If you have difficulty reading the above (i.e. you're squinting at it on a phone or something) you can view the full size invitation card HERE

These are spiffing social occasions, open to all Challengers, and first timers are especially welcome.








Cheers!

Lord Elpus

Might manage this one as it's not far off my outline planned route.

I will attempt to bring our amazing Tillamook Cheese from the Oregon Coast USA, AND, try to make this party work into our route!!! Im so excited we get to come and meet all of you!!! I say attempt because I may eat it before it reaches you! HA!!:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I've worked this into my route. See you all there!

Thank you for your cordial invitation but I regret that I am not able to attend! Nothing new there then! My route is too far north this year - unlike previous years when I have been too far south.... I will get it right one day...

Tsk, Laura, tsk! One might think you're avoiding us. Surely not. :kissing_heart:

Yet again, I'm in the wrong place, at the wrong time. But then as I was in that vicinity last year, maybe it's deliberate on your part?!!
Harrumph.

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity, Louise.



But there again...

:thinking_face:

This has given me a bit of a headache as I can't work out how to proceed from the cheese and wine. What's the terrain like in the area? Is it possible to just walk east over fairly firm territory or is it boggy and slow going?

Hi Paul.
First off - you'll be very welcome indeed at the Cheese & Wine Party. We love new Cheese & Winers! They go particularly well with a nice Chianti...

:smiling_imp:

Now here's a thing...

What do you think the terrain is like in the area?
Is it ...firm territory or is it slow going?

These are excellent questions. If you want, you could find the answers by looking at a satellite view of the area. Isn't it more fun though, to ask yourself your questions and take a stab at the answers? Of course, the more experience you have of the Highlands, the better your answer might be; I say might as we can still get it horribly wrong, with umpteen crossings under our belts - this will be Lord E's, Mad'n'Bad's and my 50th collective crossing and we get it hopelessly wrong occasionally!

:laughing:

Of course, the ground conditions can also be weather dependent. After a week of solid rain virtually all of the Highlands become a magnificent bog but after a week of sunshine and drying winds even whopping great bogs turn to feather mattresses underfoot.

In the bad old days (before satellite views) I used to plan my route and be intrigued as to what I would find on the day. Sometimes it was indescribable delight, with grassy swards all heading gently downhill. At other times it was the joy (yes, honestly!) of picking my way through the intricate puzzle of a huge peat bog.

However, these days, first of all I like to plot my route, taking that stab at the ground I'll be covering. But, I readily confess to then taking a good hard look at my excellent RouteBuddy's matching, scrumptious aerial views...

Yup. I've gone soft. And do you know what? I feel cheapened by it.
:disappointed:

Paul: You'll not be alone in heading east after the Cheese & Wine. Lord E, Andy and I, and the Gulleys from the USA will be doing the same. Interestingly, we have chosen different routes with the same destination in mind.
:slightly_smiling_face:

You'll find my answer to this day's puzzle on my blog, HERE

Or, you could just go for it...

The decision is yours, Sir!
:grinning:

Alan, my dear fellow,

What a terrific reply and good luck in staying within your set boundaries. Not just in staying within parameters, but avoiding pubs as well, now that is a gallant thing to do.

But to answer your reply about walking, it's a bit like watching football. Now my team - Southend United - have been relegated or promoted 17 times in the last 30 years. But do you know something? I wouldn't swap the relegation's for anything. The silence in the coach on the way back after another 4-0 away defeat, the fear of relegation, the impending doom and gloom. But, the funny thing is, they make the good bits even better and I wouldn't have missed them for the World.

Whilst on the Cape Wrath Trail this year I was crossing an area of bog. I was tired, hungry, cold and it was raining and I was almost in tears. But that made my arrival at Glencoul bothy all the better.

To hell with it, I'll walk east and see what happens!

Paul, that bit of bog is in my backyard. I sometimes spend a couple of days out there in early April, just to remind myself of the realities before the Challenge. I totally agree about Glencoul!

Bump.

https://m.geograph.org.uk/photo/265858

What do you mean there is a sodding great bog after the C&W.
You never mentioned that, and I trusted you, so implicitly that I never checked.
Oh hang on, I just looked. We're going over the lumpy bits East up the track. :grinning:



While I'm here, how come the developers of this site can't add a feature for editing and adding formatting and photos that doesn't involve flippin' code, like the rest of the message boards throughout the universe ? :thinking_face:

Totally agree Andy,like a dinosaur transplanted in our epoch.

Thank you for your kind invitation! Alas, I won't be anywhere near that location, if all goes according to plan. I hope to see you on the east coast!

*BUMP*

Just a reminder!

And for those who have enquired about the origins of the Cheese & Wine, here's a video of the very first - don't we all look young!

See you there. Just need to work out the logistics of getting my cheese and wine there :)