A quiet lazy day

 July 29th

The garage was phoned a tad after 8, we were too early as the chap we had to speak to was not in the office. So we settled down to await a call back, it didn't happen!

Olympic diving watched (well done Daley and Williams on getting silver) and still no phone call, so Ian phoned again. This time the boss himself answered, couldn't really say no to Ian's request, and told to make our way to the garage.

Long story short, it was confirmed that the alternator was at fault and doubtful it would last until we got back. So tomorrow 8 am (Tuesday) we will leave MB with him so the work can be done. Not sure what we will do for several hours, maybe get a bus into Inverness. To be decided then.

Once again we had to stay in this area, so back we went to the harbour. This time we found a space overlooking the Moray Firth. It was a glorious day, too good to stay inside, the chairs were dusted off (not seen the light of day since we left Langley Mill) a cold beer poured and selfie taken. We really need to do this more often!

MB next to the grey camper

And wildlife

Turnstone

Coming toward us was a Highlander!

July 27th

 Not a sound heard last night, no traffic, or gulls screeching, farm noises non-excitant (even though this campsite has a working farm next to it) or the sound of the morning bird chorus. It was bliss, and we slept like the dead, only waking well after 7.30am, unheard of for us! 

The Olympics are dominating our plans at the moment, if we hadn't had to leave by 10 am, I (maybe not Ian so much) would have liked to have stayed So, making use of the facilities, we headed off toward Fort George.

Now, our original idea was to go and look for Nessie at Loch Ness. The engine problems have escalated slightly. That squeaking noise has increased in intensity, and Ian is desperate to find out the source. The air conditioning pump has been ruled out, so the choice is between the alternator or water pump. From the owner of last night's camp site came a recommendation to seek out Henderson garage at Nairn. They open at 8 am Monday, so that phone call will be made tomorrow.

Looking at the map noticed a Historic Scotland property at Ardersier, called Fort George. Only 10 mile from the camp site, it was the perfect place to visit. And so very glad we did.

Fort George is an 18th-century fortress built in the aftermath of the Jacobite Rising of 1745. It was designed by Lieutenant-General William Skinner and built by the Adam family of architects. It was built in the wake of the Battle of Culloden (1746) as a secure base for King George II’s army. 22 years it took to finish the fort, and by then the Jacobite rising was long finished, but it has served the British Army for the almost 250 years since. This is a remarkable fort, the shape alone is different, and reminds me very much of a space rocket.

A huge dry moat had to be crossed to get to the ticket office, gosh we have been lucky being members of English Heritage because Scotland recognises this as one of their partner organisations. Showing our cards got us in for free.

Greeted by one of the Highlanders.

A pamphlet and audio guide was given, this was another of those self-guided tours with numbered boards. This time, most of the audio was outside, so plenty of walking to do. The ramparts could be walked too, more than 1km in length, which encloses an area the size of five football pitches! Lots of information and lots to see, I can't understand why we never found this fort on any website for this area, it was by sheer chance I found it.

Inside the Battery

Army Barracks

Somehow, three hours went by. We must have spent a good hour in the Highlander Museum. It has over 50,000 artefacts and is an amazing place to visit. 

 As we need to stay in this area, it was decided to go back to the harbour car park at Nairn. Gosh it was nearly full when we turned up at 4 pm. The beach is a short walk from here and with the warm sunny conditions, families were making the most of being off work. We managed to squeeze in between a car and a motor home, TV aerial put up and Olympics channel tuned to. Dinner was from Lidl, an Indonesian dish, very quick to prepare and very yummy it was too!

I do so hope Henderson's will listen to the engine tomorrow, if they won't then we may have to return to FS early.  😞

A tower built around a tree.

 Last night we failed in getting TV. My Olympics viewing was out, but all was not lost when we connected the Roku to the TV and managed to get I Player on the Wi-Fi. The signal wasn't brilliant and buffering occurred more often than not, but we saw most of the opening ceremony even though it was disjointed. So a decision to move this morning was made and head off to Ballindalloch Castle. 

Thirty miles we travelled only to find when we arrived it was closed! Time after time this happens to us, we obviously have not learnt our lesson, make sure to check first! It was a question of what to do. Finding a lay-by to stop and asses our situation, the only thing was to return to Nairn and visit Cawdor Castle instead. 

Roughly 60 minutes later, we arrived. Showing our Historic Houses cards got us in for free. An audio guide was given and a map of the gardens. The history of the Thanes of Cawdor can be read HERE but click HERE for a more detailed history

Guided tours have their place, but sometimes being able to wander around at your leisure, listening to the information through an audio guide can be equally as good. Most of the rooms were empty of visitors, photos could be taken and we took our time.

Stone steps led us down to a darkened room. In the centre was a long dead tree. 

