week in Ullapool. 

After that, coffees and brunch in the Picante café, with some very friendly runners, before restocking in Inverness and heading to Braemar via Tomintoul and a pause to admire the scenery.

Thornbank Cottage awaited our arrival, and Simon, the owner, turned up for some chicken tartiflette and an evening of wine and natter.

In Braemar I bumped into 84 year old Jean Turner, and rather younger David Brown from Baltimore. Unlike a number of much younger TGO Challengers, the heat had not caused them to retire from the event!

No WiFi here, so it's back to basic diary entries for a few days.