Holidays in Glenlivet in the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland

Happy Christmas

2011-12-22T23:02:00.000Z

2011-09-25T01:28:00.006+01:00

I love the poem below written by a visitor to Bluefolds in April. She has summed up perfectly for me what a holiday at Bluefolds can be like. It is called:

Look Through the Window

View to Cairngorm mountains

Look through the window
What do you see
The beautiful Country
A Fest for the eye

Look at the sky
What do you see
The stars shining bright
A moon that is full

Look at the ground
What do you see
The peat for the Whisky
A land full of hope

Black faced lambs in the field

Look at the pastures
What do you see
Sheep that are grazing
Lambs at their side

Look at the mountains
What do you see
Snow in the distance
On top of the world

Look at the weather
What do you see

Watching the weather over the distillery

A moment of sunshine
The clouds come and go

I've seen through the window
A glimpse to admire
Time stood still
At Bluefolds for a while

Ann O'Donel

14 April 2011

Summer around Elgin

2011-09-05T18:26:00.002+01:00

The weather has certainly been a mixed bag this summer where ever I have been in Scotland. It has been a challenge to get out and take photos in sunshine showing the beauty of the area. During August, I was called to be a Juror at the Sheriff Court in Elgin. In the end after listening to an afternoon of evidence, the Crown Prosecution Service decided there was no case to answer and the Jury was dismissed. I took the opportunity to go around Elgin Cathedral, Biblical Garden and to visit the Cygnets in Cooper Park on a lovely day when I had thought to be in doors listening intently to witnesses! More Photos of a day around Elgin

Days Out from Bluefolds Holiday Cottages in May

2011-05-22T19:31:00.000+01:00

April and May have been beautiful months with lots of sunshine and in April lovely warm weather. It has been cooler in May, but still with lots of sunshine. I have taken every opportunity to get out and take photographs around the local area. After a trip to the Braes of Glenlivet where the Braeval distillery was looking very smart and hard at work distilling whisky, I took a walk along part of the River Livet looking out for wild flowers. Later I took a trip across the River Spey at Marypark and along the back road to Grantown on Spey before heading for Boat of Garten to the RSPB reserve to see EJ the Osprey sitting on her 3 eggs. I plan to go back later and see her when the chicks are hatched which will be any day now. View photographs from this trip at: http://picasaweb.google.com/ejbluefolds/DaysOutFromBluefoldsHolidayCottages#

Glenlivet and Moray

2011-03-14T01:41:00.001Z

Glenlivet & Moray Slideshow: Elizabeth’s trip from Bluefolds Highland Holiday Cottages (near Glenlivet, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom) to 10 cities Grantown-on-Spey, Brodie Castle (near Forres, Moray), Dufftown, Lossiemouth, Craigellachie, Findhorn, Aberlour, Portsoy, Cullen and Huntly was created by TripAdvisor. See another United Kingdom slideshow. Create your own stunning slideshow with our free photo slideshow maker.

Glenlivet and Tomintoul in the Snow

2011-03-13T09:39:00.000Z

Looking out the window this morning made me think of this video that I did last year as it looks exactly like this again today. It is a real change from Sunday last week when I went out in glorious sunshine and found lots of snowdrops and crocuses in flower!

Glenlivet in Spring and Early Summer

2011-02-28T15:48:00.002Z

Glenlivet in Spring and early Summer
The crocus are pushing their heads up and I can see hints of yellow which is good as last year at this time the land was buried in feet of snow! Our local farmer is ploughing his field ready to put in the barley and has already completed one field. The seagulls have come in land for this chance of some extra food.

Farmer ploughing followed by seagulls

End of February

2011-02-28T13:11:00.000Z

The lighthouse, Lossiemouth West beach

Have had some lovely walks during February as the weather on the whole has been sunny and some days even warm, certainly for the time of year. Can hardly believe that it is possible to get washing dried outside! Went to visit a bird hide on the edge of Spynie Loch near the Bishop's Palace at Spynie and close to Lossiemouth on a misty day. The lighting at this time of year is always interesting. The tornado pilots based at RAF Lossiemouth use the lighthouse to line up on the runway!

One of the swans after food

The loch is a great place to watch swans, ducks and even otters. There are lots of bird feeders and we often see red squirrels as well as blue tits, coal tits, but not on this occasion. Took the floating duck food with me, but only a couple of swans were hungry and came to try it.

The following day we took a drive up to the Lecht ski area and arrived late afternoon as a snow storm was arriving making for some moody skies.When we stopped to watch the skiers the mist had come down and it was good they were wearing colourful jackets so we could still see them. The wind was very cold, but the snow that came in the evening made for good sking the next day. The weather has changed over the last few days and the snow is fast disappearing.

Moody skies near the Lecht Ski resort

Learning the ropes at the Lecht!

Skiers at the Lecht disappearing into the mist

Winter in Glenlivet

2011-01-25T18:07:00.000Z

Thomas Telford bridge over the river Spey at Craigellachie

Walking on the Speyside Way near Craigellachie

Holidaymakers enjoyed the snow and sunshine in Glenlivet and Cairngorms over Christmas and New Year. The Lecht and Cairngorm ski resorts were very busy. The visitors to our cottages had to walk up the hill except for the lucky ones with 4 wheel drive! Since the New Year the snow and ice has gradually melted and the last few days have been warm, but there is a lot of winter left!

