A Grand Day Out: Boat of Garten to Aviemore and return

We decided to take Rufus on an expedition, travelling by steam train from Boat of Garten to Aviemore and then walking back along the Speyside Way to Boat of Garten. This expedition was, of course, weather dependant. Despite our misgivings Rufus coped admirably with both the long car journey to Speyside and the adventure of the steam train.

Boat of Garten Station retains the features of a pre Beeching rural Station

The Ladies Waiting Room at the station is amazing - attractively set out with a sofa, fireplace and suitable reading matter. We were issued with sturdy cardboard tickets of the sort Grey Granite fondly remembers from childhood journeys to Scotland.



The train was quite crowded, Rufus sat on Grey Granite's knee and took an intelligent interest in all that was going on. He  permitted his fellow passengers to admire him and was given his own (red) ticket to look after by the ticket collector



The first part of the walk was along the main street in Aviemore, passing this bronze sculpture of an osprey

Beyond Aviemore Golf Course the Speyside Way passes through birch woods then crosses open moorland with spectacular views

The walk is quite close to the Speyside Line for much of the way. We saw the steam train as we crossed under the line near Kinchurdy farm road

After walking for about 6 miles Rufus appreciated the facilities of Boat of Garten Station