Tag: photos

  • Autumn colours

    Autumn colours

    Last weekend we went to Angus and took these lovely photos of the autumn colours on a walk near Kinnettles Castle. Up on the hill behind the castle are two water towers that previously supplied water to the castle and estate. One of them has a door that you can open to peer inside. It’s…

  • Autumn in Aberdeenshire

    Autumn in Aberdeenshire

    Stunning autumn colours in the Scottish countryside today. This is Scolty Hill in Aberdeenshire: the best little corner of the planet. The tower behind us in this next photo is a 300m high monument built for a local man, General William Burnett, who fought alongside Wellington in the Napoleonic Wars. There’s a spiral staircase inside…

  • Granny is here, a wave from the King, and a knitting trail

    Granny is here, a wave from the King, and a knitting trail

    My mother is visiting from Australia which is extra special because it has been more than four years since we last saw her. Today we drove out to Braemar in celebration for lunch and a walk. As we drove past Crathie we saw lots of people gathered and realised the King was about to leave…

  • Anthony Horowitz in Braemar

    Anthony Horowitz in Braemar

    How beautiful is this scene? The view is looking down towards the village of Braemar from Craig Choinnich. We do this walk quite a lot because you get such great rewards with little effort. It’s only about 25 minutes up the hill from the village and you get magnificent views in all directions. The first…

  • I knitted a dress

    I knitted a dress

    I’ve been slack at writing lately because all my spare time has been spent knitting. I need one of those stickers for the car window that says, “I’d rather be knitting”. I just completed my first dress and it has turned out rather well. It was knit in the round from the top down. Last…

  • Strathmore Highland Games at Glamis Castle

    Strathmore Highland Games at Glamis Castle

    We gave Grandad a true Scottish experience today at the Strathmore Highland Games at Glamis Castle. There was highland dancing – which Elizabeth participated in – caber tossing, stone throwing, running, cycling, tug-of-war, and various other heavy weight competitions including ones I’d never seen before like throwing beer barrels and carrying whopping great hunks of…

  • House of Dun

    House of Dun

    We went for a tour of the gorgeous House of Dun today, a Georgian home built for the Erskine family in 1743 by the architect William Adam. In 1980, the 21st and last Laird of Dun, Millicent Lovett (nee Erskine), died without an heir and left the house and contents to the National Trust of…

  • Glen Esk and Loch Lee

    Glen Esk and Loch Lee

    Scotland never ceases to surprise me with its landscapes. Decades ago when I came here as a very young adult I can remember driving around with friends and it felt like every mile or so we wanted to stop the car and take photos. It felt a bit like that today. You can drive up…

  • Snow day

    Snow day

    It’s a winter wonderland in Aberdeen today. School was cancelled so the kids made excellent use of their free time and created a snowman.

  • Duthie Park in the snow

    Duthie Park in the snow

    Duthie Park was looking quite lovely yesterday. I took these photos on my run.

  • Glamis Castle

    Glamis Castle

    Glamis Castle is famous for being the ancestral home of the former Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. It has been in the Lyon family since 1372. Princess Margaret was also born in the castle. Perhaps an even bigger claim to fame is as the setting for Shakespeare’s Macbeth and also as a film location for some…

  • Photos from our weekend

    Photos from our weekend

    Friends of ours who we haven’t seen since 2014 visited us from New Zealand this weekend. It’s wonderful to catch up with old friends again. Daniel in particular really bonded with the son who is a similar age to him. Here’s a photo in our backyard, complete with finger in front of the lens. On…

  • Linn of Quoich

    Linn of Quoich

    We had a delightful walk at the Linn of Quoich today. We walked upstream along the Quoich River further than we’ve gone before and I found myself having to stop over and over again for photos because it was just so pretty. It was very quiet too. Practically no-one else there. Daniel pooed on the…

  • Birsemore Loch

    Birsemore Loch

    There’s a lovely loch in Aboyne that I didn’t know existed until recently. It’s only small so good if you just want a quick walk through forest. It’s called Birsemore Loch and it’s special not just for the beautiful scenery but because you can walk past the Queen’s Hut which is a log cabin built…

  • Loch Callater

    Loch Callater

    It’s always nice to find a new walk we haven’t done before and that happened today with a walk up to Loch Callater. The walk starts about 3 miles south of Braemar at Auchallater Farm. There’s a small carpark there which costs £3. It’s about 7 miles to the loch and back from the carpark…

  • Knock Castle in the snow

    Knock Castle in the snow

    It snowed in Ballater today so we decided Knock Castle in snow was the place to be and we weren’t disappointed. You can’t beat a castle ruin in Scotland in winter snow. I got Ben doing a jumping shot this time. My jumping shot is fab. Look ma, no legs! You can go inside Knock…

  • Craigendarroch, Ballater

    Craigendarroch, Ballater

    We went for another fantastic walk today, this time up Craigendarroch in Ballater. I got lots of great photos. We’ve climbed up Craigendarroch many times now and in all seasons and weathers. Today was mostly sunny and a very easy climb except for the beginning bit where we ended up off the path. We usually…

  • Snow and lunch in Braemar

    Snow and lunch in Braemar

    We had a lovely day in Braemar today: lunch followed by a walk in the woods. We finally got some snow and it was mostly sunny all day.

  • Happy 15th birthday to Daniel

    Happy 15th birthday to Daniel

    It’s Daniel’s 15th birthday today. It’s hard to believe I’ve now been a mother for 15 years. It seems like such a long time but then it has also been the best years of my life and seems to get better and better with each year. Daniel was a very cute baby; born 3 days…

  • Hogmanay and Elizabeth’s 12th birthday

    Hogmanay and Elizabeth’s 12th birthday

    It’s Hogmanay and Elizabeth’s birthday today. The years tick by and although there are big global events – like the pandemic – we still go through all the same motions each year. Elizabeth is 12 and had a lovely celebration at home with two of her school friends. Elizabeth was such a cute little baby.…