Getting cooler

Sunday nights B&B was at a farm 3 miles south of Keith in a beautiful location with the sunrise as my early morning alarm, I had the full Scottish breakfast which kept me going for my exploration of the Spey valley and visit to Boat of Garten RSPB where despite the missing osprey who had abandoned her clutch of eggs I did see Siskin, Crested Tits and loads of Green Finches.
It was great to catch up with John and Seonaid and they plied me with fines food and wines so getting out of bed for my first Ben was a challenge on Tuesday morning was not easy but it was a lovely rain free walk up Ben Braggie that Seonaid’s sister Barbara joined us on, it did get a little breezy at the top.
John and I dodged the showers again on Wednesday and made it to the top of the Struie Hill which gave us fabulous panoramic views of the whole of Sutherland. From there John took me on a mystery tour where we met a mermaid, walked around the lighthouse at Tarbat Ness, bought eggs from an egg box and had coffee and sausage rolls at another of Harry Gow’s shops this time in Tain.
This morning saw an early start at 5:30 which got me to the recommended greasy spoon near Pitlochry 15 minutes before they opened but despite that and a pile up on the motorway south I was still at the ticket desk at Bamburg Castle by 11:45, that was an amazing experience, the place is massive and what impressed me the most were the beautiful woods that have been used in the castle rooms, also the one time owner Lord Armstrong deserves further research. I managed to do all my exploring at Almwick so I will be on the road home early tomorrow morning.

Going up to John’s.

I set of on Saturday in the pouring rain heading for Scotland and called in at Sizergh a National Trust property near Kendal. The house was OK but the high point were the portraits of the various WAGS belonging to the boring guys who at one point or another owned the place, pride of place goes to Mrs Mary Horneyold-Strickland, she definitely looks like she deserves her surname. I go soaked walking from the house to my car and when I arrived at last night’s B&B, Woodlea in Castle Douglas the sun was shining and they had not had any rain at all. Woodlea was a revelation, it is a Victorian house that has been tastefully remodelled and it is totally immaculate, it is like a show house but better workmanship, my room including breakfast was only £35.00 - ridiculously cheap.
Today’s trip took me just down the road to Threave, I walked down to the river where you can catch a ferry to visit the castle but I settled for a time at the Osprey viewing platform and fortunately left just as the over enthusiastic guide arrived. Threave garden was unusual in as much as there were many areas left to nature but that did not detract from the experience in any way in fact I enjoyed it more for the difference. The kitchen garden is wonderful with so many varieties of vegetables grown in such a warm microclimate that gooseberries are already ripe for picking, I want one. From there I visited the Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall, unfortunately I could not get to the lower part of the fall because Peregrine Falcons are nesting nearby, I will have to go back outside the breeding season. My continuing journey took in the Forth Road Bridge, Braemar, Balmoral and ended up just outside Keith after a pub lunch at the Gordon Arms Hotel in Yarrow.
I will be wending my way up to John’s by way of the Spey valley and Inverness tomorrow.