Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival - more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.