Watching the sun go down at Lossiemouth east beach

Lossiemouth east beach with view to Spey Bay

Blairfindy castle close to the Glenlivet distillery

Ducks on frozen pond at Cooper Park, Elgin

Day Out to Dufftown and Craigellachie

2010-07-08T17:22:00.005+01:00

Spring in Glenlivet and area

2010-05-23T13:17:00.010+01:00

It seemed like the winter would never end! I even escaped to Texas for 3 weeks in March expecting on my return in early April that the daffodils would be in bloom and a real feeling of spring would be in the air. It was around 20 April before it seemed like spring was finally coming the area. However by the time of the Whisky Festival at the end of April everything was starting to look green and this has continued slowly through May. We have had lots of sunshine, but bitter cold winds for much of the time. However it is now beautifully warm and sunny which means that the grass needs to be cut regularly again! During the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, I took the opportunity with various friends to go out and about in Glenlivet and Speyside and had a lot of fun taking photos. The Stramash, lots of people with fiddles and accordians making great music was a great night of entertainment. The Whisky Fair in Dufftown was popular as ever and this year had the added bonus of pipers, piping people into the hall at the start of the day. The Dufftown Pipe Band played in the square in the afternoon again drawing a crowd. There were tastes and talks galore in the Memorial Hall, at distilleries, on the train, at restaurants. Everywhere you looked there were people from all over the world enjoying themselves.

There were walks as well and I participated in a walk up Glen Avon (A'an) on Sunday morning to the Ailnack gorge in the snow!! The lovely warming and tasty lunch in the Clockhouse restaurant was welcome. The afternoon was spent visiting the River Spey at Grantown on Spey, the Farmer's market there and watching the Cavalcade of mountain bikers and horses being led by the Badenoch and Strathspey Pipe Band through the town. Made some time for some culture and history as well attending Whisky Kisses the new musical play which premiered at Glenfiddich and visiting both Ballindalloch and Brodie castles.

A year of Photos in Glenlivet and Speyside

2010-02-09T21:45:00.008Z

I have found this slideshow facility which I hope you will enjoy. The photos make a change from all the snowy ones that I have been showing lately!

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Snow, Snow and more Snow in Speyside

2010-01-05T19:07:00.010Z

We had a very quiet Christmas admiring the snow which was not too much at this stage or so we thought. We decided to go for a walk by the River Livet as we often do over the Christmas period. First problem was the snow was too deep for us to park in the usual spot. We managed to park under Drumin Castle as Charlie, the farmer had been through it to feed his animals. However when I saw Steve disappear above his knees on the way down to the river, I decided the walk was off at least for that day. We were able to drive up to the cottages and popped in to see some of our visitors who have been having a great time sledging and just chilling out round the lovely fire in the cottages. We had supper at the Croft Inn and it was delicious, but they commented that the snow was slowing down the number of customers that they would usually have at this time of year.

We had a lovely sunny day between Christmas and New Year which made me rush out and take photos although parking was difficult and there was still plenty of snow. Now we are at the stage of wanting the snow to stop! It has snowed all day today. Steve went to Tomintoul and could not believe how much snow there is there. The good news for the ski resorts is they are having the best year for a long time with lots of sking over Christmas and New Year when the roads were open.

Winter has come to Speyside

2009-12-21T22:12:00.008Z

We have just returned from our summer holidays, in Chile and the Falkland Islands where we enjoyed the start of their summer, to a winter wonderland. The weather is certainly making us realise that Christmas is nearly here. I can't remember when we last had this much snow before Christmas. Everywhere looks beautiful as long as you only need to sit and look at it. Steve and his helpers have been over at the cottages getting them ready for our Christmas visitors, while I have stayed at home enjoying the warm indoors and admiring the snowy hills around! I ventured out this afternoon, now that my car has on it's winter tyres, in beautiful sunshine to take a few photos just in case the weather changes suddenly. There should be good sking at the Lecht and Cairngorms if this weather continues over the holiday season. I had a look at the forecast for the next few days and the Lecht is expecting -6 to -8. This weather is lovely for the Reindeer as they pull Santa's Sleigh around the area. They are going to be at Brodie on 23 December from 10 am to 4 pm.

Lonach Highland Games

2009-09-05T11:11:00.008+01:00

What a fantastic day out! The weather was lovely and the drive over the heather clad hills to Strath Don was breathtaking. This was my first visit to the Lonach Highland Games although I have visited all my other local ones many times - Dufftown, Tomintoul and Aberlour as well as Braemar. Having seen and talked to some of the Lonach Highlanders at the Gathering in Edinburgh at end of July, I was keen to finally see them in action in their home place. Strathdon is very small with a tiny village and to see the car parks full of cars for at least 1/2 a mile in every direction was an eye opener. The place was buzzing with excitement. The setting is great with plenty of space for lots of retail opportunities as well as a very busy arena with dancing, piping, heavy games and athletics all taking place simultaneously. It was difficult to know where to look as there was such a lot happening. The Pipe Bands led the Lonach Highlanders around the field and it is truly a remarkable spectacle. We were told that Billy Connelly and Pamela Stephenson were present, but I did not bump into them. The colour of the day was wonderful and the men of all ages involved in the Highlanders is great to see in this day age.

