14 September: Climbing the peaks of Bennachie

Saturday morning both our boys had football matches at 10:00, but at different locations. I managed to get a lift for our youngest son and then my husband and I went to see our oldest son play his first football match ever.

A fantastic debut

Despite the fact that it was now the middle of September, there still was some heat left in the sun, which we as parents appreciated - it makes watching our kids play much more comfortable.

When the game started we cried out encouragements to the children in our team. Not all the feedback was appreciated by the kids. One annoyed boy yelled back at his dad in frustration over one of the many instructions his dad had called out. Unfortunately some parents get a bit too ambitious on behalf of their children, though of course they only mean to help.

How many players on each team?

The game started really well for our team, until the referee suddenly discovered that our team had one player too many! No wonder we were doing so well.

Even after we had one boy removed, it was an even game. Unfortunately our team ended up loosing 0 - 2, but it could easily have been the other way around. Both teams played really well and there was some great teamwork going on out there on the field.

A great boost for the ego

Our son was goalie and this was his first game. He clearly loved this position and finally being able to play for his team, he was almost radiating with joy.

After the game each team coach hands out a Gold card to the best player on the other team. Imagine the joy our son felt when he got this card in his first game ever! If he hadn't had ears his smile would have gone all the way around his head.

As a mum I was so happy for him, he's had a few challenges while we've been here so it was extra nice that he got this encouragement. 

A cup of tea and a change of plans

After the game we went to pick up our youngest son. We ended up having tea and discussing our planned walk up Bennachie, among other things, with the friendly father who had been so kind to give our son a lift to the match.

Based on his recommendations we chose a slightly different route than the one I had originally planned. Instead of the short, steep route from Bennachie Visitor Centre, we were advised to take the longer route from Bennachie Rowan Tree, as this offered better views of the surrounding landscapes.

Hiking up to Mither Tap

A couple of hours later than originally planned, we were finally ready to climb Mither Tap (518 metres), the second highest peak of Bennachie.

Even though Oxen Craig is 10 metres higher, Mither Tap is definitely the most popular summit. This is the most prominent peak in Bennachie, it is easily reached and it has an Iron Age hillfort on its summit.

Charcoal found at the fort is radiocarbon dated to somewhere between 340 AD and 780 AD, suggesting that the fort was used during Pictish times. However, it is possible that the construcion of the fort began in the Iron Age.

The rewarding walk to the summit

As advised by the friendly father, we started our hike from Bennachie Rowan Tree Car park. The paths were not very steep, but we soon left the forest and were rewarded with the great views we had been promised. We could see for miles and miles, even though we were not more than half way up Bennachie.


The children were not too keen on the hike. They were both a bit tired after their football matches and a late night on Friday, which we had spent with our Polish/Dutch neighbours across the road. We used encouragement, distractions and plenty of bribing to get hem going, but once we got them going they were fine.

It took us only an hour to reach Mither Tap and the view from the top was stunning. In the clear weather we could see Lochnagar, among many other peaks in the distance.

Might as well do the other peaks while we're at it

With the great weather and the beautiful landscape, we just couldn't call it a day quite yet. I really wanted to climb Oxen Craig (528 metres) and it was so easy to reach now that we were at Mither Tap. But could we convince the kids?

 

Bribing and other dirty tricks

Our oldest son was easily bribed to continue to Oxen Craig, but our youngest son was not happy with his parents when this slight change of plans was mentioned briefly. He was not happy at all! The bribing had to be combined with a few mild threats before he gave in.

Once on board, both boys kept up a decent pace and we soon had a very nice walk over to Oxen Craig and the magnificent views this peak offered.

Skipping through the heather

From Oxen Craig we chose the path we thought was the quickest path from Oxen Craig to Little Oxen Craig (410 metres). We soon discovered that we were wrong.

The path we had chosen was not very much longer, it just turned in the wrong direction for a while, before it crossed the path we needed to be on to reach the summit. It was getting a bit late and I didn't want to push the boys more than necessary, they had been so good.

We all agreed that our best option would be to cut across the heather to get us back to the track that would take us up to Little Oxen Craig. The boys ran and fell and had a great time running through the heather. I think this made them forgive us for dragging them up to Oxen Craig in the first place.

The rest of the walk was easy and fast. We had very short stops at Little Oxen Craig and Craigshannoch to admire the view, but it was past my normal dinner time and I was getting very hungry. I don't handle hunger and low blood sugar very well, so I was desperate for something more filling than muesli bars and mints.

Food... Now!

I needed food quickly, so we had a pub dinner at Inverurie. The food wasn't great, but it filled me up and made me a nicer person to be with.

Our oldest son claimed he was too old to get the kids menu, so he bought a sausage with chips from the main menu. The sausage was the longest one I've ever seen. By the time he had finished the sausage, he was unable to finish his chips - clearly this meal was for bigger guys than him.