Coal

[garyoppolis]

Where can you buy 10kg (ish) bags of it in Glasgow?

I realised recently that I've seen fire logs, charcoal briquettes, kindling and even full sized logs in various pound shops and supermarkets but I don't think I've ever seen an old fashioned sack of coal anywhere.

Failing that, is there anywhere on the road to Braemar that would do them?

The A82's much easier: the Green Wellie always has some and most of the garages in Fort Bill do too.

[Sgurr]

What's your route? Wickes advertise that they sell coal, http://www.wickes.co.uk/HOUSE-COAL-10KG/p/114233
and there is a branch in both Glasgow and Perth. Might be too far off route....and they mightn't sell it in summer.

[Iainm]

Do you have a Home Bargains near you?

I bought a 10kg bag of house coal from the Bishopbriggs shop back in January. Possibly just a seasonal thing though, as it was stored outside in front of the shop.

[Cairngormwanderer]

A lot of garages sell coal, including that in Blairgowrie and Braemar. It often comes in 20kg bags, but you can get round that by having a polybag ready and decanting half of the 20kg bag.

[Caberfeidh]

Two shops in Braemar used to sell 10kg coal bags, the General Merchants (who also do a nice selection of whiskies) is an old-fashioned looking shop, beside a butcher's shop which does nice venison sausages. The other is a crappy mini-mart thing where the manageress accused me of shoplifting, a non-event which totally spoiled my weekend. So I only go to the nice wee general merchant shop, which is nicely old-fashioned and friendly. There's a garage at Ballater beside the river on the approach from Aboyne which sells it too.
A note of caution regarding charcoal - charcoal gives off a lot of carbon monoxide which can kill in an enclosed space, so don't go substituting charcoal for any other fuel in the bothy.

[Senja]

Two shops in Braemar used to sell 10kg coal bags, the General Merchants (who also do a nice selection of whiskies) is an old-fashioned looking shop, beside a butcher's shop which does nice venison sausages. The other is a crappy mini-mart thing where the manageress accused me of shoplifting, a non-event which totally spoiled my weekend. So I only go to the nice wee general merchant shop, which is nicely old-fashioned and friendly. There's a garage at Ballater beside the river on the approach from Aboyne which sells it too.
A note of caution regarding charcoal - charcoal gives off a lot of carbon monoxide which can kill in an enclosed space, so don't go substituting charcoal for any other fuel in the bothy.

Why should charcoal be any worse than coal in this respect? Carbon monoxide is produced by burning any carbon based fuel in insufficient oxygen. A good working lum and ventilation is essential if burning anything you are likely to burn in a bothy.

High quality coal is mostly carbon, but also contains some nasties that you may not want to inhale.

[orion]

B & M or Wickes. Less than half the price of a garage

[Caberfeidh]

Why should charcoal be any worse than coal in this respect? Carbon monoxide is produced by burning any carbon based fuel in insufficient oxygen. A good working lum and ventilation is essential if burning anything you are likely to burn in a bothy. High quality coal is mostly carbon, but also contains some nasties that you may not want to inhale.

Let me just Google that for you...
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jul/06/barbecue-death-camping
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... l_Briquets

etc., etc... Charcoal gives out much more Carbon Monoxide. Do not burn it indoors. Coal is different. If it was the same we would have noticed by now.

[Challum]

The wee general store near the Braemar butcher has been closed for some time now. The other store is now a Co-op.

[BobMcBob]

Carbon monoxide is produced by burning any carbon based fuel in insufficient oxygen.

Correct. However the definition of "sufficient oxygen" is what's important. It's very difficult to get "sufficient oxygen" in to a charcoal fire. I could go on and on in detail about the chemistry and physics behind that but you'd be asleep before I finished

Charcoal in an enclosed space is potentially lethal, even with a chimney. Unless you build a furnace with some bellows attached, then it's toasty

[RiverSong]

I think the garage in Ballater was closed after the flooding so might not stock coal at the moment

[Caberfeidh]

The wee general store near the Braemar butcher has been closed for some time now. The other store is now a Co-op.

Shame, that was a nice old-fashioned wee shop. I wonder what they did with all the whisky...?

I think the garage in Ballater was closed after the flooding so might not stock coal at the moment

I'm surprised the garage is still there at all after all that flooding.

[Soldier of fortune]

Anyone remember Sourlies bothy in the early 1970's, light the fire in there and it created a smoke screen for the rats to come out, didn't help when my mate started feeding them,

[Caberfeidh]

Anyone remember Sourlies bothy in the early 1970's, light the fire in there and it created a smoke screen for the rats to come out, didn't help when my mate started feeding them,

Is that a round about way of telling us your mate was eaten by rats at Sourlies? I was at Peanmanich one time with Wee Mad Tony The Pyromaniac when we tried burning some plastic from the beach, nets, ropes etc. We felt fine until I went outside for a pee, then I walked back into a wall of plastic fumes. We evacuated and ventilated the building until we got rid of the fumes. The rats that night were legion, a light suddenly shone showed a seething black floor, which fractured into dozens of rat-shapes scuttling off at high speed.
Ruigh Aiteachan in Glen Feshie used to be very smokey, you could have made kippers in the rafters, but it has been sanitized and the fire place sealed with a boring wee coal stove.

[brpro26]

Dobbies in Perth, assuming your passing through that way on route for Braemar which you might be if turning off the A9 North of Perth and going cross counrty to Blairgowerie. Anyway...I seen it the other day, just pop off at the Crieff junction.
Take an arm and a leg with you to pay for it...Caberfeidh should have a couple lying around somewhere.