Waterhead

Waterhead in the winter is a very different place to that in the summer months when the place is heaving with day trippers and tourists.

Although called Ambleside Pier, (it used to be correctly called Waterhead), it is a one mile walk to the town. 

The smaller cruise ships are operated on Lake Windermere during the winter months. 

Look how quiet it is, despite it being a glorious sunny day 

Taking photo's of the ducks and swans,

Cruiser moored at the jetty.

The Waterhead Hotel.

The bike shop. 

Very few folk were out and about. 

The Wateredge Inn.

Aviemore

Aviemore is situated in the Cairngorms National Park. To be honest there is very little of photographic or architectural merit. The town has become a centre for Winter sports, and really expanded after the opening of the first ski lift in the Cairngorms in 1961. It proved to be a real challenge to find anything worth photographing. I have probably failed, as can be seen from this set of images! It is not a place that appeals to me one little bit, however the ride on the bus from Grantown-on-Spey, and the train journey back to Inverness makes the day out worthwhile. So O.K. just to pass through. 

This restaurant sums up the sort of tourist market Aviemore caters for.  

Fresh snow had fallen that morning, and continued to do as we later encountered a blizzard and a 'white out' on the train to Inverness.

One of the few older buildings in Aviemore. The Cairngorm Hotel.

Aviemore - Highland Resort. 

There are plenty of hotels, this one being owned by the MacDonalds group. 

Snow on the Cairngorms.

Holme Crag To Waterhead

Following on from yesterday's set of images - Jenkins Field to Home Crag - we continue the walk along the shore of Lake Windermere from Holme Crag towards Waterhead. 

There was fresh snow on the tops of the mountains. 

The conditions were perfect for the walk.  

The boathouse.  

A beck tumbling down to the lake. 

A good day for a cruise on the lake.

Not far to go before we reach Waterhead. 

The last section of the walk along the shore of the lake, then it is onto the footpath by the road to Waterhead, and eventually Ambleside. 

Grantown-on-Spey

There was a real, cold chill in the air on our visit to Grantown-on-Spey. It was no surprise that later in the day it snowed - heavily! Grantown is situated near Aviemore, and the above image shows a general view of the main street. 

It was pretty quiet at 10am. 

The Victoria Christian Institute building. 

It's not on every High Street that you come across a Kiltmaker's shop. 

The Post Office building. 

Greens either side of the main road at the north end of the town. 

The War Memorial. Don't be fooled by that blue sky, it was bitterly cold! 

The Grant Hotel. 

Two traction engines in a window, plus my reflection!

The view towards the town centre, whilst we were waiting for the bus to Aviemore.