A journey begins

As may have been discerned from the comments at the end of the previous blogpost, we have been away on our "Summer" holiday, fortuitously discovering some balmy weather but sadly missing out on a serendipitous meet-up with Mark, the beinn bicycling bard of Blogger. Whilst he and Deb were pedalling by our home in Stromness, Megan and I were driving by their holiday accommodation near Melvich.

For 2025, our holiday location was Blairgowrie, on the south west side of the River Ericht in Perth and Kinross. This was a little further south than our usual jaunts but, as the meteorology proved, was certainly near enough to the Equator for this scribe. The journey down through northern Scotland and the Cairngorms was done in several sections, with overnight stays in Dornoch and Aboyne, before finally arriving in leafy and blossomy Blairgowrie.

Whenever the narrowness of the road or the speed limit dictated that we keep below 40mph, the car windows were opened and we listened intently, osmotically soothing Life's stresses with the balm of birdsong. From Scrabster on the north coast all the way to Dornoch, it seemed that we were never out of earshot of a Willow Warbler, their descending notes tumbling like the waters of the burns we passed along the way.

Sailing by Rora Head and Rackwick Bay on the west coast of Hoy

Test photo in Helmsdale after dropping my camera onto block paving in a car park and re-assembling the various parts of the battery cover 😧 

Yellow

Standing dead wood is a habitat too (Glen Brora)

Lone tree at the top of Dunrobin Glen

Spring sunlight through fresh beech leaves, Balblair Wood, Loch Fleet

Woodland ride sensory experience. The sound of Willow Warblers, Blackcaps and a Yellowhammer. The sight of an Osprey overhead, whilst Speckled Wood, Orange Tip and Peacock butterflies basked in the warm sunshine.

Speckled Wood

Harbour Seals hauled out on a sandbar at low tide, Loch Fleet

Several seals sported satellite tags, presumably for researchers to track their lives to help discover why Harbour Seals are faring so badly on the east coast.

An Osprey with a fish being mobbed by gulls

After a lovely evening meal at Luigi's in Dornoch, we retired to bed to the sound of a Tawny Owl calling from the trees outside our hotel room.