Explore Moray Speyside from Bluefolds Highland Holiday cottages in Glenlivet on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park,
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| Glenlivet to the Ladder Hills |
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| Ladder Hills by Scalan |
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| Driving along Aanside |
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| Ready for a hill walk on the Glen Brown Circuit. |
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| Skies and Heather |
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| Cairngorm Mountain near the mountain garden |
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| Bluefolds on the hillside below Ben Rinnes |
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| Beautifully lit trees in Glenlivet |
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| Looking west across frozen Loch Droma |
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| Sunset north of Ullapool looking across Loch Broom |
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| View to Cairngorm mountains |
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| Black faced lambs in the field |
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| Watching the weather over the distillery |
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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 |
y 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.
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 f
eeding 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.
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!
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 see
n 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.
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!
eek. 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 fu
ll, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
