Explore Moray Speyside from Bluefolds Highland Holiday cottages in Glenlivet on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park,
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| Farmer ploughing followed by seagulls |
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| Thomas Telford bridge over the river Spey at Craigellachie |
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| Walking on the Speyside Way near Craigellachie |
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| Watching the sun go down at Lossiemouth east beach |
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| Lossiemouth east beach with view to Spey Bay |
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| Blairfindy castle close to the Glenlivet distillery |
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| Ducks on frozen pond at Cooper Park, Elgin |
e 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.
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 directio
n! 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.
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 no
t 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.
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.
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 supp
ort 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.
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 i
t 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.
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!
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!
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.
