Glenlivet in Spring and Early Summer

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

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

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

Spring in Glenlivet and area

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

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

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

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

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

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.