This morning the weather was a mix of sunshine and showers, and we decided to take the steam train from Boat of Garten to Aviemore. It must be about twenty years since I was on the Strathspey Railway. I really enjoyed being back. The volunteers, mainly retired men, clearly relish their roles as train drivers, station masters or ticket inspectors, and are extremely friendly and helpful. The station was very quaint with an old-fashioned waiting room complete with armchairs! The steam train made very satisfactory hissing and whistling and chugging sounds, and the steam blew past the window as we moved along. As well as chatting we enjoyed looking out of the window at the changing scenery. We saw three roe deer prancing around in one of the fields that we passed, and a male and a female pheasant in another. We travelled first to Broomhill where the engine was moved to the other end of the train via a siding, then back through Boat of Garten to Aviemore. We then had a very tasty lunch in the extremely popular Mountain View Café; we had to queue for our table but it was worth the wait. Back at Boat, we watched the train depart with a ch-ch-ch-ch sound as it slowly gathered speed. What fun!
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