Post It from Grantown on Spey AS site, Highlands, Scotland. Friday 4th October, 2013.

The journey from Culloden to Grantown on Spey was not very far so we spent a good few hours enjoying Brodie Castle, another NT property near Forres. It had been built as a family home for the Laird of Brodie in the 16^th Century and with a few extensions to the original tower house had remained in the Brodie family and occupied until quite recently when the Laird turned it over to the National Trust due to rising costs to maintain the house. A surprising item on display was a Royal Coronation robe, I forget whose it was but Alexandra rings a bell, the only one not in the possession of the Royal family and displayed outside of London. We had a guided tour which was very informative before enjoying the most beautiful baking in the tea room, all done that day by the New Zealand born cook.

We crossed the ‘Dava Moor’ as we entered the Cairngorm National Park. We had climbed considerably and this section of the road was prone to being closed in winter due to snow. The scenery was very similar to the Pennines and North Yorkshire Moors but unfortunately we were driving into rain and our views were spoiled. We would have had equally beautiful views from our pitch had it not been for the mist and cloud covered tops of the hills so we could not see the mountains in the distance. The rain continued in showers throughout the rest of the day and night but at least we were not parked under trees where the noise of the rain falling off the branches is ever so loud.

The camp site was an affiliated site to the Club and I must say it was very well laid out, pretty and well maintained. It had the largest most beautiful hanging baskets of trailing Petunias I have ever seen. The pitches were carefully placed and separated and small ridges had been created to provide some privacy without spoiling the openness of the site. We were shown to the pitch that had been allocated to us by a warden on a scooter and we only just fitted on, in fact if we wanted to get the bikes off the rack we could not have done so positioned as we were. The spacious toilet block facilities were immaculate and never closed for cleaning. There was Wi-Fi access here but the costs were extortionate for my needs at £3 for up to one hour continuous connection so I could not even buy the hour and use it to check mail etc. in short bursts throughout our two night stay. I decided that I would forget the internet until we arrived at Stonehaven, where I could use the Club’s connection that I had already subscribed to, and I would check my emails in the town when we visited.

For our only full day here we firstly booked a hairdressers appointment for Sharon and then set off on a pleasant walk along the town’s High Street and through the trees down to the River Spey. We watched a Grey Heron fishing along the edge of the river bank but no sign of the Otters or other wildlife that can be found in this area. We hope to catch a glimpse of an Eagle before we leave this region, we know they are about; it’s just being in the right place at the right time as we learned with the Red Squirrels.

The waters were not very high and I later learned from the locals that they had in fact had very little rain this summer. This is supposedly Britain’s worst place for bad weather, in winter in suspect they mean. There are quite a number of walks starting almost from the camp site entrance but unfortunately we would not have the time to try any. Instead we spent a day touring the local shops, enjoying lunch and I later had a beer in the British Legion whilst Sharon had her hair cut, I had internet access here as well. I was quite intrigued by the fly fishing equipment in a shop on the High street that we browsed around. I am not a fisherman but have recently read the book, ‘Salmon Fishing in the Yemen’ and the idea of learning to do fly fishing on the Spey appealed to me. The river is one where Atlantic Salmon are actually increasing and I understand it is a good river to fish. The rain stayed away, the shops were good and the local food was excellent so a good day was had by the two of us.

Regards, Roy