Summer in Glenlivet and area

2009-09-02T15:04:00.011+01:00

It has been a busy summer with lots of visitors staying at Bluefolds Holiday cottages and also lots staying at my home. This has given me many chances to get out and about and to see the area through visitors eyes. I had a wonderful trip via Cullen to Troup Head to see how the Gannets were doing this year. There seemed to be lots of large chicks, some already having lost all their fluff and looking very similar to the adults except for black spots on their wings. The walk out to the RSPB reserve at Troup Head is wonderful itself with views over the Moray Firth and round the headland to the small fishing village of Pennan. There always seems to be a wide range of butterflies flying around and I managed to photograph 2 different ones. I just love the isolation of this headland and the beauty and drama of the changing scenery. Many other seabird nest there during the season including kittiwakes, razorbills, guillemots and puffins, but I was too late in the season to see much beside the beautiful gannets. Troup Head is the only place in Scotland where you can visit the gannets on land - all other gannet colonies such as the Bass Rock are on islands.

Ballindalloch Castle, Buckie and Portnockie

2009-05-31T11:54:00.009+01:00

The remainder of May has been beautiful with lots of sunshine, although until the last few days it has been pretty cold. The gardens, countryside and seaside are all looking wonderful in this my favourite month of the year. It could be because my birthday is this month. The rhododendrons are in full bloom at Ballindalloch castle and with my annual pass have made several visits this month. I am always delighted with the range of colours in these beautiful plants. The rock garden and the path to the rose garden are looking exceptional this year. It was lovely to spend sometime there with family and friends. Ballindalloch castle in April and May is a must for any photographer from happy snapper to professional as the landscape goes from the daffodils of early spring to the array of flowers in summer. The colours are fantastic. The next day as the weather was still looking good, we decided to head for the coast and visited Buckie. One of the few remaining fishing villages or towns in the region. We arrived in the late afternoon in time to see several fishing boats returning with their catch. I spoke to one of the fishermen and asked about his catch of prawns. He said it was very poor. Buckie is also where the RNLI lifeboat lives which has saved many lives along the Moray Firth. As the sun was still shining we headed further east and ended up at Portnockie. Where a short walk along the coastal path took us to views of the Bow Fiddle rock. Again it is a magical place for photographers, but it is also a great place for walking along the coast on the coastal path. While we were there we saw many gulls nesting, watched a few yachts pass by and ships further out to sea. We were not lucky enough to see seals, but there are many places along the coast where you can see them as well. This is the time of year to also visit Troup Head which is along past MacDuff to see the gannets, razorbills, guillemots and puffins nesting. This site is now protected by the RSPB who have a warden on duty daily who will tell you the best places to see your favourite bird and let you know which ones have chicks. It is great to live in an area where we have the mountains, countryside and sea all within an easy drive.

Whisky Festival - Cavalcade and Music

2009-05-16T13:01:00.007+01:00

The most amazing day of the festival for photographers. It was great to see something different happening on Speyside. The first time that a horse cavalcade has been involved and the new Spirit of Speyside Flag. After following the horses for the afternoon and watching them ride behind the band through Aberlour it was the turn of the River Spey to be the central focus for the flag. A heavy shower of rain did not detract from the Flag being brought down the Spey by the Ghillies and handed over for the Musical Even finale of the Festival. I guess Pipe Bands are used to getting wet - the Dufftown band certainly did while playing manfully as the boat passed under the Penny Bridge. The Evening concert including the Broxburn Pipe Bands, dancers, Fochabers Fiddlers and finally Capercaillie was a magical end to the day culminating in a fantastic firework display.

Smugglers Walk in Glenlivet

2009-05-15T22:56:00.011+01:00

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival lasted 10 fun filled days this year with many distilleries not usually open to the public throwing there doors wide. As well as lots of whisky tasting in Dufftown, Elgin, Keith and many places in between. There was also a Whisky Fair in the Memorial Hall in Dufftown which was incredibly busy this year. There were ceilidhs and stramashes, Robin Laing and the Final Music Event was in the Alice Littler Park in Aberlour. This was a spectacular evening of music ending with a wonderful firework display sponsored by Walkers of Aberlour. It was a fitting finale. On Sunday we went out to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful scenery of Glenlivet following the Smugglers Walk guided by David Newland. It was a beautiful day and everywhere looked really green and fresh. It was great to learn about the edible plants that we see on walks without realising how important they used to be to people living in a remote area like this. Visiting Drumin Castle and sampling a dram of Benromach where the barley for the whisky was grown locally was good for the whisky lovers. I love to walk beside the River Livet and it was great to share the chance to see little dippers, ducks and other birds as we walked along. We saw a little dipper feeding her 2 chicks. We walked to the Packhorse bridge and met up with a photographer from Homecoming Scotland who wanted to record our walk. It was interesting watching him work and I got the opportunity to take some interesting photos as well. Steve gave a nosing and tasting here with The Glenlivet Nadurra which everyone enjoyed. We then walked by the Falls of Glenlivet (small, but beautifully formed) along to the Glenlivet Hall and then on a small side road round to the Croft Inn for a delicious lunch of homemade soup and delicious sandwiches. It was a wonderful walk. After lunch, I went with my Swedish friends, Paul and Kerstin to Tombae to see the primroses, dog violets and lots of other wild flowers.