I have had to lighten the photo

 According to the audio, the Thane of Cawdor, built a medieval tower around a Holly tree. This from whichcastle.com

As legend has it, an older, crumbling Cawdor Castle needed replacing, and William, 3rd Thane of Cawdor, set out to find a replacement location to re-construct Cawdor. William rode his donkey through the nearby countryside, and directly at the spot where the donkey laid its head to rest is where Cawdor was built. This spot was under a holly tree, and Cawdor was constructed around this tree. Results of testing conclusively indicate that the holly tree died in 1372, suggesting that the castle was first built before that date. Ironically, it may have been a starvation of sunlight due to the construction of Cawdor around the castle which eventually killed the holly tree. Lack of sunlight killed the tree, which has remained in the tower to this day.

Lunch was had before heading for the gardens. Beautifully kept and on a sunny day like today, a joy to walk through.

 A unique bird feeder was near to the garden entrance. Looking more like a statue, we watched as birds flocked to it. 

 

Just before we left, a short walk was taken in the woodland. We have seen some huge trees in our time in NZ, this one was a baby compared to them, but impressive nevertheless.

I'm sure Ballindalloch Castle would have been equally magnificent, It's something we will never know because no way are we going back there even though it will be open tomorrow.

We went into a CC site near Nairn. £15 with electric wasn't bad and on site included water and Elsan.  We filled MB's water tank, so showers could be had, and toothbrushes and Ian's razor went on charge overnight. These two items always seem to be forgotten in favour of phones and laptops.

Afternoon tea on the Strethspey Loco

 July 26th

We did venture back to Brodie Castle, not just to have a look at the gardens but a little further on was Lidl, and we had run out of milk and bread. I'm not sure what I thought we would see in the gardens, nicely laid flower beds with plenty of colour. I was a bit disappointed then when most was lawns and shrubbery. The only thing worth looking at was in the children play area, and that certainly didn't have lovely flowers! We only stayed a short while, good job we were NT members and didn't have to pay for parking.

Only 1 hour out! (British summer time)

Shopping done, it was off to Aviemore and the Strathspey steam railway. We managed to get a first class ticket for 3 pm, which included afternoon tea. Not cheap but so worth spending the money as steam locos are a passion for us both.

A station attendant escorted us to our compartment. The table was set, and two Prosecco bottles also looked inviting. Reading the wine menu, Prosecco could be bought for £7.50 so we left well alone. I did comment for how much we paid for the tickets, they could have thrown the drinks in for free! Anyway, tea was served straight away. Ian chose cheese and cucumber sandwiches and I, the tuna and red onion. They arrived on the bottom plate of a three tiered cake stand, scone jam and clotted cream on the second plate and on the top plate a selection of cakes.

The journey wasn't long, about 3/4 hour, stopping at Boat of Garten and Broomhill. There the loco was uncoupled and taken past the carriages to be joined at the other end for the journey back.

We enjoyed the experience immensely and as we were about to leave, the attendant asked if we would like to take the prosecco home. "But we haven't paid for it" I replied. "It's all included in your ticket!" she said. Blast, if we had known that, we would have drunk it on the train! Both bottles are now in our fridge.

We were allowed to stay in the car park for a fee of £15. Definitely worth it as we can watch the locomotive return in the morning.

Not 100% sure what we will be doing tomorrow. The Olympics have started and certain events I would like to see, equestrian is one.

And seen on the station showing the way to the toilets

Oh, so true. 😂😉

One wildlife photo

 

Coo's and castles

 Yea.... we saw a red squirrel, not where we expected it to be at the RSPB Loch Garton though, all we saw were more Chaffinches and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Even the Osprey didn't put in an appearance.

 It was on our way to Brodie Castle, and we very nearly ran over it! Talk about a near miss, a second or two later and that squirrel would have been two-dimensional! Having looked long and hard for one, this sighting will count so another critter to tick off the list for this year.

A Highland Coo (Scottish word for cow) was seen at Castle Roy, nothing unusual about that, we are in Scotland after all. But this Coo I was sure we had seen before and yep, I found it in a  post in 2014 The horns looked a bit unusual hanging down like that, the ones I have seen usually go straight out from the head and upwards.

Brodie Castle is a Scottish NT property and, as members, didn't have to pay for the car park or entry to the castle. The grounds were free and an attraction for younger children in their Playful garden. It is the ancestral home of the Brodie clan for over 400 years, although their family seat has been there since the 12th century. Ian Brodie, the 24th Laird, was a famous daffodil breeder. Between 1899 and 1942, Brodie raised tens of thousands of daffodils in the walled garden, breeding over 400 named daffodils by manual pollination. There is a great article on Brodie Castle by Chris Thornton and well worth a read. 

Only three weeks ago, the rules of photography inside the castle were changed. Today, photos are allowed without flash, which pleased me no end. The tour was roughly an hour long, our guide very knowledgable and enthusiastic about the Brodie's.  The rooms were dark, so most of my photos had to be lightened.

The gardens were given a miss for today. I still wasn't feeling right, so we left knowing we could go back tomorrow to continue the visit if we wanted.

 Nairn Harbour was where we stopped for our overnight stay. Motorhomes are welcome, and it's up to you whether to make a donation. We need these sorts of places, so parting with a tenner was no hardship.