Denouement

"and we weren't to discover the actual answer until much later in the holiday." 

Those were the words with which I ended the second blogpost of our Blairgowrie holiday, so here we are at the finale and one last big splash.

A few years ago, friends left Orkney and moved to deepest rural Perthshire. We spent a day with them in and around Comrie, experiencing their wonderful hospitality and sharing the local wildlife. As a regular moth-trapper, our host had kept a few species from the previous night's haul for us to see, including this Red Chestnut.

At the nearby community woodland, we were shown around and given a potted history of the site. Whilst inspecting a pond for potential odes, we were all amazed to see a Palmate Newt.

Towards the end of the holiday, we journeyed to the Angus Glens, driving up Glen Clova to reach Glen Doll. We did not attempt to reach any summits, but were content to potter around the valley, taking in the splendid views.

And then one evening, we booked to go on a riverbank safari with Perthshire Wildlife. Meeting up with our guide on the outskirts of Blairgowrie, we drove for a few miles to park near the river and then continued on foot. We were given an insight into the lives of Beavers, encouraged to taste some of the things which Beavers like to eat (Sweet Cicely, Ransoms) and shown the obvious signs of gnawing and tree felling.

After sitting quietly for a goodly while, we were eventually rewarded with views of at least four Beavers as they emerged from their lodge for the night to dispersed up and down stream. And yes, at one point we did hear the distinctive slap of a Beaver's tail on the water's surface, confirming that this was indeed what Megan had previously heard. Below are a couple of videos which Megan took of the evening. 

It was an amazing experience and one which we would thoroughly recommend.