Holidays in Glenlivet and Speyside, Scotland: Easter in Glenlivet

2009-04-14T10:02:00.000+01:00

Holidays in Glenlivet and Speyside, Scotland: Easter in Glenlivet

Easter at Bluefolds Holiday Cottages

2009-04-11T21:46:00.006+01:00

It was amazing, I woke to a blue sky with no clouds - this was not what was forecast, but it made me very happy for the visitors already staying at Bluefolds Cottages and for the ones arriving today. When we went across to turnround a cottage, the sun was warm and the daffodils were waving in a light breeze, I just had to rush out and take some photos to show what it was like today. In the afternoon, with some family, I went to Lossiemouth to the beach which again was wonderful. I helped to build a sandcastle and collected shells for decoration. We finished a beautiful day with supper at the Croft Inn in Glenlivet and drove home as the sun went down. The family are visiting from Yorkshire and were amazed by the sunshine and temperature. They are not sure that there holiday is in the Highlands of Scotland!

Easter in Glenlivet

2009-04-10T17:11:00.004+01:00

Although, it is bit windy today - great for drying the washing, it is lovely weather for getting out and exploring Speyside and Moray. I have found a great site that offers various lengths of walk across the whole area. See www.morayways.org.uk

Daffodil Time in Elgin - Oystercatchers, Curlews and Lapwings return to Glenlivet

2009-04-07T11:30:00.010+01:00

This year we are having an early spring in Glenlivet and Speyside which is wonderful. The oystercatchers have been back for around 2 weeks and have now seen the usual 2 pairs near the cottages in Glenlivet studying their heap of stones. Oystercatchers like to nest on a heap of small stones - it seems like a strange place to nest, but they choose the same ones every year. The curlews are also back patrolling their territory. They nest in rushes near Folds Cottage and spend a lot of the day in the air around the area making their distinctive call. I have also seen fields of lapwings around the area. It is wonderful to see so many in one place. Soon they will be paired up, and nesting around the Glenlivet area. Last year, we had to wait until May before the daffodils were out in Glenlivet, but this year they are starting to bloom. As you drive down through Aberlour and along to Elgin there are daffodils in bloom everywhere. I just had to visit the area around Elgin Cathedral once in the early evening and a couple of days later in the morning to see the daffodils beside the River Lossie as it flows through Elgin and out to the sea at Lossiemouth. If you click on the collage it will open in another window showing larger version of the photos.

Changing Weather at Bluefolds, Glenlivet and Cairngorm

2009-03-30T13:09:00.017+01:00

On Saturday, my cousin, Jennifer was to help us with the painting in Glenlivet cottage. The first problem was that there was about 6" of snow on the road to the cottages and we had to abandon the car at the farm about 1/2 a mile from the cottages. You could think that we struggled through the snow - but we waited until Steve arrived with the girls who were doing the cottage turn rounds! I know it is cheating, but it meant we were fit to get on with the painting. The weather remained snowy with some heavy showers which let to Jennifer being able to sledge on a run behind the cottages. She loved it!
On Sunday after all our labours over the last few days, we went for a typical day out from Glenlivet starting with a visit to Drumin Castle (Lair of the Wolf of Badenoch in an earlier time), the views to the River Livet and River Avon are lovely and it was easy to see why he chose this spot with panoramic views. The castle has been made safe by the Crown Estate, Glenlivet. There is also a lovely walled garden and the daffodils will be in bloom in another week. We drove past the Glenlivet distillery which is currently being renovated and along a little side road which gave views back to the distillery and Ben Rinnes still with a cap of snow and on towards the Ladder Hills and Tomintoul. Ben Avon (pronounced A'an) was still looking very snowy and it would be a good day for sking at the Lecht. We stopped for hot chocolate and cake at the coffee shop in the Whisky Castle. Both were delicious and it was good to see that there were quite a few shoppers visiting on a Sunday. Kathy stocks a wide range of goods and Jennifer found some warm hats which were put to good use later. It was a beautiful sunny day until we reached Cairngorm for a trip in the funicular! Everything changed as we approached, the wind increased in speed and soon we were in a mini blizzard. As is the usual case in Scotland, if only we had been there 2 hours earlier! The trip up the mountain was wonderful and we braved the outside for a few very cold minutes to get some photos. It was hard to believe the change in temperature from Tomintoul to Cairngorm. We were amazed at the number of people sking, although we knew earlier in the day the car park had been full, as we could see the spaces where cars had left. We caught the last train down the mountain at 1620. We passed many skiers in the blizzard still making there way down the slopes as well. We drove back to Glenlivet via Carrbridge. The bridge was looking beautiful in the evening light and the river was very full. As we drove back to the Grantown road we saw that the blizzard had passed and the mountains in the Cairngorm range were once again looking wonderful with their snow caps. We crossed back across the River Spey at Grantown and drove along enjoying the light shining on it. There were quite a few weekend drivers around so it was fine to enjoy the trees, river, light and beautiful skies. It had been a wonderful day out, we were ready for our supper and nice refreshing glass of wine.

Visit to Lossiemouth Beach from Bluefolds Holiday Cottages

2009-03-27T13:05:00.006Z

The weather in this area never fails to amaze me as we go from several feet of snow to brilliant blue skies and sunshine. The weather was outstanding for a second day running and I just had to go to Lossiemouth. Since then there have been few days off to enjoy the lovely weather, as we have been cleaning and painting the holiday cottages ready for Easter. We still have some availablility between 28 March and 18 April. Have a look on our website for discounts.

