2nd FMC Family Meet
Glen Feshie Private Hostel
16-18 July 1999

Present: Neil, Clare and Gavin W, Steve R, Debbie K and Cormac R

After the success of the 1998 Family Meet, another was organised at the same venue. Unfortunately due to holiday commitments, birthdays, and the switching of the CIC meet, this year's Family Meet was only attended by the Williams and Reid/Kelsos.

Nevertheless, both parties headed north determined to enjoy themselves. It was a rare opportunity to make for the hills, and with a reasonable forecast promised, hopes and expectations ran high. An early arrival in Glen Feshie gave them enough time to prepare a communal meal, after which the adults sat down and attempted to relax whilst the children ran amok.

It was threatening rain Saturday morning so Neil and Clare decided to take advantage of their family membership of Edinburgh Zoo and head off to the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig. This gave the opportunity for Gavin to stand up in the back seat whilst his daddy drove round the park - an action which would be deemed foolhardy and dangerous on the open road. Steve and Debbie took Cormac in the backpack round some forest walks round Feshie Bridge. Although they had not been out much since the birth of their son, they still felt that they could accomplish either the 4km walk in less than the recommended 3 hours, or the 2km walk in less than the recommended 1 hour. Talk about being over cautious.

Regrouping for lunch back at the hostel, both parties went for an afternoon stroll round the local forest paths. The weather improved dramatically, becoming positively warm and sunny. Fine views down Glen Feshie towards Aviemore were obtained in between fighting off the swarm of flies that followed them around. Encouraged by the good weather, they decided to have a cycle down to the end of the road and back before tea. Gavin and Cormac seemed to enjoy themselves in their child seats. Gavin looking especially cool in his smart shades.

The weather was good enough to employ the disposable BBQ. The hostel was equipped with a permanent BBQ site, and soon the fine selection of meats was sizzling away. A fine evening eating al fresco was only slightly spoilt, for his parents at least, as Gavin demonstrated his stubbornness by refusing to acknowledge his obvious need for the toilet, with inevitable consequences.

The Williams had to head back to Edinburgh fairly early on Sunday as Gavin had a wild party to go to that afternoon. This still gave them enough time to cycle around one of the many forest trials in the morning with the other three. The younger ones did well considering the bumpy nature of the terrain, with only the minimum of minor complaints from the backseat drivers. Steve and Debbie enjoyed a peaceful lunch in Kinguisse, and with the sun shinning brightly, they decided to prolong their stay by cycling up the west side of Glen Feshie, until the complaints from junior forced them to return.

In all in was a fine weekend, a real pity however that the club made a considerable loss on the meet. Lessons hopefully will be learnt when organising the next family meet.

SR