And a fresh good morning to you all!!! Last night was an absolute blast, we’re still smiling…showered and dressed, on we go for breakfast at a nice place called Toast, we found it yesterday on our way to the bus stop). The hotel wanted to charge us £18 for a bowl of cereal, no porridge available, coffee and orange juice so we declined their offer.
As we entered Toast, a very lively waitress showed us to a table and gave us their menu. We knew from the previous night what we wanted, and yep, it was porridge with honey, coconut, pistachio, strawberries and blueberries. Oat milk latte for us both and I decided on a glass of carrot juice. Porridge, juice and coffee were fabulous, hence the rating of 10 / 10. on our leisurely way back to the hotel, we soaked in our last memories of Leith, a place we are sure to visit again even just for the restaurants!!
After our luggage was packed into the boot, the sat nav was programmed for Pitlochry. A travel time of 1h30mins was shown and off we set. The sat nav made us turn a left here, a right there, a second exit at the roundabout and in some cases even a third exit…soon we were on A9 and met with signs for Pitlochry!! But hold on, as soon as we turned off, eagle eyed Nisha, my personal navigator, spotted a sign for Nae Limits. Who are they I hear you ask, well, let me continue. We parked up, stretched our way into the place (looked like a garden centre in a previous life!!). The eager cafe barista asked if we wanted tea and cake…we declined and asked to speak to someone dealing with water adventure activities. The options were clay pigeon shooting, quad biking or white water rafting. What a choice!!! We discussed the options and settled with white water rafting, with quad biking coming a close second. Five years previous, with a different company, we had done white water rafting but in the River Tay. This time it was going to be in the River Tummel. Payment was made and we were to return in just over an hour. This gave us time to get to the hotel and check in (paper work only and to leave our luggage). Swimwear packed, we drove back to the company. As we pulled in and opened the boot to get our bag, the manager rushed out to say the water level of River Tummel was low and therefore the white water rafting would be a slow ride down as the river was also calm. Due to this, he offered us the option of doing tubing. This is where you sit in a doughnut air ring and and ride a few rapids. We agreed on the change and made our way in. They went through the health and safety information and then sized us up for wetsuits. Not your ordinary kind but these were designed for canyoning. With jackets and socks. In addition, we were allocated hard hats and life jackets. There were 7 other people in our group. Everyone changed, and then all loaded into minibuses.
The journey to the site was about 15mins. Everyone got off the minibuses and the trainers gave us all large inflated water rings. A few more safety procedures were explained and off we went down the road, everyone carrying their own rings. 5 minutes later we made our way through trees on the bank of the river. We exited very near the water. The trainer explained how we are to enter the water and where we will finish on this current stretch. One by one we put our rings into the water and then literally jumped into the ring and with a gentle push away we went. This short ride involved bouncing off rocks and using our bodies, arms and hands to manoeuvre to the calm area in the river. Some of the group made it, some struggled while a couple just didn’t stand a chance and away they went with other trainers in pursuit 🤣🤣🤣
When the escapees were retrieved, the trainers told us about the next run which was more aggressive but also looked like more fun!!!! One by one the trainer called is down. Eventually we all made it to another calm area but this time we had to get off the rings and onto the rocks. Was this the end of the adventure????? We didn’t have to worry…the trainer talked to us about cliff diving and after his colleagues carried out a demonstration, he asked who’s next??? I lunged forward, Nisha lunged forward, damn it, she was in front of me. One step to the edge and then push off with a large stride and in you go!!! Nisha jumped in and after a few seconds up she popped smiling!!! I was next, one step and push!!! Silence!!!! And then SPLASH!!! I was in and within a few seconds I came to the surface with a huge grin!!! We rushed out and did it again!!!! The height of the jump was approximately 3 metres!!!
All jumps completed, and back on our rings, off we set on another run, more choppy than before, more rocks, the run was narrower…the trainers advice - stick your arse in the air as you go down…advice was followed and it felt like being in a pin ball machine!!! Such good fun…!!! Again we ended up in a calm area of the river. This time the trainer showed us and demonstrated the next even more choppier run, with a literally vertical drop down. One by one we dropped and made our way to safety. This time, we all went underwater while on our rings!!! We made it!!! We made our way to the rocks to exit the river. Was this the end??? No way…The trainers jumped into the water…we looked at each other but they had swam across the river and climbed onto the rocks on the other side. Within seconds they were cliff jumping again but this time the height was approximately 5 metres…who wants to jump he shouted….those who did jumped in and swam to the other side, and made their way to the jumping spot (edge of a large rock). Nisha jumped in…again coming to the surface with a smile…instead of swimming to the other side, she wanted another go and so swam back. My turn…step to the edge and push…silence again!!! But longer…is all ok???? SPLASH!!! Yep, all ok!!! Another go another go!!! We got out and as we made our way up, the trainer asked who wants to jump from an even higher height…we volunteered…up we went…7 metres this time…Nisha made her way to an uneven edge and with the support of the trainer she was ready…..nothing happened….tick tock tick tock…what seemed like ages was seconds before Nisha pulled back. I looked at her, talked to her and knew she was fine…just a jitter or two and she said she was fine. I made my way to the edge, looked down and wow….I see a rock pointing out…I made a mental note….push away even further!!! I balanced myself and pushed off….SILENCE!!! No thud…!! I didn’t hit the rock…SPLASH!!! I was in and underwater….up I came and boy was I grinning!!!! As I made my way to the other bank, I saw Nisha jump in….that’s my girl!!!!! Whoop whoop all around!!! We did it!!!! We exited the river and made our way back to the minibuses with our rings on our heads…all loaded and back to the office we went. After a quick change of clothes and thanking everyone, we drove back to the hotel. We got our key and made our way up while holding wet swimwear and footwear.
We showered, exchanged our experiences and made our way to dinner…we were famished!!! The waitress showed us to our table, we sat down and looked at the menu. Everything sounded lovely. For starters Nisha had pear and blue cheese tart, I had smoked salmon and salmon mousse. For main course I had sea bream with asparagus, pak choi and potatoes, Nisha had venison with chantenay carrots and dauphinois potatoes. Drinks were a glass of white wine and a glass of red wine. No dessert, rather an oat decaf latte for both.
We’re so high on adrenaline but also physically tired now!!!
Enjoy today’s entry!!!