Sharpshooters

Hugh is an expert marksman and he and Alison have often taken James and me to go clay pigeon shooting at the Rothiemurchus Estate. We went there again this morning and it was brilliant. It's very well organised and Hugh quickly chose the shot cartridges that we needed, and we kitted ourselves out with protective glasses and ear defenders. The setting in the forest is lovely and Hugh and Alison took us to the various shooting bays. After a poor start I rather got into my stride and managed to shoot a few clays, making them explode in the air in a very satisfactory manner! James was on very good form and easily surpassed me. The real star of the show however is Hugh; it's a pleasure watching someone doing a sport that they love, and he is also very helpful and patient when giving us instruction. He successfully shot nearly every clay out of the air, even the challenging double shots, when you shoot at a clay in the air and then one bouncing along the ground in very quick succession. Today Hugh showed me how to load and empty the chamber of the rifle myself, which made me feel quite professional! It was great fun. 

Also in the morning we went on the "triangular" walk nearby, an easy hour and a half walk which is an old favourite, with fantastic views of the Cairngorms. James and Alison were able to point out the peaks that they scaled on Friday.

During both our walk and the clay pigeon shooting the weather was warm and mostly sunny, and a bit breezy - very summery and pleasant. So imagine our surprise as we drove south in the afternoon to encounter very high winds and bursts of heavy rain! When we got home the trees in the garden were being blown about mightily, because their branches were so heavy in the wind with all their summer leaves on them. It was so wild that James even drove along the road to collect Grandma for tea in case she was blown over during her walk to here!