Menondering; Moving Along

After four wonderful nights/days at the Portgordon park up, it was time to drag myself away. I had been considering heading further north to Alness and visiting the Aunty and Uncle again. However, Aunty remains in hospital, and anyway, I couldn't raise Uncle on the phone. By Monday morning, I had also had a message from Mac1 that she was ready for a visit from me, so The Grey and I turned our noses southward instead.

First, we go to Granton-on-Spey to get a charge and have lunch. Then, we go along the back track to Nethy Bridge and Castle Roy. First, I popped into the Old Abernethy Church, which is now an arts centre and outlet. Lots of lovely things on sale by local artists and crafts folk. I added to my collection of earrings.

Next, I moved Grey into the enclosed parking space beside the castle. This castle has only recently been opened to the public. On private farmland, it was bought by a community charitable effort, set up as Castle Roy Trust, in 1994. The idea was to have it prepared for tourist use. During repairs and stabilisation, archaeological works were undertaken.

The work is ongoing so donations are welcomed. Much has been done to improve access. I got into a conversation with Annabelle, the daughter of the chairman of the Trust and also the animal attendant. There is a resident 'guardian'...

Note the downward cast from the raised brow. Yes, Murdo is a bull Highlander. He was hand-reared, so he is generally well-adjusted to human company and touch. Here, he was having his back rubbed by two young lassies just off-stage left and clearly enjoying the attention.

Annabelle joined me in Grey for a cup of tea and a good old yarn. I learned that the grounds are used for weddings and other community gatherings as part of their fundraising efforts. Also, and this was the key thing for me, they welcome vans and motorhomes staying overnight—by donation. Even better, because she spotted that I use a walker, she gave me permission to park up the hill in the spot reserved for disabled people. What a view!

I had a wander around the ruins. There is not an awful lot to see, in reality, but there are some good info boards and artists' impressions of how the place would have looked, and there is a proper sense of history. Most of all, there is a fantastic panorama of the surrounding countryside.

Around the perimeter of the grounds were swathes of wildflowers. A stunning display. A small notice board revealed that this was yet another community-promoted activity!

To say that I enjoyed my visit to Castle Roy would be slightly understating it. This is now firmly on my revisit list!

From here, I dropped into Strathdon for a lunch and toilet break, then onward to Fife and a couple of nights at Tayport before heading back into Edinburgh to spend a week with Mac1.