Well, typically in Scotland, a bit of everything weather-wise.Fantastic sunny weather for the trip up through Aberdeenshire. Found a lovely spot to camp near Plusgarden. Had the tent up and the fire lit when the heavens opened, absolutely threw it down all night.

So 10 points to Vangos fine tent which didn't let in a drop of water all night. I had worried that the inner touchs the flysheet very easily, not a worry as it turns out the flysheet is 100% totally waterproof, you could hapily lean against the inside of the tent and stay dry.

I had worried about taking my big army surplus tarpaulin, thinking it was unecessary weight and bulk. I'm glad I did take it though, last night would have been totally miserable without it. Set it up between two trees and sat in the dry, eating a hot cooked dinner, reading a book and watching the rain lashing down. While the tent is good, it is also small. I could probably manage to cook in the porch in an absolute emergency but it would be tricky, uncomfortable and the condensation would mean I would have been as well off outside.

The run across from Fochabers to Braemar via Tomintoul is probably one of the best motorcycle runs in the country if the weather is fine, one of the worst if it isn't. A combination of driving rain, floods, patches of gravel and limited visability made this one of the more challenging runs over there I have done.

10 points also to Royal Enfield for manufacturing a bike that starts first kick and runs in the most torrential downpour without missng a beat (despite an 18" HT lead, exposed electrics and a pod air filter, treating the electrics with ACF50 was time and money well spent I think).

Checked into a bunkhouse in Braemar for tonight, I may even have fish and chips for my tea.

I've got a checkpoint at Spittal of Glenshee tomorrow, if the weather is as bad, I may even stay here for another night. If it's better, I'll head over to Loch Tay/Glen Lyon where some friends re suposed to be camping for the night too.