Trip to Findhorn

2009-03-16T22:58:00.008Z

An afternoon off from work at the holiday cottages. It was raining in the morning, but by the afternoon the sun had come out and my friend, Paddy and I decided to visit Findhorn for a stroll along the beach. It was a windy, cold day, but beautiful as we wandered along the beach. The tide was on its way out so it was ideal for a long walk with lots of looking in rock pools, admiring stones of every shape and size; looking for shells and just generally enjoying being out it the fresh air on a breezy March day. We felt great after inhaling great lungfuls of sea air. Just proves you don't need to wait for summer to visit a beach!

Winter snow and sunshine - mountains and castles

2009-03-11T10:45:00.011Z

On Friday last week, when I was on the way to do spring cleaning at the holiday cottages in Glenlivet, I was sidetracked by sunshine and snow and had to stop and take some photos on my route past Drumin castle, the Glenlivet distillery and Blairfindy castle. When I was stopped, I had a beautiful view of a buzzard overhead with the sun shining on it's wings. Unfortunately, the photo I took is now very sharp - not a high enough shutter speed! As Ben Avon and the Cairngorm mountains were looking wonderful in the sunshine, I had to stop work to go out and take some more photos - the advantage of being my own boss! It always amazes me, even although I have lived in this area for 10 years, how many days in winter we get glorious sunshine whether combined with snow or frost! A friend, Paddy, arrived on Sunday for a short holiday with us. The weather had taken a turn for the worse with rain and high winds, but Paddy loves wind so we were not daunted and had a lovely walk beside the river Livet and saw 2 little dippers, bobbing on rocks in the river which quite captivated us. We also saw banks of snowdrops telling us that spring is really on the way.

Trip to Cullen

2009-02-26T23:21:00.003Z

Sunday was a day for relaxing away from cleaning holiday cottages. My young cousin Jennifer is visiting from South Africa and my friend Ann fancied a day out as well. As we drove past the Copperage at Craigellachie there was interesting light on all the empty whisky barrels. I just had to take a photo or two. We stopped briefly in Dufftown to see the Glenfiddich distillery and Balvenie Castle before heading over the hills to Huntly. The castle was looking wonderful in the winter sunlight. Jennifer went for a visit while Ann and I walked down to the river Deveron. It was flowing fast and looked very pretty. It was quite mild down by the river. Jennifer loved the castle with all its history and different architectural styles. Next we visited the harbour at Portsoy. The wind from the sea blowing into the harbour was cold! It felt like time for lunch, but most places in Cullen were closed. We went to the Cullen Bay Hotel. Our hearts dropped when we saw that they were very busy, but they were brilliant and were able to offer us a late lunch in an hours time . We made great use of the time by walking and playing and taking lots of photos on Cullen beach in the strong wind. We returned to Aberlour via Fochabers. Fochabers has some truly outstanding buildings. It was a lovely day out.

Snow in Glenlivet

2009-02-21T22:02:00.009Z

Valentines Day in Glenlivet. We are at the holiday cottages cleaning them for the visitors arriving in the afternoon. There is still an incredible amount of snow lying. The single track road from the B9008 has snow about 3ft on each side of it. Not much choice of where to drive just straight along the track hoping that you won't meet anyone going in the opposite direction! Reversing would be a nightmare. Steve had cut out a track from the gate to the cottage doors on either side there are 3 ft drifts of snow. When the children arrive they immediately want to go sledging, build a snowman and have a snowball fight - in no particular order. The snow is starting to melt, but only people with 4 wheel drive can get their vehicles to the cottages. Steve ferries the other along with their luggage. The view out to the snow from Aberlour cottage is the most amazing I have seen with the courtyard completely filled with snow to about 3 ft. Part of the guttering around the cottage has been pulled down by the snow. It is a good job we put up snowboards all round the sides of the courtyard otherwise the guttering would have gone completely. Good news is that the visitors loved it.

Winter wonderland - Glenlivet at New Year

2009-01-06T21:40:00.005Z

The hard frost over the New Year period has led to lots of beautiful sunshine which makes the short days seem a bit longer. December and January can be depressing with daylight not happening until around 9 a.m and it being dark again by 4 p.m. You have to rush out as soon as it is light if you want to take photos at this time of year and the shadows are very long by 2 p.m. I had some lovely walks beside the river Livet in Glenlivet and just loved the sunlight along with the frost.

December in Glenlivet and Speyside

2009-01-06T01:01:00.004Z

The sunrises, sunsets and hoare frost that we saw during the Christmas and New Year was wonderful. The cold, dry weather was a joy. The visitors staying at Bluefolds Cottages had a wonderful time. 4 of them spent their days sking at the Lecht. We went for walks by the River Spey in Aberlour along the Speyside Way and down by the River Livet to the confluence with the River Avon. We met the local farmer going to check on his cattle in the field by the river. He too was enjoying the dry weather. He lives beside Drumin castle and said that there had been lots of visitors to it over the Christmas period. The collage shows the frosty view to Ben Avon along with a stunning sunrise and sunset and beautiful frosted leaves.

Elgin Cathdral, Speyside in Autumn

2008-10-28T11:33:00.005Z

On Sunday, after I dropped a friend at the bus station in Elgin, the sun was shining and I thought why not visit the Cathedral. The autumn colours in the park by the Cathedral were looking vibrant and the trees by the River Lossie were gleaming in the sunlight. As a member of Historic Scotland, I decided to climb to the top of the Cathedral to view the surrounding town and countryside. The view to the Abbots House next door was fantastic. On view are a selection of photos I took on Sunday. I recently downloaded picasa 3 beta and discovered the joy of making collages. Picasa 3 from google is a great free programme and easy to use and to upload photos to the net. Today the weather has turned to winter and we have an inch or so of snow outside my window. Hope to get some snowy photos later when the snow goes off!

