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AW Whitley LA792 near Aviemore.
 (August 2013)
 (Distance covered = 2.6 mile)(2013)

The Highland Games at Nethy Bridge are a lovely day out. Being just a few miles north of Aviemore means I am withing range of a some of the crashsites in the Cairngorms. I've visited the Anson crashsite on Ben Mcdui from here but today my target was much easier to reach.

 For some reason whenever we go to these Highland Games its always glorious weather.On this day it wasn't the usual clear blue skies and sunshine but it was still pleasant even though it was a little overcast. The crashsite I was planning on visiting was probably less than 10 miles away so I didn't have the usual rush and even helped the girls carry their gear into the games instead of kicking them out the car and scarperring like I usually do.


Although at Nethy Bridge the Games are called the 'Abernethy Highland Games'

The nearest place to the reported Whitley crashsite to park the car was in a layby on the busy A9, necessitating walking along the verge for a couple of hundred yards to pick up a Landrover track into the woods.

View across to the Cairngorms from the woods below Ben Ghuilbin

One thing I noticed straight away while walking along the Landy Track through the woods was the large amount of Ants scurrying around and also the  number of Spider's webs in the trees.


One of a large number of impressive webs in the woods, no sign of the Beastie that built it though!

As well as being a short car journey it was also a short walk so I was soon at the area where the Whitley wreckage was reported to be. Straight away I spotted a crumpled panel in a ravine, I left that for later and went to search for two large oxygen bottles from the Whitley that I'd seen a photograph of, lying beside a fence, as there was only one fence nearby I followed that further up the hill but found nothing.


The fence on the left and the Ravine on the right.

After finding no sign of the two oxygen bottles I followed the ravine back down to the piece I saw earlier, there was no sign of any other parts further up the ravine either.


The rocks in the ravine were covered in a strange black slime which was even slippier than the usual green slime!.

I could be wrong but I reckon the crumpled panel in the ravine looked like it could have been carried down by the burn which I followed  uphill, searching to each side as I went but found no sign of any other pieces. Also it could just have easily been blown to where it was or dropped there by someone.



Above and below:-The single piece of Whitley I found

After finding nothing else beside the burn I contemplated searching a larger area   but I would have had to be very lucky to find anything in the thick undergrowth,if indeed there was anything there to find. Instead I walked up to the top of the hill and looked for somewhere to sit and eat my butties that wasn't overun with Ants.


View from the top of the hill

As I still had boatloads of time before the competition would be finished I called in to Boat of Garten Railway station to do a bit of Trainspotting.


The Train I spotted


Some Flowers I spotted

Trying out a new trailer for the Pug

Despite my best efforts I still arrived back at the Highland Games well before they were finished, but at least that allowed me to take some photographs around the showfield.


Heather, number 381, on her way to winning the Trophy for first place.


A dead heat in the Bass Drummers 100 metres hurdles.

Heather and Chloe about to be trampled by a Massed Band.

All in all another brilliant day out at Nethy Bridge, well worth the 5 hour drive up, now it was time for the 5 hour drive back plus a diversion into Perth on the way to visit our favourite Chinese Takaway.

In October 2019 on the way home from a weekend of walking with Stuart Whittaker I returned to the woods above Kinveachy as Stuart wanted to have a look at where LA792 had crashed. After pointing out where I had found the panel on my previous visit in 2013 Stuart went down into the gully and because there was less foliage found quite a few more pieces of the Whitley.

Above and below:-More pieces of Whitley LA792. (More wreckage photos)