The road out to the Glen is narrow and windy but the bushes were low and so you could see the road ahead - which meant Mase could go a bit faster and take the bends a little more generously. As we headed along the road Matt spotted two deer - stags - one with larger antlers and one younger male - see the photo. Before we walked to the Loch we stopped at the Visitors Centre which was one of the best ones I've seen - lots of interesting exhibits - both for adults and children. Touch and feel things, a kettle that when placed on the hot plate tells the story of the area, stuffed animals - grouse, rabbit (one with a winter coat - white and the 
other with a summer coat - brown/white). Some antlers to touch, a large model of Glen Muick and the Loch. As we left the Visitors Centre to walk to the Loch we saw a sign telling us to keep to the paths as they were shooting hinds that weekend - we kept to the path. Well it was freezing when we got out of the car and fortunately I'd brought my beanie and gloves. As we walked along Mase and I noticed our lips and chin become numb with cold. The temperature was about 2 or 3 degrees and we were walking into a strong wind which made things even colder. Mase cheerfully said it was a good lesson in wind chill factor. This was proven true as when we walked back we 
defrosted because the wind was behind us. Anyway we reached the Loch and the water was cold to touch but when we pulled our hands out of the water it was much, much colder with the wind hitting our fingers - on with the gloves! You can see the speed of the water flowing under the bridge (and hear the wind) in the video (having trouble uploading it, so it's not here yet). It was beautiful - the clouds were heavy and at times were halfway down the mountains, hovering at one end of the Loch - other times the sun came out and you'd get a glimpse of blue skies...created for God's glory. The kids didn't like this walk - it was along a nice wide pathway and was too easy - they much prefer bush bashing and picking their
way up a mountain - getting soaked and muddy! On to Carrbridge (another 1.5 hrs further south west) where we planned to visit a place called Landmark. It had a red squirrel tree top walk, feeding stations, some water coaster slides, rope walks, wood chopping, a maze etc etc - sounded fantastic. On our way there we took some photos of the Cairngorms at a viewing spot. The panoramic view was spectacular - a real patchwork of green, brown, yellow/white, grey.... It was on this road we saw lots of rabbits which had been hit by cars - we inspected one - Matt was quite pleased to be able to say he'd seen his first real rabbit (not a taxidermied one) that was dead - quite a feather in his cap. 
He then asked Mase to drive over it so he could see its insides!!(we didn't).
As we entered Carrbridge Sam saw a really good photo opportunity - so we went back and he took a photo - the one of the river with the arched stonework over it.
Funnily enough we were flicking through a book of Scottish landmarks and that scene was included! 
Well we arrived at Landmark and the children were very excited to see where we were going only to discover that all the outdoor fun things for the kids were closed for winter...so we went through the Maze and the children were able to play on a couple of slides and a playground that were still open. We were able to have a look at some old wood cutting tools, machinery and saws. 
The photo of the five of us is taken on the throne of the woodcutting champion. Then we went along a treetop walk to spot squirrels - which we didn't see any of, until we'd almost finished the walk - not sure if that was because of Matt's voice, his footsteps on wood decking or the weather. Anyway, the ones we saw were very cute - smaller than I imagined - similar to a numbat in size. We've seen heaps of grey squirrels (including one in our backyard) but the red squirrels are much rarer. As we went along the tree top walk they had some interesting information boxes for the children to learn about the squirrels' habitat. What I found most interesting was just how many animals are dependant or semi dependant on the pine tree - the squirrel, pine beetle, a particular parrot, ants that make nests out of the pine needles, deer and many more - it really gave me an idea of how extensive, well planned (created) and interlocking the whole of creation must be. Interestingly the deer are culled yearly in some areas to prevent them grazing on and destroying young pine and birch saplings - apparently the increased numbers of deer have caused devastation in some forests. As we left the Park the rain began to fall - which we were expecting. The last few days of rain in northern England have caused severe flooding in some places - particularly in the Lakes District. We looked up the BBC news online and were able to see some footage of the towns affected - we had been to a couple of the places which were now totally flooded. Anyway as it was now raining pretty heavily we left Carrbridge and drove through Aviemore and up to another peak of the Cairngorm mountain range...no doubt it would have been a great view but the rain was far too heavy to see much so we began the drive home...in the dark, at 4pm! Bring on the long, hot summer days - only 3 weeks to go God willing.
Funnily enough we were flicking through a book of Scottish landmarks and that scene was included! 
Well we arrived at Landmark and the children were very excited to see where we were going only to discover that all the outdoor fun things for the kids were closed for winter...so we went through the Maze and the children were able to play on a couple of slides and a playground that were still open. We were able to have a look at some old wood cutting tools, machinery and saws. 
The photo of the five of us is taken on the throne of the woodcutting champion. Then we went along a treetop walk to spot squirrels - which we didn't see any of, until we'd almost finished the walk - not sure if that was because of Matt's voice, his footsteps on wood decking or the weather. Anyway, the ones we saw were very cute - smaller than I imagined - similar to a numbat in size. We've seen heaps of grey squirrels (including one in our backyard) but the red squirrels are much rarer. As we went along the tree top walk they had some interesting information boxes for the children to learn about the squirrels' habitat. What I found most interesting was just how many animals are dependant or semi dependant on the pine tree - the squirrel, pine beetle, a particular parrot, ants that make nests out of the pine needles, deer and many more - it really gave me an idea of how extensive, well planned (created) and interlocking the whole of creation must be. Interestingly the deer are culled yearly in some areas to prevent them grazing on and destroying young pine and birch saplings - apparently the increased numbers of deer have caused devastation in some forests. As we left the Park the rain began to fall - which we were expecting. The last few days of rain in northern England have caused severe flooding in some places - particularly in the Lakes District. We looked up the BBC news online and were able to see some footage of the towns affected - we had been to a couple of the places which were now totally flooded. Anyway as it was now raining pretty heavily we left Carrbridge and drove through Aviemore and up to another peak of the Cairngorm mountain range...no doubt it would have been a great view but the rain was far too heavy to see much so we began the drive home...in the dark, at 4pm! Bring on the long, hot summer days - only 3 weeks to go God willing.
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