Moray Coast, Day 5: Garmouth to Buckie
Day 5 was a bit hard, because my cough had progressed to the point that I didn't sleep the night before; every time I started to relax, the deeper breathing would trigger another round of coughing. Fortunately, the sights were still very enjoyable, and the day divided into three short sections and a fourth, non-walking section to get to our hotel outside of town.
We crossed the River Spey (and got some nice views of it) via an old railroad bridge...
...then took a path between the river and some fields to reach the river mouth and the Scottish Dolphin Centre.
Orhan and Dev discussed farming. (Orhan explained. Dev listened.)
Our trail also merged briefly with the Spey Way, one of the thistle-marked walks, giving us a warm reminder of the West Highland and Great Glen Ways.
The Scottish Dolphin Centre from a distance; notice more living roofs!
The mouth of the river:
We had tea and rested (yes, after 1.5 miles) at the center for a while. Dev met some new friends, as he tends to do.
He also explored the premises, including the roof of an ice house.
(Technically, he wasn't breaking the rules here, as he did not climb.)
Seeing so many ice houses got me curious about them, so I read the Wikipedia entry and learned that they were used to store ice all year, that "ice was often imported into the UK from Scandinavia up until the 1950s," and that "the ice house was introduced to Britain around 1660." I also learned that ice was a major New England industry, with people shipping ice to the southern US and the Caribbean.
In addition to studying ice hour architecture, Dev learned which whales have teeth and which have baleen.
The center was quite an art location, as well, from The Tugnet Scupture Project...
...to the courtyard dolphin seen above...
... to another courtyard full of interesting art works
This tree stump/roots evidently looks like a whale, or a whale's tale, or something cetacean:
Dev liked the view, but the surrounding logs made him realize he needs to study words if he wants to be more like Orhan -- and who doesn't? -- so he hopped down to do some word studying.
Being a small bird, he wisely started with small words.
He also especially enjoyed sailing in the mural.
He's becoming quite the sailor here in Scotland.
This stretch took us from fields...
...To a path through some woods, a refreshing change after several days of lovely beaches and gorgeous cliff tops.
Apparently this was a tree farm at one point; either that or Scottish trees are very orderly on their own.
We got a glimpse of yet another golf course:
At the end of the woods, this was displayed with an almost-unreadable sign about companionship. We suspected it was for a beloved pet, perhaps a dog that had enjoyed this walk...
...and then three steps later we saw this. Reaction #1: "What is this, the USA?" Reaction #2: "Golly, I hope this doesn't have anything to do with that memorial we just saw"
The next part of the walk took us past a variety of views --- some woods...
...an old railroad bridge...
...flowers and fields...
...flowers and sheep...
...more fields...
...a small footbridge...
...over a tiny riverlet...
...and onward to the edge of Portgordon where we learned about the Caithness-Moray Project.
Town itself was not especially striking.
Granted, it was politically active.
A year after the referendum, these folks have not given up on Scottish independence. I suspect the recent Brexit decision, which Scotland overwhelmingly rejected, is increasing support for another independence vote.
This house was ready for flooding. Our guess is that the owners aren't here all the time, so they leave the house ready just in case they are away when the North Sea comes visiting.
There's the North Sea. It doesn't have very far to come if it wants to visit.
Portgordon didn't have anywhere to stop for tea, so we rested and had snacks in the lea of this wall. (It was a bit windy.)
The harbor was interesting, first for showing how low a low tide here can be..
...and then for suggesting, with its multiple walls and indirect access, that when the North Sea comes visiting, it doesn't take "no" for an answer.
The town also is very proud of the barometer that used to be here, and why not? I'm sure it was an excellent barometer.
This boat pretty much summed up how I felt.
On the other hand, I still had the best walking companion I could dream of.
Another tired boat?
Shoreline.
Wait... shoreline with SEALS! That was actually quite exciting. Orhan took pictures on the real camera; I'll add them here later.
More railroad supports.
Oh god. Not there YET?
Okay, that's pretty.
And the walking was easy.
And then we go to Buckie.
At last.
Our first order of business was to find a place where we could use the restroom and (of secondary importance) maybe have something to drink. We stopped into the first open pub we saw, and Claudia (a German woman who recently moved to Buckie with her partner and kid after years of visiting there) graciously allowed us to use the restroom. We bought some drinks anyway, even though she didn't insist, and sat for a bit.
After a while her partner, a French man named Francois, came in. When we mentioned that we would be taking the bus to our hotel outside of town, he offered us a ride.
