Linn of Tummel car park, Pitlochry, Perthshire

What a relief, the night passed without a hoolie blowing and just a little rain. Although we didn't want to leave the island of Mull, we knew we'd made the right decision. Life in Marge when it was so wet, day after day, did not make for comfortable living, or good relations. Before leaving this morning, Angela walked up to the castle, the shifting light making for some fantastic photographs of the mountains.

To park at the castle a fee of ten pounds was payable, but no one came to collect it, so a result there. We needed to make a plan, if only a loose one. A thirty minute drive took us to the Green Welly Stop at Tyndrum, which if anyone is interested, is for sale due to the present owners retiring. Tyndrum is on the West Highland Way, route. When we arrived there were quite a few walkers there, most quite young. They looked, a sorry bunch, and we felt for them. Some looked broken. Tired, emotional, wet and deflated with nasty blisters. Being young they had physical energy, but with age comes resilience, which they were lacking. But who were we to judge, we'd opted out of doing the walk because of the weather, at least these guys were giving it a go. Tomorrow's weather in Scotland is going to be amazing, and we hope this dry sunny day will give these young walkers the boost they deserve to complete the walk, they still have forty six miles to go. After looking at the weather forecast the next few days, we decided not to drive south towards England, but over to the eastern side of Scotland. Rain showers passed over us on the way, but the sun broke the cloud just as much. The air felt fresher, and the light seemed brighter with the cloud higher in the sky.

So after a quick stop at Killin to see the Falls of Dochart we drove in the direction of Pitlochry. Three years ago we were able to park in the town centre car park, but due to the few, not behaving correctly, all vans are now banned. So the nearest free spot is at the Falls of Tummel car park, which is proving to be very popular. Marge even got to meet a fellow pop-top Landrover Defender, from Germany.

Tonight, we are quite the mix of travellers, English and German. It seems a little strange now being away from the coast, but for John, this area is one of his happy places, there are fungi to be foraged, and eaten, some Amathys Deceivers to go into his breakfast omelette. As we sit tonight all cosy in Marge with our heater to warm us, we think of the walkers we saw earlier. You've got this, just think of the achievement you'll feel when you reach Fort William.

Don't try one of these at home, the aptly named Death Cap mushroom, guaranteed death as the name implies over an extended period unless you can arrange an emergency liver transplant! Very pretty, but please leave it alone.

Grandtully Station Campsite, Pitlochry, Perthshire. (Day 4)

Today we knew we'd be getting wet. Rain was forecast and we could no longer put off the fact we had to practice some rescue techniques.

A short drive up the road at Aberfeldy, where after some instruction we took to the river. Angela could see the water to her running quite fast, although she was reassured the flow was not too bad. She also did not like the look of the nearby 'bubbling' water. Oh dear! After much reassurance by David, we were in our boats and on the water. David has been very calm and patient with us all through the course, particularly a nervous Angela. He coaxed her gently into following his lead down the river with its obstacles. Once she decided to opt out watching him and John take on something a little more adventurous.

We were cold, but happy. After lunch the finale. Into the cold water, not very deep, but quite deep enough for Angela, we practiced some rescue and recovery. The assisted rescue was not as easy as David made it look. Haul yourself onto the boat, roll to one side, drop in your seat. Work in progress. We would need to practice back home in Poole harbour. 

Job done though. We now had 'most of the gear, and a bit more idea', than when we started three days ago. We also realised that we did not really need our sit on top kayaks back at home and that our pack rafts would suffice. With David's instruction and knowledge we leave Scotland a little more confident. The downside of the day, we have a lot of wet clothing to try and dry.

There is a white water slalom competition here on the river this weekend, so there are plenty of other people drying clothing. Marge's shower room has been turned into a drying room, so hopefully by tomorrow we will not have too much damp clothing to pack up. What do you think Marge? Shall we start heading back home tomorrow? Before we leave we just want David to know how incredibly grateful we are to him for the last few days. If you fancy having a go at packrafting or other outdoor pursuits take a look at his website. www.emmaus-adventure.co.uk 

Grandtully Station Campsite, Pitlochry, Perthshire. (Day 3)

This morning David arrived bearing gifts. Who doesn't like pain chocolate?  We sat in Marge for a while discussing weather, tides, kayaking/pack rafting, and as the wind was not favourable today the options for getting out on the water. It was decided that Killin would be the best choice as the river Dochart flows into LochTay there and the trees alongside the river would provide some shelter from the wind.

Angela hadn't felt well when she went to bed the night before, and this morning she still had a headache. By the time she'd travelled to Killin sitting in the backseat of David's car she felt terrible, and upon arrival at the car park vomited. Nice. She decided to give the practical side of the day a miss.

John however launched into the windy conditions and paddled along the river towards Loch Tay, stopping to look at a beaver lodge on one of the small islands.

 Evidence of their presence could be seen on nearby trees where they'd sharpened their teeth. High in the sky, Angela spotted an eagle, riding the thermals before disappearing back towards the mountains. 

Tomorrow will be our last day on the course. Heavy rain is forecast for our paddle over the rapids. Grade one for Angela please, she can be a little sicky you know!

Grandtully Station Campsite, Pitlochry, Perthshire. (Day 2)

This morning anxiety levels were still high, but after a fractious nights sleep Angela decided to take to the water with an open mind, albeit a little nervously. All her fears were soon alleviated when we met with David from Emmaus Adventure.

He straight away put us at ease and we could tell the day would go well. Which it did. The only struggle was fitting into our wetsuits, bought a long time ago when we were a little slimmer. We ran through the self rescue, the part of the course that Angela was most bothered about and decided to wait until Friday to actually participate, although Angela did manage to fall out of her boat as we returned to the car. Show off! She can hear you laughing, Marge.

Back at the campsite, where there are just four of us staying tonight we grilled steak whilst admiring the beautiful display of thousands of Wood Anemones. Rabbits, unaware of our presence, happily nibbled on lush green shoots. 

We are tired tonight, hoping to sleep a little better before we 'do it all again tomorrow'.

Grandtully Station Campsite, Pitlochry, Perthshire.

We took the opportunity this morning to lay in, as the next three mornings require an early 7 am start. Whilst preparing to leave, a large motorhome reversed in next to us. He's going to reverse into that rock.

Oh, he's hit that rock! Don't look. Better the rock than his wife who dutifully took her place in the blind spot behind the van when her husband moved to another space to assess the damage.

Talking with the two lady members of staff at the visitor centre about reptiles in the area resulted in us being shown the resident slow worm (living under a small square of roofing felt behind the centre). There's a blast from the past, when everyone had one in their back garden, or so it seemed.

We were about two hours drive from Grandtully, a drive that thanks to a road closure ended up taking twice as long. The drive through the eastern Cairngorms mountains was long, hard and interesting.

After Marge summited the Glenshee high mountain pass at 650 metres we stopped to take a breath. The snow was almost now non existent and we could easily see the ski lifts standing idle. In the early 1960's the road was straightened out to by-pass the devil's elbow with its notorious two hair pin bends. Prior to this, buses used to drop off their passengers who had to walk this section.

Right Marge, rest time. No driving now until Friday. We will stay at the Grandtully Station campsite, (yes an old railway station) until Friday. The next three days we will be packrafting. Angela's anxiety is high about having to do the self rescue, but she'll just have to bear in mind that the thought of doing something, is often worse than actually doing it.