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Sunday, 11 August 2024

Hill-walking, Scourie and Au Revoir to the Olympic Games

The weather was forecast to be dry and sunny today and James was keen to climb Foinaven so we set off bright and early for the hour and a half drive to his drop off point near Kinlochbervie. Unfortunately when we got there the weather was not as we had expected; it was rainy and windy, and even with an improving forecast it was not suitable weather for James’ planned eight hour hill walk. So we drove to Achfary (near Laxford Bridge) and James climbed Meall Horn instead, which was a shorter climb. The weather improved although when James reached the summit it was raining! He got good views on the way down.
Meanwhile I went to sunny Scourie which was only half an hour’s drive away from Achfary. It really was warm and sunny in contrast to the nearby hills, and I had a very pleasant walk along the sandy beach and around the headland beyond. And then I repeated the walk at speed because I thought that I had dropped the case for my air pods, which would have been expensive to replace. There was no sign of them and I subsequently found them under the car seat! Still, it meant that I got an extra two kilometres of walking. I’m very fond of Scourie; we camped there when the boys were wee and had all sorts of fun adventures. Back at Achfary I went for another walk but I was being eaten alive by midges so I spent the last hour waiting for James in the car listening to my book. James arrived not long after 4 p.m. very midgy and sweaty, and we drove back to Ullapool where he dived into the shower. 
After a very pleasant video call with Ally and Cat, we watched the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It was a long drawn out affair, as is usual, with some highlights including Tom Cruise jumping nonchalantly off the roof of the Stade de France and then riding a motorcycle out of the stadium adorned with the Olympic flag, as part of the handover to LA 2028. I think that the closing ceremony is really for the athletes, who were singing and dancing enthusiastically throughout. 

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