Visit to 'Scotland'.UK June 2010
Once again we find ourselves in Scotland ,June 2010 and what a couple of weeks
fantastic weather with only very few drops of rain and not a midge bite in site!
That in its self was an achievement, although by next year we will have forgotten about the highland midge veracious man eating beasties that they are, they were put off this year by using Highland Midge patches purchased in the Inverness Fishing tackle shop, AND they appear to work, so if you are plagued by these wee beasties that may be the answer.
Cost £5.99 and as far as I'm concerned worth every penny as when I'm bitten I come up in mountains not just lumps, and they irritate for days.
However a few bites will never put us off this area of Scotland with fantastic views of the Cairngorm Moutain range, still hanging onto the last signs of winter when they had the some of the heaviest falls of snow for many years.
Perhapes it's just the peace of Scotland, the almost empty roads, the mountains the open space, it's just wonderful, peace and tranquillity after the relative hustle and bustle of the busy South of England.
The beautiful surroundings of the fishing lakes and the wildlife, the ducks with their young off spring, as well as the Herons and numerous other birds.
And of course the trout fishing, a real challenge to find the right fly to temp the fish to bite and then deliver it to the net on the barb-less hooks required by the Rothiemurchus Estate fishery. One things for sure, more get away than get caught.
OH and I forgot as a fisherman, they were all bigger than this one!!
This one weighed in at just on 3.5lbs and made excellent eating.
No trip to Scotland in June is complete without going to visit the Osprey
In this photo the male bird is delivering a fine trout the the hen and three young chicks.
This is something you can wait hours to see and even longer to capture on camera even if it is then slightly out of focus.
On this occassion we were just lucky.
Judging by the fishes length it wasn't far off the weight of the one above, certainly the hen bird was well pleased and was soon tearing it into small portions for the three healthy young they have managed to rear this year.
This nest is located at the RSPB, Boat of Garten now appli known as the Osprey Village.
This site as is permanently manned to ensure the chicks, and earlier the eggs are not stolen.
Having delivered his catch the male is off not wishing to stay with the demanding children!
There are of course other things to see and do in this area of Scotland , with well marked Walking routes, Cycle tracks or you can fish, or do some feathered bird watching.
In this instance the cock pheasant know he's safe he's on the other side of the lake.
Even if you into plants and garden centres you'll will find one, this one is on a back road from the Cairngorm Road to Insh, has wonderful plants and a very nice restaurant area, where they sell fantastic home made cake and beverages, and where you can then relax and enjoy watching the wildlife.
In this case the spotted woodpecker, sharing the easy pickings of pea nuts placed for them by the owners.
Even the red squirrel is not going to miss out taking full advantage of the free food.
I'm not really sure who was watching who?
The viewing area from the restaurant has large glass windows, the animals and birds free to come and go on one side and us humans on the other, both parties eating and busy looking at one another.
We find them a pleasure to watch, I wonder what they think?
No trip to Aviemore is complete without a trip up the mountains, no not walking but using the venicular railway used by the skiers in Winter and the tourists in Summer.
On a clear days the views are wonderful although a little scarred by the beech stake fencing errected to catch the drifing snow, ensuing adequote cover for the various ski runs in winter.
Although it all looks a little commecialised, very little of the building etc can be seen from lower down the glen, and as the years pass so the slow growing plants and vegitation are covering the scarrs created by man while creating a resort where thousands of skiers flock as soon as sufficient snow has fallen.
They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder
I find this tree attractive as it just hangs on to a few threads of life.
Many would see it as logs for winter which in this immediate area can be harsh and long. Either way without it the land would be open and bare exposing the other near by trees to the harsh winds that blow down from the nearby Cairngorm Mountain Range.
Once again our holiday draws to a close, but Scotland won't let us leave without one more treat, a most beautiful Sunrise.
Not forgetting the old saying, 'Red in the Morning is shepherds warning', Low and behold twenty miles down the load and on the homeward journey we saw a fantastic rainbow and than ran into the first real rain of the holiday. What timing.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I did taking them
Lofty
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Return to index.
