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 villag... Read Full Story
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 re... Read Full Story
The remainder of May has been beautiful with lots of sunshine, although until the last few days it has been pretty cold. The gardens, countryside and seaside are all looking wonderful in this my favourite month of the year. It could be because my birthday is this month. The rhododendrons are in full bloom at Ballindalloch castle and with my annual pass have made several visits this month. I am always delighted with the range of colours in these beautiful plants. The rock garden and the path t... Read Full Story
The most amazing day of the festival for photographers. It was great to see something different happening on Speyside. The first time that a horse cavalcade has been involved and the new Spirit of Speyside Flag. After following the horses for the afternoon and watching them ride behind the band through Aberlour it was the turn of the River Spey to be the central focus for the flag. A heavy shower of rain did not detract from the Flag being brought down the Spey by the Ghillies and handed over... Read Full Story
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 mus... Read Full Story
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 b... Read Full Story
Although, it is bit windy today - great for drying the washing, it is lovely weather for getting out and exploring Speyside and Moray. I have found a great site that offers various lengths of walk across the whole area. See www.morayways.org.uk Read Full Story
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 ... Read Full Story
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 snow... Read Full Story
