This lovely wooden hut sits in the Balmoral Estate, and was a gift from the people of Finland to the Queen and Prince Philip for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. It contains a sitting room, kitchen, bathroom and sauna - apparently. It's a good place for a coffee and a check of the map when out walking, which we were yesterday.
We decided at the last moment to go and do a reccy of a walk we have to guide in May, during Ballater's annual Walking Festival. It's an A-B walk, and so involved dropping a car at the end of the walk before setting out. Whilst sitting having coffee here, I had the horrible thought that I'd locked hubby's car, but hadn't taken the key with me for my own car, which was parked at the end of our walk! A senior moment, we'll call it, probably due to rushing out to do the walk. Anyway, it was resolved by us splitting up at the half way point, Loch Phadruig. John went back to the start point, to get his car, and I carried on to the end and waited for him to drive up and meet me with my car key! What a couple of numpties! But the main goal was achieved. I did the whole of the walk, and it's recorded on Strava, so we know the ascents and the total distance and time required.
It was good to do a reccy for your walk in May. That will be one thing you can stress to the drivers - make sure they swap keys/take the right keys with them...
I was expecting you saying it was a false alarm & you had the key on you all the time. It does take a bit of organisation to do a walk that’s not circular. One day I might get to walk around there! Cathy & Garth are coming up in the summer to mind Jo & Barrys dogs for a few days.
I liked your story. Don’t call it a senior moment. Last summer we did a similar A-B walking but our son had forgotten the B key in the A car AND it was raining so hard that one could not walk AND Covid was raging so that hitchhiking was dangerous. He started to walk uphill and very soon (when he was already drenched to the bones) a car with two young guys stopped. They said it had happened to them too, they were both fully vaccinated and masked as was our son. So they dropped him by his car and the drama was avoided. Sometimes stories that start very badly find a happy end. Fav to your photo and story!
@pusspup Definitely not Phillip!!! However, rumour has it that the Queen will be spending more time up at Balmoral over the coming months, so who knows?!
@caterina Ha ha ... your story is basically ours. B car key in A car! However, we had sunshine and your son had good luck. Fun stories, with hindsight!
Don't worry- you are in good company. Jeff put his cell phone on top of my car by the windshield while loading his vehicle the other and then drove off. I never saw the phone sitting on top of the car, and instead of calling me on our home phone, he texted my cell phone and I never saw the text. Needless to say, a replacement cell phone has arrived and we have no idea where his old one flew off of my car into the big wide world!
