Leaving Dornoch the next morning, our first port of call was an outdoor shop on the outskirts of Inverness to buy some new waterproof over-trousers because, well, it is Scotland after all. That done, we took a scenic route to our next overnight stop, incorporating some wildlife watching in Boat of Garten, a road diversion due to bridge repairs to reach Tomintoul and a cake break at a pleasant tearoom in a Cairngorms valley, before pootling into Aboyne and checking into our accommodation. A male Teal on Milton Loch, Boat of Garten Before our evening meal, a leg stretch was very much in order, so we wandered around the nearby Birsemore Loch, seeing our first Blackbird fledglings of the year, listening to the drumming of Great Spotted Woodpeckers and hearing Common Crossbills calling as they were feeding in the trees high above our heads. Whilst crossing a bridge over the River Dee, Megan spotted a plant that was new to us both, which produced a flurry of photographic activity and mu...