Day 1 on the road

We started out on a beautiful sunny day to travel north from Forfar over the Cairn o Mount, a very high mountain pass in the Grampians. The road is a bit steep and windy - but Gus made it easily.

It's above the tree line - so a bit bleak - but you can see forever.

The first night stop was at Ballater - near Balmoral - where the queen died last year. The Victoria hall there was built by Queen Victoria and dedicated to Albert as she had spent a lot of time there.

The Royal train station where they used to arrive had been renovated and the train line is now a cycle track.

We were parked where Ballater Highland Games is held in August - a free spot with access to water refills.

We had heavy rain overnight and the next morning in Ballater looked very different.