Red Squirrel visits Bluefolds Cottages

2008-10-27T13:57:00.005Z

Steve and I had great excitement about 3 weeks ago when we saw a red squirrel visiting our bird nut feeders outside Folds Cottage for the first time. Since then every time we have been cleaning the cottage ready for visitors, I have looked out the glass door and sure enough the red squirrel has been there. It has been great fun trying to get some nice photos of it and after a few attempts wanted to share our red squirrel with everyone. We are hopeful that this will be the start of red squirrel family moving into our trees.

Autumn in Avonside and Glenlivet

2008-10-24T23:50:00.008+01:00

This autumn it has been a joy to travel around Speyside from our holiday cottages in Glenlivet up to Tomintoul and along to the Victor Gaffney viewpoint which has stunning views to Ben and River Avon then back down to Glenlivet stopping off at the Packhorse bridge at Bridgend of Glenlivet where along with autumn colours, I found harebells still in bloom. We had a sharp frost in early October which suddenly gave us lots of wonderful colours. We also had the first snow of the winter lying briefly at Bluefolds cottages. Ben Avon and the Cairngorms have had a beautiful covering of snow for the last week.

Landscapes of Summer

2008-09-01T23:33:00.000+01:00

Summer in Speyside

2008-08-18T16:22:00.003+01:00

Scotland-Glenlivet in Summer and Autumn
Over the last few weeks, there has been some lovely weather. We had 2 really hot (for Speyside) weeks in July including the Highland Games at Dufftown. The weather has been mainly sunny during August, but much cooler than July with some days already feeling like autumn is here! I have noticed that the days are definitely shortening. T-in the Park, is in Glenlivet Hall for the whole month of August and seems to be very busy. I popped in today and had a delightful plate of Irish soup! Just shows we are very versatile in Speyside. Thre hanging and fence baskets are all looking good making the hall look exceptionally welcoming. The heather is looking stunning this year and I walked part of the way up Ben Rinnes to try and get some good colours and views. The barley is starting to change colour in this area, although on the Moray Firth coast the barley has already been harvested!

Visit to MacDuff and Troup Head

2008-07-16T22:31:00.006+01:00

As the sun was still shining, Jane and I head to the Moray Firth coast for a change of scenery, the following day. The seascapes as we drove along the coastal trail east were beautiful. We stopped and had an early lunch at the Cornerstone Restaurant in MacDuff. It is close to the Maritime museum and does excellent food. After lunch we drove east out of MacDuff through the harbour area marvelling at the fishing boats, but thinking that if we were enjoying seeing them it meant they were not fishing! We drove to the end of the road where the open air swimming pool used to be and found some wonderful rock formations.

Later we drove past Crovie and out to Troop Head. We parked at the RSPB Reserve car park and enjoyed the walk out to the cliffs listening to the sounds of the seabirds. It is a fairly steep climb up behind the cliff face to get to the best vantage point for viewing the birds An RSPB warden was on the cliffs with her telescope and was delighted to tell us about the different birds we could see as well as setting up the telescope for us to get close up views of some of the chicks. We saw gannets and chicks, kittiwake and chicks, guillemot and chicks and razorbills. We were lucky enough to see a passing Great Skua who was on the hunt for eggs or unguarded chicks. The highlight of the day was on our walk back to the car, we saw 3 puffins. Jane had never seen seabirds nesting on cliffs before and had for a long time wanted to see puffins so we were thrilled.

There is a lot to explore in the whole of this area including Gardestown, Crovie and Pennan, but it was Wimbledon on the TV so we decided to rush back to catch the end of it!

Summer is here

2008-07-16T01:15:00.008+01:00

Summer has arrived in Speyside. After our late winter and short spring, it is great that summer has arrived. We had family visiting last week and I took the opportunity to visit the gardens at Ballindalloch castle. My sister-in-law, Jane is a keen gardener and an artist. She loved the gardens and was very impressed by all the hard work that goes into maintaining them. She loved the selection of plants in the border by the entrance to the castle and could see that it would be a riot of colour for the next few months. The rock garden also looked great, but my favourite time is in spring when the azaleas and rhododendrons are in full bloom adding lots of pinks and reds to the many shades of green. We were just a little early to see the walled garden's many variety of roses at their best, but already there was a wonderful fragrance in the air with many different scented roses just coming into bloom. Apart from all the beautiful flowers and trees which are any gardeners dream there are now some llamas to visit as well. It was lovely to see the baby llama who is exceptionally cute.

After walking around the garden and driving around the Speyside area, I started thinking about the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Photographic Competition for 2009. Full details of the contest and how to enter are on the Greater Speyside Website.

Winter in Speyside

2008-03-24T18:51:00.006Z

Having returned from a holiday in New Zealand it was time to get the cottages ready for the Christmas and New Year visitors. Although we had some cold weather over the period, it was unfortunate that there was no snow. The weather has changed a great deal over the last 8 years since we have been living in the Speyside area. For the first 5 years snow was guaranteed normally between Christmas and the New Year. In fact, for 2 years we were completely snowed in. Instead this year it was frosty which is also pretty, but not much use to the youngsters who wanted to go sledging or sking! However the Glenfarclas and Aberlour distilleries were open between Christmas and New Year so at least the adults could get some New Year cheer. Early in the New Year, we had some lovely snowy days and I rushed out to take photos at the Packhorse bridge in Glenlivet. Another day when I was walking by the River Spey, I walked over the Penny Bridge in Aberlour and saw this beautiful heron fishing. During February we had some beautiful weather which led to my husband going to play his first golf of 2008 on a glorious sunny day.

