Scorched earth

Well, it was yet another lovely Scottish summer's day. But unfortunately we ended up spending almost all of it in the car....

We had to make an urgent and unexpected trip to Edinburgh, but it was fine, and we are fine, and the side benefit was that I was able to collect my new orthotic. The drive down was smooth, but the drive back less so.

We were going well until Carrbridge (although if I had checked the A9 Facebook page I would have realised there had been a problem since mid afternoon and so we could have diverted to Spean Bridge from Dalwhinnie and used the road up Loch Ness and over from Drumnadrochit - but I didn't). The A9 has been closed at Carrbridge since 2.30 this afternoon, and remains closed as of now for a very serious accident. We were diverted off, without knowing where the diversion went. Mr A couldn't believe it wasn't possible to get back on to the A9, so we tried following the satnav at one point, as it was trying to get us back to the A9, having no knowledge of the accident, obviously.... Bad mistake. It took us up a croft road with grass in the middle and mainly very rutted. It gave the car's suspension a big workout. It's a little white road on the OS map....

We ended up back in Carrbridge after that adventure, and realised that the A9 really was completely closed and inaccessible without a long diversion and really there was little alternative but to go via Grantown-on-Spey and Nairn. Although, in fact there was. A B road over Dava Moor to a village called Ferness before rejoining the official diversion. So we took that. The B road is one of the roads that must have been closed during the recent wildfires, as we saw a lot of evidence of these, so I stopped to get a blip. Well, it rather sums up my day. I've left a lot of scorched earth behind today, moving around rapidly.

We were eventually back in the house around 8pm, but that meant we could sit out in the sun with a drink and a snack until the sun went behind the trees across the way.

An interesting day, in the end, but not the one either of us intended.

Thanks for the stars, hearts and kind comments on yesterday's anniversary blip.