Eastern Scotland - Part II

Sunday 15th

Down the other side of the range to Grantown-on-Spey, where I'm booked in for 2 nights. 

I drove over to the interesting coastal village of Findhorn. There is an eco-village just on the outskirts but it was jammed with vehicles ironically, so couldn't stop. Walked out along the river mouth and watched the turnstones. I got soaked in a sudden shower, then headed off to Cardhu to visit the distillery. 

Cardhu was run by the Cumming family, and after the husband died it was taken over by his wife Mary and then by their daughter Elizabeth. They were the first distillery to become part of the Johnnie Walker conglomerate. Very posh tasting rooms but I didn't try any. The rather bonkers statue shows the founder waving a red flag because that's how she used to signal to the illegal hooch makers that the revenue men had come to town. 

Monday 16th

A beautiful day so I had some R&R and did my washing, showered and then sat in the sun. 

Great views from the top of the site. In the afternoon walked in to town and spent a while in the comprehensive museum. Steak and strawbs for tea, with a nice G&T.

Booked in for an extra night.

Tuesday 17th

I caught the bus to Aviemore, which was a busy commercial centre for the various sporty-types who come to walk, climb, cycle, kayak. Mountain Warehouse etc spread along a clogged road, so I was able to buy a skirt for £12 - guess who hadn't brought her shorts? From there I got the Cairngorm Explorer bus up to Glenmore visitor centre (closed!). A flat, easy trail of a couple of miles led to Loch Ilaine, a beautiful green loch surrounded by sand and pines, basking in the hot sun.

Wednesday 18th

I made a prompt start the next morning, to get down to Moffat and beat the heat. A fine drive under blue skies. Understandably the site was busy with people who couldn't believe their luck with the weather. 

Thursday 19th

Another cracking day, after breakfast in the sun I walked in to the small town which has indie food shops and spent an age in the Moffat museum, which was excellent and had an exhibition about Merlin and Wales - it sort of made sense at the time. Also one on the 1935 Moffat Ravine Murders which were solved using some of the first forensic techniques. Popped in to Moffat mill to get some extra tee-shirts. 

This was my last night in Scotland, and on Friday I reluctantly set off for Morecambe Bay to meet up with the RSPB group at Leighton Moss.

Many more trips needed to explore - maybe next time stay in one or two places for longer and do some proper walks.