Firstly, may I wish you all a:
Sorry – the content of this particular post should be much less cringeworthy from here on.
So, from the title and picture, I hope you have guessed I greeted 2019 up in Scotland: the Cairngorms to be specific. Way back in Summer, when I was giving absolutely no thought whatsoever to late December, I saw an advert in a magazine I get, Woman Alive, for a New Year break at a Christian-run activity centre in Scotland. If you read of my exploits in Northumberland, back in August, you can imagine how much I fancied going anywhere like that ever again – leaky showers, uncomfortable beds, chips and pizza on the menu most days…..not a welcome thought. And yet, God has His way of nagging; he also likes the last laugh I have discovered. And so, I ended up booking for this 4-night break in a place I’d never ever intended visiting and wondering how much I could stomach a menu of haggis pizza. Well, not to put too fine a point on it – I LOVED IT 🙂 It was more like a lovely country house break [apart from the bunk beds, but I did have a room to myself – almost].
[Please don’t tell them I sneaked in an extra guest]
To give you an idea of where the place is, these pics might help?
When I did book, I hadn’t realised just how far up north the place is, but they were happy to collect me from Aviemore station which made it very convenient. I arrived half way through the evening meetings they have, called The Mix, which are a mixture of daft games, information about the next day’s activities [Latvian Logistics*], prayer and worship and teaching. The games involved all types of things – bashing each other’s trays with a newspaper, getting a ping-pong ball moved with a straw and … duvet covers:
In this game, we had to guess what sport the person inside the cover was miming; Anta, who is the amazing co-ordinator from *Latvia, had some very good suggestions for sports to mime; my guesses weren’t very good at all 😦
The theme of the teaching over the 4 nights was Overlooked Bible Characters. We learned about Barabbas, Bathsheba, the kings Hezekiah and Omri, and lastly Barnabas. 
The speaker for the event, Gavin, was a wealth of knowledge – it’s amazing what you can learn from the lesser-known characters; each one has their story which is still relevant today.
Ok, so did I join in any activities? Yes – though nothing too strenuous I must confess. I went on a walk round Loch Morlich, which has the highest beach in the UK we were informed. It’s a beautiful beach, but much as I love swimming I wasn’t tempted this time [though there was one brave woman having a dip. brrrr]. I also tried my hand at archery [small bow, nice close targets, but I was still amazed I hit them]. There is a lovely swimming pool, which I DID test, loads of walks in the grounds and surrounding woods and photo opportunities at every turn. For the more adventurous, they have a dry ski slope, a climbing wall, a zip-wire, kayaking, an assault course, bushcraft….far more than you could fit into one short break. I, personally, did enjoy the walk into the local village, Nethybridge. Just over a mile of lovely scenery with a wonderful cafe, Nethy House, at the end of it. You can also walk by the River Nethy [which I did] and in Summer there’s an osprey centre not far away too. I am very tempted to try to return in warmer weather. A swim in the loch and the chance to see ospreys sounds magical.
I did actually see a large flock of bramblings [a lady who was also watching told me what they were] and I might have seen a crossbill but can’t be certain. It’s certainly a good place for bird-watching.
Now, as for the programme of events. Each evening they put up lists of what activities are available the next day [these are also explained in the Latvian Logistics] as many have limited spaces available. These are charged separately but all good value IMHO. You are totally free to have a go or just do your own thing, there’s no pressure whatsoever. On the Sunday morning [30th] those who wanted to were given lifts to the local church in Nethybridge. It was a lovely little church which we packed to the rafters. During the service we sang Happy Birthday to a young man who had turned 10 that day and he was informed that 261 people were singing to him.
After that it was back for a lovely dinner and then I went on the walk round Loch Morlich. It’s easy to forget just how dark areas like that can get – we finished our walk in twilight but already it was getting a little scary. Living in even a small town you just presume there’ll be street lights etc. Total dark wilderness is something else indeed.
Every evening there’s cakes laid on around 4.30, tea is around 6.30 and after The Mix they give you more cakes at 9ish. There’s also a tuck shop if you get peckish each evening and a permanent help-yourself fruit selection, not to mention all the tea and coffee you could want. They cater for gluten-free diets, vegetarians, dairy free, and this particular weekend there was even one guest who was allergic to tap water – yes, they catered for her in their cooking too.
New Year’s Eve morning was when I did my Robin Hood thing, though braver ones then went to do some crate-climbing. I decided a nice sit down with my book and a brew was in order. I actually spent a lot of time sitting in a chair I ‘adopted’ with brews and books – very nice indeed.
New Year’s Eve itself saw a really nice meal followed by The Mix and then a Ceilidh in the sports hall. I did do one dance but the great outdoors was tantalising, even in the cold. There’s something addictive about the taste of pure fresh air! One very important tradition at Abernethy, apparently, is having a game of Knights, Cavaliers and Horses. It’s ridiculous, quite athletic and – to my way of thinking – more fun to watch than play 🙂 Go Google it. Half way through the dancing we were given chips [in case we hadn’t eaten enough] and then there was hot chocolate and shortbread just after midnight, followed by fireworks on the front lawn.
Next morning was very lazy; late breakfasts and many sleepy people lolling around [though some keen ones were off to do various energetic things again. ] That afternoon there was a crazy Hootenanny involving team games and gingerbread houses, but I decided to walk into Nethybridge and, yes, I went to the amazing cafe there. I was actually surprised it was open on New Year’s Day but was so glad it was. Feeling as though I’d eaten rather too many cakes recently, I opted for a cheese scone and it was utterly delicious. So much so, I went back the next day half way through my walk by the river to double check the standards hadn’t slipped!
That evening it was Gala Buffet night. The food had been really good all through, but this was something else. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been to such a spread in my life. There was hot carved meat with all the trimmings, piles of home-made bread and nibbles, salads, pastries and a huge array of cakes and puddings. They invite loads of extra guests for this annual event and the place was packed. To us Brits, Jan 1st is, if anything, time to recover from New Year’s Eve and grumble about the telly, but up in Scotland it’s like the biggest day of the year.
[I was too busy being amazed to take many photos, sorry]
The final day, 2nd Jan, most people left to return home but I had decided to stay another night. Train fares were silly on the 2nd – probably cos it’s still a bank holiday in Scotland. There were about 15 of us staying on so I didn’t quite have the whole place to myself but it was nice to hear the peace and quiet. Loads of children had been for New Year and, although it was lovely to see them all having so much fun, it was easier to read quietly when most had gone home. This day I had decided to sped walking more. I started by going up into the forest a bit and then headed down into the village again to explore the trails by the river. Up til now the temperature had actually been very mild, but today it had dropped sharply. Worrying my nose might fall off with frostbite I took refuge in the Nethy House cafe again – I like my nose! On the way back up to the house for the last time I took some photos to try to show the space and beauty everywhere:
And..I even took a selfie!!!
Thank you so much to all the staff and team at Abernethy, I certainly hope to be back sometime in the not-too-distant future.
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/loch-morlich-p315691
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/rspb-scotland-loch-garten-osprey-centre-p253771
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/brambling
The Travelling Hamster 