Tag: photos
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.
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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…
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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.…
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Creag Bheag, Kingussie
We did a hill walk up Creag Bheag today. We were lucky to have views in all directions from the top and it was so calm with not even the whisper of wind at the top. The landscape has been gloriously silvery all day again today and it really felt like we’d stepped into the…
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Gynack Burn, Kingussie
We made it to the highlands! I’ve got holiday cancellation PTSD and before each holiday now I get paranoid that it’ll be canceled too. The night before we left I woke up at 2am thinking I’d lost my sense of taste and smell. I went downstairs and tasted some salt, felt reassured that it tasted…
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Provost Skene’s House and the Christmas markets
We walked into town to check out the Christmas markets today. It’s nice to see them up and running again after the very quiet Christmas we had last year. Marischal College (the building in this next photo) was as stunning as always in the afternoon sun. The ice-skating rink is there again but we didn’t…
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Snow and storm Arwen
The first snow of the season arrived last Friday. We didn’t get a huge amount in Aberdeen but enough for me to get excited and for it to look Christmassy. I went for a bike ride on Sunday and this was the scene. On Friday night we got hit by Storm Arwen which was fierce…
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Our animal friends
Several months ago I bought a lemongrass plant which I thought would be nice in curry. However, Victoria has taken a liking to the plant and has absolutely shredded it. It’s the first thing she goes to in the morning when she wakes up, even before her food bowl. Last weekend we made some birdfeeders…
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Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries
We’ve come to Dunblane for the weekend, a picturesque Scottish village in Perthshire, about 110 miles southwest of Aberdeen. The village is beautiful with lots of quirky shops and an attractive river running through the middle called Allan Water. There’s also a cathedral that dates from the 12th century. There’s a fake Banksy outside one…
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Hamster pics
Victoria thinks the hamsters are getting too much attention. “What about me?” I took this video of Bella taking a walnut into her house. Bella is a bit on the chubby side. I’m hoping that with a bigger cage she’ll get more exercise and slim down bit.
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Sunday walk at Crathes Castle
We haven’t been for walk in the country for a while. Saturdays are busy again with Highland Dance and Sundays is allotment day. Late this afternoon we decided to head to Crathes Castle for a walk. How many people who live in cities can decide late on a Sunday afternoon for country walk and then…
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Helen Bur art in Aberdeen #nuart
I was very excited to see this art by Helen Bur on the side of a building in Aberdeen. It’s terrific. The couple in the scene are friends of hers who have recently had a baby. You can watch a timelapse of her creating it here – Time-lapse of artist Helen Bur creating the last…
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Braemar Castle
Today we went on a tour of Braemar Castle, an L-plan tower house built in 1628 by John Erskine. It has a colourful history having been a hunting lodge, an important garrison after the Jacobite rising, it was attacked and burned by John Farquharson in 1689 and then a century later bought by another John…
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Ballochbuie forest and the Falls of Garbh Allt
The Ballochbuie Forest is a fine remnant of the ancient Caldeonian forest which once covered much of Scotland. It was saved from being felled by Queen Victoria in 1878 and is the first example of woodland conservation in Scotland. Since then subsequent generations of the royal family have protected it. It’s not hard to see…
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Swimming at the Linn of Dee and Linn of Quoich
There was more wild swimming for us today. This time we swam in the Linn of Dee and the Linn of Quoich. Linn means a “pool below a waterfall”. The Linn of Dee is a well-known tourist attraction about 6.5 miles from Braemar. It was a favourite spot of Queen Victoria’s and is a gorge…
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Swimming in the Clunie River
Yesterday was another warm day and we swam in the Clunie River in Braemar. It was refreshing, crystal clear, and home to lots of juvenile trout. The trout ranged in size from tiny to an adult that was at least half a metre long. They can live for 10 to 20 years apparently and are…
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