Autumn in Speyside

2008-03-23T22:48:00.010Z

I really must get into the habit of writing up the blog on a regular basis! There is always lots of beautiful scenery to photograph and things to see and do around Speyside. The autumn colours were wonderful like the photo on the left of the River Spey between Rothes and Craigellachie. Between February and the end of September this is a wonderful fishing spot where I often see fishermen up to their waists in the cool Spey water. I haven't seen anyone catching a fish yet, but maybe I didn't wait around for long enough. I was driving over to work at our cottages at Bluefolds in Glenlivet and could not resist stopping to photograph Ben Rinnes on the way up to the cottages. I just loved the light on the wild corn and the colour of the hills. Alice Littler park with the Aberlour Church looks great in autumn too.

Balvenie castle, Dufftown

2007-10-05T00:07:00.002+01:00

Castles of the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire

2007-10-03T11:26:00.002+01:00

I have had a wonderful time taking photos at various castles and garden in the local area. One of my favourites is Ballindalloch Castle near Aberlour. Another favourite is Balvenie Castle at Dufftown and during the Whisky Festival last weekend there was a fascinating display of music and light just as the sun was setting.

Braemar Highland Gathering - Saturday 1 September 2007

2007-09-03T13:27:00.000+01:00

It has been a mixed year weather-wise for the Highland Games throughout the area, but the sun shone for the final Games of the season at Braemar. The gathering was attended by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. It is always a very colourful event as you have the youngsters wearing their tartan for the highland dancing and then there is the massed pipe bands. There were 11 bands this year and the shield for the best band was won by Lonach and district Pipe Band. I always enjoy the Heavy Events which include tossing the caber, weight over a bar and throwing the hammer. It is great to see that these traditional Scottish Events now have competitors from around the world with Texan and a Ukranian competing. The Ukranian won the weight over the bar and in fact set the new record for this 2 years ago at over 16 feet. The journey from Speyside over the Lecht and along the River Dee to Braemar is very beautiful especially as the heather is in full bloom.

Summer is passing

2007-08-17T13:18:00.000+01:00

It is hard to believe that we are half way through August already. The children have already returned to school in the Highlands. We have been lucky with our weather in Speyside in comparison with areas in the south of England, but both Tomintoul and Dufftown Highland Games in July were rained on. This did not deter the enthusiasts including many of our visitors at the cottages. My first look at Pipe Bands this year was after the Aberlour Games on 4 August. It is always a thrill to watch and listen to them marching along the High Street with the colourful Drum Majors leading the way. Pipe Bands have wonderful support from the communities and children are encouraged to join and learn the Pipes and Drums from a very early age. In the photo on the right you can see 2 young Drum Majors. After marching several times up and down the High Street the Pipe Band followed by the children's fancy dress parade make their way back to the Alice Littler Park for their final tunes of the day.

Touring the Area

2007-06-10T16:39:00.001+01:00

I had a great couple of days this week with a trip to Carrbridge where I stopped to photograph the beautiful old packhorse bridge. Erected by Brigadier-General Sir Alexander Grant of Grant in 1717 for estate purposes to provide passage for foot passengers, horses and stock and for funerals to Duthil Churchyard, hence its other local name "the coffin bridge". The bridge took six months to built and cost £100. The specification for the bridge stated that it should be of "ane reasonable Breadth and Height as will Receive the water when in the greatest speat." And it is - only the parapets of this bridge were washed away in the muckle spate of 1829. It was lovely to be by the river listening to the rush of the river, admiring the bridge and watching the clever little dipper catching flies above the water. Later in the week, I visited Forres situated about 27 miles east of the Highland capital of Inverness, the town's impressive parks and gardens with outstanding floral sculptures have led to many awards from Britain and Scotland in Bloom competitions. My friend who lives at Kinloss suggested we should go and have a look at the new sculptures and I was very pleased that we did as once the flowers become established, I think it will be one of the best shows ever. This year, as well as the well known peacock, there is a bear, hedgehog, squirrel, butterfly and a nimrod aircraft. Forres is very close to RAF Kinloss, but this is the first time I can remember seeing a military display in the park. The plane is not a floral sculpture, but surrounded by flowers.

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival - more

2007-05-31T00:49:00.000+01:00

The Whisky Festival although mainly about visiting distilleries, nosing and tasting whisky with many different foods such as chocolate, smoked salmon and cake, it was also about good food, music, walking and wildlife. I was lucky enough to attend an evening at the Clockhouse in Tomintoul where we ate a delicious meal, prepared by experienced chefs, learnt about and drank Tomintoul whisky and listened to many and varied songs by Robin Laing also on the subject of whisky. Visiting Aberlour the following afternoon, there were free samples of Walkers shortbread which is made in Aberlour. The next day it was time for a 5 mile walk from the Railway station in Dufftown along the side of the river Fiddich on the Dufftown spur of the Speyside Way to the River Spey and then for a delicious light lunch at the Pantry in Aberlour. We saw a huge range of wildflowers, herbs, trees and birds while enjoying spring sunshine. There was also time for a "wee dram" to help us on the journey.

