We travel by train up to Pitlochry for the Etape Caledonia, a sportive on closed roads through beautiful Scottish landscapes. Jim has the Airnimal in a suitcase and I just have a rucksack and a big yellow handbag. We arrive at 6.30 and slowly manhandle the heavy case through the wet streets to find this house called Craigroyston, a large grand old house built in typical turreted style and very welcoming spotless and lovely.
Our room is a large attic room with one window looking down onto the Etape registration area and the other onto trees full of yellowhammers and chaffinches and siskins and serins backed by an old church. I spent hours photographing these birds over the weekend. A terraced garden leads directly to the registration point for the race.