Experience of being in the fresh air the main thing
NOVEMBER came in mildly enough. On one day Aboyne was the warmest place in the UK and Leuchars recorded its highest temperatures since 1946.
This green cow has appeared in various locations in Glenesk over the last few weeks. Last time the Monday Walkers were there it was standing at the roadside. They've dubbed it "Maid of Colmeallie" (Photo by Bill Lindsay).
I'm not sure that such unseasonable weather benefits us in the long run though. I've an idea that good hard frosts kill the nasty bugs. As I write there are signs that temperatures are dropping and I've read that thousands of siskins, members of the finch family, have been pouring into Scotland from eastern Europe lately.
Apparently the last time such an influx occurred was in the autumn of 1993 heralding a particularly harsh winter. A sign of things to come?
The Monday Walkers were out on a chilly but sunny day recently at Lunan Bay. According to the technological piece carried by one of our number we covered 7.4 miles. This is of less interest to most of us though than the experience of being out and on the move in the fresh air.
A field near our parking spot was of some historical interest for it was here that Lt. Desmond Arthur of the Royal Flying Corps, and flying out of Montrose aerodrome in 1913, was tragically killed when his bi-plane crashed.
His ghost, and there have been many claimed sightings over the years, is said to haunt the environs of Montrose airfield. No spooks today as we started walking near Redcastle although there was a diverting incident when a large dog stopped a yard in front of me barking fiercely the while.
I was at a loss to know as to how I'd offended the pooch. "It's your hat", said its owner, "he doesn't like folk in hats." Strange; but as in humans I guess you get canine eccentrics too.
Standing guard over the mouth of the river, the colour of the stone giving it its name Redcastle is an imposing ruin dating from 1286 with a turbulent history. Today seabirds are left to nest in peace there.
The tide was on the turn as we walked along the sands. A dozen swans, necks extended, passing low over the water the sounds of their beating wings clearly audible, flew away to the south. We came at last to the hamlet of Ethie Haven, old houses now turned into holiday homes; a well-tended garden obviously using local seaweed as a fertiliser.
A scramble up a steepish grassy bank affords you an aerial view of the beach. We spotted a lone horse and rider cantering along the water's edge far below; an evocative picture on that sunny autumn afternoon. Sea water is good for horses' hooves so I'm told.
We turned at St. Murdoch's Chapel, another ancient ruin and onetime parish kirk. Returning along the beach we came across the corpse of a fox not long dead. When you encounter such sights you're always curious as to what happened. What was the story here? (OS Landranger Sheet 54).
Earlier this week we were back doing what is, for us, quite a familiar outing walking from Tarfside to the Maule monument.
Although not especially high at something over a thousand feet, the Hill of Rowan with its conical tower is somewhat exposed and there was a stiffish breeze up there putting me in mind of an experience I had in the selfsame spot a couple of years ago when I was literally upended by gale force winds.
Today we lingered briefly for coffee but a sleet squall arose as we descended, fortunately of short duration. Characteristically the wind dropped at lower level as we made for Westbank.
Writer and historian Duncan Fraser tells us that, "This was the land of whisky bothies, where the glensfolk and the excisemen played an almost continuous game of hide-and-seek." Rickles of stones around these hills have interesting tales to tell. Crossing the Easter Burn we made for the Baillies before walking back to Tarfie along a track which runs parallel to The Fungle. (OS Landranger Sheet 44).
Between walks some of us went on a trip to Pitlochry to see and experience "The Enchanted Forest." This event, part of the Pitlochry Autumn Festival, ran from October 19 to November 4. It is, in reality, a smoke-and-mirrors walk through the nearby Faskally Woods.
Fountains, music, lasers, mist and flame make for stimulating drama in the darkness. This is not unfamiliar territory to us but it's truly amazing how red and green floodlighting of ancient oak and pine reflected in still waters can transform nature into something magnificently surreal.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Brechin
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: East
