With spring in the air, and a spring in my step, I accompanied Gail up not one but two Aberdeenshire peaks on Sunday afternoon.
It was a grey day, but not cold, not raining and, at least when we set off, not windy.
Good weather in these parts tends to be defined by an absence of the bad stuff.
First we went up an old favourite, Millstone Hill and then, instead of looping back round to the Donview car park as per usual, we extended to the walk and bounced onwards towards Mither Tap, one of a range of hills forming the prominent Aberdeenshire landmark known as Bennachie.
Well, to be more accurate, I bounced and Gail walked.
So it's a steep initial ascent through pine and birches and up to the heather.
At the summit of Millstone Hill we encountered a family enjoying some sandwiches and cake, and Gail insisted on us moving further along the path before she took a photo of our ultimate destination, Mither Tap. That's the pointy bit in the picture below.
We went down into the trees before ascending again, having checked the directions carefully.
I stopped to pose nicely and allow Gail to catch her breath.
And again, just before the final scramble.
Apparently is is ALWAYS windy on the rocky summit of Mither Tap, even if relatively calm just a few meters below.
Do you like my streamlined look?
So that was my 'Twin Peaks' experience.
Disappointingly, there was no cherry pie.
PS from Gail: a spectacular hill fort forms part of the Mither Tap summit. My excuse for not taking any photos of the impressive ramparts is that keeping my balance clambering over the rocks while making sure Nobby didn't go wandering off looking for foodables to steal from other visitors took all my attention...