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival

2007-05-14T22:21:00.000+01:00

The Spirit of Speyside was a fantastic weekend with fantastic weather, great distillery tours, plenty of whisky tastings coupled with ceilidhs, food and photography. I accompanied one of the tours starting with the Ben Rinnes distillery which is not normally open to the public. We were met by Scott one of the distillery operators who gave us an excellent tour. It was nice to be taken round by someone who works on the distilling side rather than as a tour guide. The bus tour with 15 people on it seemed a really good size to tour the distillery. They are looking very happy at the start of the tour and it is interesting to see a wide range of ages and from many countries including Sweden, Denmark, Scotland and England.

River Spey near Rothes - Glen Grant Distillery

2007-05-03T08:52:00.000+01:00

On a trip to Elgin to buy paint for the guttering and downpipes
at Blufolds cottages, I could not resist the early morning light and stopped to take a photo of the Thomas Telford bridge at Craigellachie and lots of photos at the bend in the river Spey where you can see Rothes in the distance. Rothes has the Glen Grant distillery and garden. Glen Grant whisky is the top seller in Italy. I was lucky to find a fishing boat and a fisherman on the river as well. After all the excitement of the morning it was good to stand outside painting for the rest of the day. The weather over the last 2 weeks has been exceptional with all the blossom and leaves coming very early to the trees.

More Spring Sunshine

2007-04-30T00:07:00.000+01:00

Rushed out this morning and headed for Aberlour and just had to find a place to stop and take this photo looking down on the River Spey and Aberlour. Every time I go out at the moment, I just stop and take photos as all the colours are so fresh and vibrant. I had not remembered how many colours of green there are in spring in Speyside. I was lucky enough to get close to a lapwing on the moor in Glenlivet. I think they are beautifully coloured birds and it is great to see them nesting in Speyside as is the fact that curlews are also nesting here. The weather looks set to continue for several more days. Pre-digital cameras, I would have worried about running out of film, but this is not the case now!

Aberlour in sunshine

2007-04-24T12:46:00.000+01:00

It was such a beautiful sunny morning that I had to rush out to take more photos of spring. This is an iconic spot on the river Spey at Aberlour by the Penny bridge. It looks wonderful with the blue sky reflected in the river. After a little while some fishermen came along to add to the excitement of the river. I wish I had seen them catch a fish! The river Spey is a a famous river for fishing salmon and people pay lots of money to do this. The light had changed with more cloud in the sky and more wind, by the time the fishermen started which was better for them as if there is too much sun the fish can see the fishermen and avoid being caught!

As you go down to the woods today, you are in for a big surprise

2007-04-23T17:42:00.000+01:00

While driving around Glenlivet, I passed this lovely tree and glimpsed the ruined Blairfindy castle in the background. I then drove on to the Tombae area and found banks and fields covered in violets, primroses, celandine and wood anemone. This is on the Glenlivet Estate part of the Cairngorms National Park. There are a wonderful selection of walks on the Glenlivet estate.

Ballindalloch Castle, Speyside

2007-04-23T10:41:00.000+01:00

Ballindalloch castle has been home to the Macpherson-Grants for 500 years. The castle and gardens are open to the public from Easter to 30 Sep every year. I went along to their open day on 5 Apr and found that the daffodils were looking wonderful. I take out an annual gardens membership so that I can visit the gardens in all different seasons. The rose garden is beautiful in summer and the rhododendron path to it shows fantastic colours during May and June. The rock garden has excellent colour in spring with azaleas and rhodendrons. There is a play area for children and a dog walking area as well as walks beside the river Spey.

Oystercatchers choosing a nest in Glenlivet

2007-04-22T21:27:00.000+01:00

Since early April, the oystercatchers have moved inland looking for places to nest. They often choose unlikely places to nest and particularly like piles of stones by the roadside. I am waiting to see where they nest this year and hopefully get photos of their young.

Peacock Butterfly & Ben Rinnes Glenlivet, Speyside

2007-04-22T17:09:00.000+01:00

The peacock butterfly colonised the Cairngorms in the early 1990's. I was delighted to see it on 14 April which is the earliest that I have ever seen a butterfly in Glenlivet. I was even more amazed as I saw several peacock butterflies in different parts of Glenlivet that day. The hill is Ben Rinnes and is a Corbett which means that it is over 2000 ft but is less than 3000 ft. This hill can be viewed from many angles as you drive around Speyside. This view is from the road to Bluefolds Holiday Cottages in Glenlivet.

Spring in Aberlour, Scotland

2007-04-22T15:10:00.000+01:00

The young leaves are very fresh and a very vivid green. This is a fantastic time to holiday in Speyside with changes to the landscape on a daily basis as the blossom, trees and gorse add colour after the winter months.

Speyside in Springtime

2007-04-22T13:23:00.000+01:00

Spring arrived early in Speyside this year. The daffodils have been in bloom since early April and looked great when I walked beside the River Spey on the Speyside Way at Aberlour on 15 April. It was lovely to see the cherry blossom and the early leaves emerging as well. The Alice Littler Park beside the River Spey is a delightful walk, through all the seasons as there is a lovely range of trees beside the river which go from dramatically bare in winter all the way through to gorgeous autumn tints. The walk through the park is on the Speyside Way which stretches from Aviemore to Spey Bay.