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.