That in its self was an achievement, although by next year we will have forgotten about the highland midge veracious man eating beasties that they are, they were put off this year by using Highland Midge patches purchased in the Inverness Fishing tackle shop, AND they appear to work, so if you are plagued by these wee beasties that may be the answer.
Cost £5.99 and as far as I'm concerned worth every penny as when I'm bitten I come up in mountains not just lumps, and they irritate for days.
However a few bites will never put us off this area of Scotland with fantastic views of the Cairngorm Moutain range, still hanging onto the last signs of winter when they had the some of the heaviest falls of snow for many years.
Perhapes it's just the peace of Scotland, the almost empty roads, the mountains the open space, it's just wonderful, peace and tranquillity after the relative hustle and bustle of the busy South of England.
The beautiful surroundings of the fishing lakes and the wildlife, the ducks with their young off spring, as well as the Herons and numerous other birds.
And of course the trout fishing, a real challenge to find the right fly to temp the fish to bite and then deliver it to the net on the barb-less hooks required by the Rothiemurchus Estate fishery. One things for sure, more get away than get caught.
OH and I forgot as a fisherman, they were all bigger than this one!!
This one weighed in at just on 3.5lbs and made excellent eating.
No trip to Scotland in June is complete without going to visit the Osprey
In this photo the male bird is delivering a fine trout the the hen and three young chicks.
This is something you can wait hours to see and even longer to capture on camera even if it is then slightly out of focus.
On this occassion we were just lucky.
Judging by the fishes length it wasn't far off the weight of the one above, certainly the hen bird was well pleased and was soon tearing it into small portions for the three healthy young they have managed to rear this year.
This nest is located at the RSPB, Boat of Garten now appli known as the Osprey Village.
This site as is permanently manned to ensure the chicks, and earlier the eggs are not stolen.
Having delivered his catch the male is off not wishing to stay with the demanding children!
There are of course other things to see and do in this area of Scotland , with well marked Walking routes, Cycle tracks or you can fish, or do some feathered bird watching.
In this instance the cock pheasant know he's safe he's on the other side of the lake.
Even if you into plants and garden centres you'll will find one, this one is on a back road from the Cairngorm Road to Insh, has wonderful plants and a very nice restaurant area, where they sell fantastic home made cake and beverages, and where you can then relax and enjoy watching the wildlife.
In this case the spotted woodpecker, sharing the easy pickings of pea nuts placed for them by the owners.
Even the red squirrel is not going to miss out taking full advantage of the free food.
I'm not really sure who was watching who?
The viewing area from the restaurant has large glass windows, the animals and birds free to come and go on one side and us humans on the other, both parties eating and busy looking at one another.
We find them a pleasure to watch, I wonder what they think?
No trip to Aviemore is complete without a trip up the mountains, no not walking but using the venicular railway used by the skiers in Winter and the tourists in Summer.
On a clear days the views are wonderful although a little scarred by the beech stake fencing errected to catch the drifing snow, ensuing adequote cover for the various ski runs in winter.
Although it all looks a little commecialised, very little of the building etc can be seen from lower down the glen, and as the years pass so the slow growing plants and vegitation are covering the scarrs created by man while creating a resort where thousands of skiers flock as soon as sufficient snow has fallen.
They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder
I find this tree attractive as it just hangs on to a few threads of life.
Many would see it as logs for winter which in this immediate area can be harsh and long. Either way without it the land would be open and bare exposing the other near by trees to the harsh winds that blow down from the nearby Cairngorm Mountain Range.
Once again our holiday draws to a close, but Scotland won't let us leave without one more treat, a most beautiful Sunrise.
Not forgetting the old saying, 'Red in the Morning is shepherds warning', Low and behold twenty miles down the load and on the homeward journey we saw a fantastic rainbow and than ran into the first real rain of the holiday. What timing.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I did taking them
Lofty
Next
Return to index.