We accepted, gratefully.
Part 1
The first section was from out hotel to Spey Bay.
We crossed the River Spey (and got some nice views of it) via an old railroad bridge...
...then took a path between the river and some fields to reach the river mouth and the Scottish Dolphin Centre.
Orhan and Dev discussed farming. (Orhan explained. Dev listened.)
Our trail also merged briefly with the Spey Way, one of the thistle-marked walks, giving us a warm reminder of the West Highland and Great Glen Ways.
The Scottish Dolphin Centre from a distance; notice more living roofs!
The mouth of the river:
We had tea and rested (yes, after 1.5 miles) at the center for a while. Dev met some new friends, as he tends to do.
He also explored the premises, including the roof of an ice house.
(Technically, he wasn't breaking the rules here, as he did not climb.)
Seeing so many ice houses got me curious about them, so I read the Wikipedia entry and learned that they were used to store ice all year, that "ice was often imported into the UK from Scandinavia up until the 1950s," and that "the ice house was introduced to Britain around 1660." I also learned that ice was a major New England industry, with people shipping ice to the southern US and the Caribbean.
In addition to studying ice hour architecture, Dev learned which whales have teeth and which have baleen.
The center was quite an art location, as well, from The Tugnet Scupture Project...
...to the courtyard dolphin seen above...
... to another courtyard full of interesting art works
Dev liked the view, but the surrounding logs made him realize he needs to study words if he wants to be more like Orhan -- and who doesn't? -- so he hopped down to do some word studying.
Being a small bird, he wisely started with small words.
He also especially enjoyed sailing in the mural.
He's becoming quite the sailor here in Scotland.
Part 2
Next we walked from the center to Portgordon, halfway to Buckie.This stretch took us from fields...
...To a path through some woods, a refreshing change after several days of lovely beaches and gorgeous cliff tops.
Apparently this was a tree farm at one point; either that or Scottish trees are very orderly on their own.
We got a glimpse of yet another golf course:
At the end of the woods, this was displayed with an almost-unreadable sign about companionship. We suspected it was for a beloved pet, perhaps a dog that had enjoyed this walk...
...and then three steps later we saw this. Reaction #1: "What is this, the USA?" Reaction #2: "Golly, I hope this doesn't have anything to do with that memorial we just saw"
The next part of the walk took us past a variety of views --- some woods...
...an old railroad bridge...
...flowers and fields...
...flowers and sheep...
...more fields...
...a small footbridge...
...over a tiny riverlet...
...and onward to the edge of Portgordon where we learned about the Caithness-Moray Project.
A few more old (and unused) railroad bridges framed the last stretch into town.
Town itself was not especially striking.
Granted, it was politically active.
A year after the referendum, these folks have not given up on Scottish independence. I suspect the recent Brexit decision, which Scotland overwhelmingly rejected, is increasing support for another independence vote.
This house was ready for flooding. Our guess is that the owners aren't here all the time, so they leave the house ready just in case they are away when the North Sea comes visiting.
There's the North Sea. It doesn't have very far to come if it wants to visit.
Portgordon didn't have anywhere to stop for tea, so we rested and had snacks in the lea of this wall. (It was a bit windy.)
The harbor was interesting, first for showing how low a low tide here can be..
...and then for suggesting, with its multiple walls and indirect access, that when the North Sea comes visiting, it doesn't take "no" for an answer.
The town also is very proud of the barometer that used to be here, and why not? I'm sure it was an excellent barometer.
Part 3
The walk from Portgordon to Buckie was the hardest part of the day, and maybe of the whole walk. I was tired, the wind was blowing in our faces (though without rain), and it just seemed to go on and on.This boat pretty much summed up how I felt.
On the other hand, I still had the best walking companion I could dream of.
Another tired boat?
Shoreline.
Wait... shoreline with SEALS! That was actually quite exciting. Orhan took pictures on the real camera; I'll add them here later.
More railroad supports.
Oh god. Not there YET?
Okay, that's pretty.
And the walking was easy.
And then we go to Buckie.
At last.
Our first order of business was to find a place where we could use the restroom and (of secondary importance) maybe have something to drink. We stopped into the first open pub we saw, and Claudia (a German woman who recently moved to Buckie with her partner and kid after years of visiting there) graciously allowed us to use the restroom. We bought some drinks anyway, even though she didn't insist, and sat for a bit.
After a while her partner, a French man named Francois, came in. When we mentioned that we would be taking the bus to our hotel outside of town, he offered us a ride.
We accepted, gratefully.
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