After months hiking up the hills I decided a walk along the river Dee east towards Kincardine O’ Neil would make a fine change.  Out in the hills it is a fairly solitary experience but the walk on the banks of the Dee was truly social this weekend, every fishing beat had a line or even two being cast in it.

Fly fishing river dee

The river was in good flow, snow melt rather than rain providing its rush but the anglers were yet to report the first catch of the day. Salmon were being seen in the clear waters but none were biting. The wildlife were enjoying the warm and sunny day with lots of different birds to see and take photos of.

Pictured above are some of the walkers about to set off on the Sponsored walk

Huntly held a walking festival this weekend and as part of the festival there was a sponsored walk on the Sunday which also included a photography competition. http://www.huntly.net/events/page.php?event_id=92

Hilltrek provided the prizes of gift vouchers £30 for first, £20 for second and £10 for third.

The walk will raise funds for two local charities The Huntly Area Cancer Support Group and an animal rescue centre www.thenewarc.org

I decided to head up there for the start of the walk, leaving Donside it was not looking promising a dusting of snow had covered the tops overnight and it was sleeting. However by the time I got to Huntly the wind had dropped and the sun was out.  I was greeted by Nathalie who had put a lot of work into organising the event, she was concerned that the weather forcast of snow would put people off. We didn’t have to wait long though before people started to turn up to enjoy the lovely spring sunshine and I was pleased to see some where wearing their paramo cascada trousers!

The Route

The map above shows the choice of two routes  a short or long version.

The winners of the  photography competition will be announced once all the entries have been received.

We will be holding a sale at our shop in Aboyne this weekend when we will be offering great discounts on some of our end of season winter retail stock including Rab Down Jackets, Helly Hansen, Patagonia, Páramo, Craghoppers, Cross Ski Wear etc. Included will be gloves, socks, jackets, ski salopettes, winter trousers, childrens ski clothing etc etc

We will have  deals on Helly Hansen baselayers, Paramo Torres Insulators etc

In the spirit of ‘Ne’er cast a clout till May be oot’  we have an offer of a combination Helly Hansen HH®Warm™ Prowool Long Johns and Freeze Prowool half zip top with £20 off, normally £90. We are basking in early Spring sunshine but…….who knows what is round the corner? This offer is naturally open until the end of May.

 I’m afraid that it is a retail sale only and not offered over our website -you have to visit us in beautiful Aboyne!

A cold spring day in the West Highlands and another Munro -An Caisteal- a perfect test of my fitness after recent 57th birthday celebrations.

I set off late from Glasgow after a breakfast in the Tapa coffeehouse‎, where my daughter works, hoping to reach the hills at the north end of Loch Lomond by 10.30. The weather was as predicted in the mountain forecast, low cloud and rain at low levels.

My preparation was not the best after a very late but excellent curry at the Pakastani Cafe‎ and a long drive down from Aboyne the evening before.

I had planned to take the route via the north ridge to Sron Garbh over the Twistin Hill to the summit of An Caisteal and then south east to Beinn Chabhair returning back down the track along side the River Falloch.

Deep snow on the approach was testing to my fitness, so much so, that I had to take off my Lochnagar Karisma fleece and pack it in my rucksac.  I was wearing Paramo’s new lightweight Velez Trousers to test their effectiveness in the conditions -I would normally have worn Paramo Cascada or perhaps Aspira Trousers which are warmer but heavier.

Above 600 meters the rain turned to snow but, as the day wore on, the showers lessened and the cloud lifted opening up superb views all around, as forecast.

My late start, the poor forecast for the late afternoon, the icy conditions on top and the long drive home to Aboyne dictated that I return on the same route.

The Velez Trousers were perfect for the conditions light wind and temperatures around zero degrees. If the wind had been stronger I would have been warmer in Cascada or Aspira Trousers but probably perspired much more lower down.

You can  find out more about Velez Adventure Trousers on the Hilltrek website. 

If you are planning to walk or climb in the Scottish Mountains try the Mountain Weather Information Service - the forecast was very accurate.

An excellent overview of the route can be found on  Munro Magic website, which also has 3D views.

Dee Wading Jacket modelled by Bryan

Here is a ‘sneak’ preview of our new Dee Wading Jacket which we exhibited at the recent Scottish Game and Angling Fair in Edinburgh.  Susan, our designer, has been working hard over the winter months to perfect the jacket based on an original design spec from a customer.

We received an excellent response on the jacket at the Fair from both anglers and ghilles. The jacket is now being modified slightly based on feedback and it will receive further testing by a well known ghille who works on the River Dee.

We wanted to create a high specification wading jacket fitting for the River Dee, one of Scotlands top salmon fishing rivers, which flows past our village. The River Dee has international prominence as a spring salmon river rising in the high Cairngorm plateau to flow through majestic countryside past the Royal Estate at Balmoral. To find out more about the River Dee follow this link.

The jacket uses Cotton Analogy, which consists of a Ventile outer and Nikwax Pump liner inner. The aim was to develop a high specification wading jacket which is highly breathable, has excellent waterproof capability and is tough enough to withstand the rigours of game fishing on Scottish Rivers.

Dee Wading Jacket Side view

Features include two chest pockets, a rear outside pocket, several inner pockets, detachable hood,  front storm flap, d-rings, storm cuffs.

What is next?

After testing on the river and final tweeks, it will then be reviewed by Nikwax Fabrics and tested by Leeds University in their Rain Room -a minimum four hour resistance to 3cm of rain per hour.

If you want to be kept informed about availability please email your details to sales@hilltrek.co.uk

Watch this space.

We are one of the first Páramo retailers to have full colour and size ranges of the new lightweight Vista Jacket in stock. The Vista is the latest of Paramo’s new lightweight range complementing the Velez Smock, Velez Trousers and Quito jacket. 

Want to  find out more see our website