Menootnaboot; Moving On Up (The Coast)

Crossing the Tay to Dundee, I parked for the night by the Bridgeview Station Restaurant/Riverside Drive.

This stretch of public parking is probably more for the university sports fields to the right of this photo, and it does come with a flood warning, but I felt fairly confident, despite all the rain, that we would be safe for that one night. We parked mid-arvo, so I had time for a wander along the promenade for a stretch (well wrapped up against the return of winter I mentioned in the previous travel post) and then back and into the Bridgeview for what I intended to be a cuppa and some cake, but turned into hot chocolate and coconut rice pudding with rhubarb sorbet and oat crumbs.............. oh my ......

The place was buzzing with business despite it being a weekday afternoon. There were good vibes. The ladies on the table in front of me were as excited as I was when a flock of Starlings appeared to be making a minor murmuration right outside those windows. It was over in a blink, so there was no time to photograph it, but it was a little bit of magic.

Back to The Grey to settle in for the evening. Got some crochet done on my next pair of socks, some catch-up listening and viewing, and slept well. The next morning, it was on up the coast to St Cyrus National Nature Reserve.

Here, there is not only a CPS charge station but a welcome for van travellers! For a voluntary amount (suggested £10, and I happily paid that for each of the two nights spent), one not only has a safe parking environment but the peace and quiet of nature, access to several walks, an info centre... and use of toilets with HOT running water! WTG, the parks peeps!

A minor negative was the very poor cell signal. It was enough to communicate by text, but it faded out when I tried a voice call with Aitch. Forget any media access! That was fine. I bundled up against the fierce, ice-laced wind and wandered the dunes' path. I did have some video of that, but I fear that in a fit of clearance at some point, I deleted it before downloading it. Sigh. I do have the following shots.

I did photograph a lot from the info centre that I thought would interest many of you - but that will be up here tomorrow for Nature Friday! I thought the words on this dedication stone were lovely...

I left this place (a tad reluctantly—but again, I shall return!) and moved further north again to an overnight stop at an RSPB reserve called Fowlsheugh. Some of you will already have seen the video of that place on the tubular channel. It's not a place for the weather-timid!

Just the one night there - where there was zero signal beyond the "emergency calls only" warning - and on into Aberdeen to meet up with Nobby and his Gail. He and I had personal time together as she had other business that first evening... 

I'll save what we did the next day for the next Nobby post... but on the second evening, there was impawtant business for Nobby and his agility pals; if you click the image, you'll get to see some very short clips of what they did! (Just in case, this is the link from text.)

More from the Aberdeen visit in next Monday's post; meanwhile, enjoy the Nature Friday offering tomorrow and keep smiling, everyone!