Two Munros And A Corbett

Last weekend, I went up to Pitlochry with Edinburgh Young Walkers for a weekend of climbing. It was first weekend away with the group, and I managed to climb two Munros and a Corbett.

Saturday

It was pouring with rain when we woke up on Saturday, and the forecast said it was due to rain for the entire day. We decided not to venture too far, so picked Ben Vrackie for our morning climb. The walk started off through woodland so we had some shelter from the rain, but for most of the climb it was raining really, really heavily. I managed to stay surprisingly dry under my clothes, but walking in rain that heavy is never much fun.

Since we were all wet and cold, we headed back to the hostel for a hot shower and lunch. Some of the group decided to do a river walk, but the rest of us headed to the pub for an afternoon of relaxation before more climbing on Sunday.

Sunday

Most of the group set off around 7am on Sunday to try and beat the rain forecast for the afternoon. We drove as close to Carn Liath as we could get, then it was a 4km walk to the base of the Munro. The climb itself was a lot harder than I had anticipated, as the ascent was really steep. Most of the group were a lot more experienced, so the pace was set faster than I would have set it if I'd been walking myself.

We reached the top faster than anyone of us expected so we had a bit of a rest before setting off to Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain. It was a fairly flat ridge to the second Munro, but then the ascent was bigger than I was expecting. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't already been walking for a couple of hours, but I was pretty shattered as we made our way to the top.

By the time we reached the top, the cloud had cleared and we got pretty incredible views. It's also the first time it's been nice enough at the top of a Munro for me to be able to sit down and admire the scenery.

So that's 3 Munros down, and only 279 to go!!

Enchanted Forest

After years of it selling out on me, I finally managed to get some tickets for the Enchanted Forest. It's this amazing sound and light show in a forest in Pitlochry. It's sold out for the rest of the run this year, but I highly recommend that you all go next year. I think the plan is to spend the weekend up there next year in a cabin. Just hopefully not in a Cabin in the Woods type situation. So yeah, next October we're doing a big road trip up north for another night in the magical forest. 

Why I'm Voting Yes For Scottish Independence

This month, like everyone else in Scotland, I'm going to be casting the most important vote of my life so far. Despite voting in every election I've been able to, this is the first time when I feel like my vote will actually count for something. It's my chance to change the country I live in for the better, and I don't understand anyone who wouldn't want to see that happen.

I was born in Falkirk, studied in Glasgow (with no tuition fees I should add) and now I work in Edinburgh. While my dad who is approaching 60 says he has always felt British, I have always felt Scottish. So in just over two weeks' time on September 18th, I'll be voting Yes for an independent Scotland. 

My decision to vote Yes is not one I'm taking lightly, yet it's one that feels completely natural. I haven't had to do months of soul searching to come to this conclusion. It just feels right for me and the country I live in. After all, why wouldn't we want to live in a country that makes its own decisions? At the moment, we're living with a London based parliament making our decisions for us. Of course, Scotland has the right to make some of the choices, but a lot of the decisions which affect us are still being decided by people in London. Can they really have our best interests at heart? And more importantly, can they even understand our needs? 

When I've been speaking to friends and work colleagues about the referendum, a lot of people are afraid of the unknown and the changes that an independent Scotland will bring. But there's nothing to guarantee that we won't face worse changes after the next UK general election anyway. It now seems unlikely that the Liberal Democrats will make any sort of mark come next May, so that leaves us torn between David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nigel Farage. Even if you're not a big fan of Alex Salmond, you have to admit that he knows what's best for Scotland much more than they do.  

Everyone has their own individual reasons for voting for or against independence, and I certainly have my own. As a woman who hopes to have children one day, I want them to grow up in the best country possible. I don't want them growing up knowing I could have voted for Scotland to become a better place, but simply didn't want to take the risk. 

The future generations of Scotland deserve to live in a country that has control over its own economy. A country where young people can continue to benefit from a free education, and then thrive as more job opportunities are created for them. We'd also be living in a country with free prescriptions, and one that doesn't have an NHS under threat from privatisation.

With just over two weeks to go until we go to the polls, I really hope the people of Scotland grasp this historical opportunity for all it's worth. The No campaign might think we're better together, but surely if that was true then we'd already be better together. This leaves us with just one viable option. That option is to vote Yes and see our country head in the direction it deserves for the people who actually live in it.