Glenlivet and Tomintoul in the Snow

Looking out the window this morning made me think of this video that I did a previous year as it looks exactly like this again today. It is a real change from earlier this week when I was out in glorious winter sunshine and no snow!

Autumn Gold on Speyside - Where to see the colours?

I collected these leaves and let the sun illuminate them in the Alice Littler Park, Aberlour in the heart of Speyside. I love walking by the River Spey by the river on this part of the Speyside Way. I always see locals and visitors alike walking their dogs or playing with their children in the park. 

Most of our historic monuments and castles are open until the end of October and this includes the stunning Elgin Cathedral. The views from the tower in autumn show how many beautiful trees there are in Cooper Park and all the way down to Lossiemouth.

After a day of walking full of history and colour, it is maybe time for a wee dram of Malt Whisky - now what to choose - a 12 or 15 or 18 year old Glenlivet, Aberlour or Balvenie? You might prefer a local beer of which we have many from the Cairngorms Brewery as well as even more local ones. Anyone for a Black Gold or a Wild Cat? Steve is always happy to advise on Beer or Whisky and offer a wee dram at Bluefolds cottages.

Mist rising in the glen is a symbol of autumn on Speyside The mist is rising here from Ben Rinnes close to the walker's car park for the climb up the Ben. As you drive through the area, another favourite spot to stop and enjoy the colours is at the Craigellachie bridge, built by Thomas Telford in 1814. It is the oldest surviving cast iron bridge in Scotland. Its design has allowed it to withstand the many floods on the Spey and is an icon of the area.

Driving from Glenlivet through the Cairngorms National Park can take you to Loch and Eilean with stunning views to the Cairngorm mountains and a chance to walk round the Loch enjoying the autumn tints. October is one of my favourite months to get out and about in the Cairngorms and Speyside. Why not book a holiday at Bluefolds this autumn?

Late Summer in Glenlivet - What to do?

Glenlivet to the Ladder Hills

Ladder Hills by Scalan

We have had fabulous weather this week which has been much enjoyed by our visitors to Bluefolds in fact it has been too hot, but we are not complaining just looking for more. Driving around Glenlivet and the Cairngorms National Park has shown that lots of visitors from all over Europe and many from further afield are now enjoying spending time in this stunning area of Scotland. I lost count of the number of cars I saw from Continental Europe who are able to take advantage of the better exchange rate at present. I went in search of heather and I found it on the Ladder Hills; on Aanside and all the way to Cairngorm Mountain through the National Park. There are many great walks on the Glenlivet Estate. We have the walk booklet with details of where to park and the exact routes in each of the cottages. Find Late Availability at Bluefolds I love to walk by the River Livet and there are a choice of walks. Walk 3 starts from the Allanreid car park (near Tomnavulin) and is a low level one along the banks of the River with some walking over moorland. It is a 6 mile circular walk with great views to the Ladder Hills. The Malcolm Gillespie Smugglers Trail in the Braes of Glenlivet starts from Chapeltown and is also circular over the hills for 6 1/2 miles. The Glen Brown walk through forest, farm and hill track is a shorter 4 1/2 mile walk with views down Strath Avon and up Glen Brown and starts from the White Bridge Car Park. All the walks have boards at the start of them showing the routes.  Find more information about these fantastic walks on The Glenlivet Estate

Driving along Aanside

Ready for a hill walk on the Glen Brown Circuit.

Skies and Heather

Cairngorm Mountain near the mountain garden

What a recent Guest thinks about Dronach cottage

This is one of many reviews for the cottage on Airbnb.

Dronach cottage is one of four cottages at the Bluefolds Cottages complex: They are picturesque stone cottages in a remote spot near the Glenlivet distillery. Our communication with Elizabeth was perfect and our interaction with her husband Steve at the cottage was wonderful. Detailed instructions are provided to find the place (although not complicated). We arrived in the rain on our bicycles and Steve was there to greet us with a roaring fire. Too wet and tired to travel the 10 miles to the nearest grocery store, Steve did a small shop for us to get us through until the next day. Our cottage was spacious, clean, warm, and everything worked. The coal driven stove is brilliant and easy to keep going. The views of the hills towards the Cairngorms is spectacular. We would highly recommend this spot for a secluded, quiet, and unique stay in the area. There is a grocery store in Dufftown 10 miles away as well as a quaint pub a few miles down the road, providing good meals (and drink). Steve checked in on us daily and provided a private whisky tasting. He is extremely knowledgeable and the experience was a real highlight of our stay. We loved our stay! Elizabeth Response from Elizabeth: Thank you for your lovely review. Enjoy the rest of your cycling round Scotland. June 2016

Lecht Mine, Glenlivet

Lecht Mine from the Car Park

Across the Glenlivet Estate there is a range of historic sites and buildings waiting to be explored.  The Crown Estate Glenlivet
featured the Lecht mine in their Winter newsletter reprinted here. The mine is easily reached by a pleasant short walk from the car park on the Lecht road.

The Lecht mine

• Iron ore was first mined at the Lecht in 1730 by York Buildings Company of London. The mine was abandoned in 1737 due to substantial losses.

• The mined ore was transported on horseback across the Avon at the Fordmouth-Lynachork ford, and then over the Dorback Hills to Nethy Bridge. Wood from the Abernethy Forest was used to smelt it down into “Strathdoun (Strathavon) pigs”.

• The mine was re-opened in 1841 by the Duke of Richmond as a manganese mine, local stories tell that the Minister of Corgarff had to lend his bull to help drag the new heavy rollers over the Lecht Pass. However following the importation of manganese ore from Russia, the price fell from £8 per ton to an uneconomical £3 per ton, and the mine was closed for a final time in 1846.

• At the peak of activity over 60 men and boys worked at the mine and it was, and still is, the largest manganese mine ever worked in Scotland.

Lecht Mine building still standing - last used 1846

• In 1863 there was nearly a reprieve for the old mine when samples of iron ore were sent to James Morrison, Manager of the Ferryhill Iron Works, Co Durham, for assessment. He would gladly have taken 50,000 tons per annum, and all that was needed to secure viability for the re-opening of the mine was a railway link to Tomintoul, but in that time of economic retrenchment no-one could be found to back the proposed iron ore railway.

• The foundations of some other buildings can still be seen, but only the mine building has survived as it was very solidly built to carry the water wheel and heavy machinery.

• The mine building was restored and reroofed and interpretation about the mine workings installed in a joint project between The Crown Estate and Moray Council.

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

Winter snow and sunshine - mountains and castles

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.

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

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.