Our last couple of days went by pretty quickly or so it seemed. We left my aunt and uncle's house, then headed to Rothes to meet up with my mum's cousin Bill and his wife Lynn. Bill had a new dog so we spent a few minutes getting introduced to the very gorgeous Hazel!
As we hadn't met up for ages, we drove down the road to Dufftown, and the Glenfiddich Distillery for some lunch and a good catch-up session.
I'm not a whisky drinker so I can't really vouch for the drink itself, but the distillery was insane.
I kid you not, this was the ladies TOILETS! O____O
 |
| Apparently this alone cost about £100k! |
Bill and I both ordered a smoked salmon thing for lunch, but when it arrived it was more like something you'd get off a taster menu as a starter, (big plate, tiny food) and while it was really nice, it was very underwhelming, considering that everyone else got a decent amount on their plate. Lynn wasn't standing for that and asked to speak to the manager, who was very understanding and offered us a free slice of cake by way of an apology! I didn't want to make a fuss, but I was still really hungry! XD
The cake helped though. Cake always helps. :P
After a good long chat we headed off to Aberdeen, where we stayed with Bill's brother, David, for an overnight. We don't see much of either of them so it was really nice to see them, and David is always a good laugh. (I think the terrible sense of humour comes from that side of the family tbh)
The following day we said our goodbyes and set off for Stonehaven for a walk on the beach. The good weather from a few days prior was most definitely gone and it was rather...well, bracing.
My parents met at University in Aberdeen,and we'd initially planned to explore the old part of the city as it's somewhere I'd never been, but the weather was particularly foul, and the haar prevented us from seeing most of the view so we put it off for another time. Instead, dad recalled from his geology student days that the beach at St Cyrus was apparently quite nice to walk on, and a good source of agates which could be found washed up. That sounded perfect so we made a move in that direction.
A quick coffee stop later...
...we found our way to the car park beside the beach and...
...oh...
We knew there were cliffs but we didn't realise they were quite that high!
Ordinarily it wouldn't be too bad as the footpath, while steep, looked well maintained, but there was the small matter of the wind to contend with!
(click the arrows)
As far as we could tell from the map, this was the only access point for miles, so we decided to give it a miss this time round.
It wasn't a complete loss though, we got to meet this lovely dog called Domino!
After leaving David's we'd decided to stay somewhere else that night so we wouldn't be rushing to get home, and after a bit of a palaver trying to get through to reception on the phone, we booked into a really lovely hotel in Montrose for the night. I'd already arranged to meet up with my hobby friend Heather at Letham Craft shop the following day as it was en route home, but we had a morning to enjoy before then. As I'd been to it once before with her, I was quick to recommend the beautiful Lunan Bay and wow, I'm so glad I did!
The last time I'd been it had been late November and it was cold and frosty with pastel skies. This time round we had warm sunshine and blue skies as far as the eye could see!
There were also thousands of jellyfish that had been washed up; most had been bashed into rust coloured fragments by the sea, but there were a few that remained mostly intact.
I found the tiniest, shiniest wee fish ever there too!
Along with a whole host of sea gooseberries! I could literally scoop them up off the sand every few feet, there were loads of them!
There are a few wee caves in the cliffs at Lunan Bay...
...and having a rather obliging parent came in handy!
As we headed back to the car, I spotted a kestrel hovering overhead which was nice, I hadn't seen one in years!
Next stop, Letham!
When Heather took me to this place last year I honestly wasn't expecting much. It's a pretty ordinary looking building but once you get inside it's the craft shop of your dreams!
Despite the range, I hardly bought anything, I was too distracted by talking model horse! Next time though... :P
Just down the road from the craft shop was The Girdlestane, a Pictish cup and ring marked stone from the Early Bronze Age. I was a rebel and touched it. :P
Our last stop before home was Meigle, and the Pictish Stones museum there. You'd think we'd seen enough of them by now, but this place was well known for having a fantastic collection so we couldn't miss it.
We popped into the graveyard next door first though as we noticed there were some nice old gravestones, and well, there was a cat, so that may have been an ulterior motive as well.
 |
| We tried to entice her over but she was having none of it! |
 |
| *yells through trumpets* 'YER DEED, PAL' |
I know this next one is a skull with an hourglass above it but I can't unsee it as a bow. XD
The museum itself was small, and housed in the old church next door.
(Use the wee arrows to go through them all)
It was really nice to see them all without glass and while things were a little cramped and there was always the worry that you'd bump into them and cause chaos, being able to get up close and personal to such exquisite carvings made it all worth it.
From Meigle we went straight home, and that, as they say, is that!
Thanks for bearing with me on this, next time I'll try to get everything uploaded promptly! I'm actually going away again this coming weekend but if I post anything from that trip it'll be significantly less drawn out!
I've been doing some crafty things since coming home though, so there'll hopefully be some more interesting posts prior to that!
It really is beautiful there, very impressive. I enjoyed your pictures very much. And indeed, the skull has a cute bow lol!
ReplyDeleteThese are all Wonderful photos Christine, but the jellyfish washed ashore, were really intriguing! The rust color that they took on is fascinating!
ReplyDelete