A Picture Perfect Day!

Our B&B, although definitely off the beaten track, turned out to be awesome!  Of course, a bottle of Prosecco could certainly have swayed my opinion. But, honestly, the bed was comfy, the towels were fully, and our hostess was bubbly.......just like the Prosecco!

And, the weather continues to amaze us with sunny skies and nary a cloud with temperatures going well into the low seventies today.  You just can't beat that!

Today proved to be a delightful day, despite some last minute changes in the agenda which found us stopping in the hamlet of Monymusk to have a look around.

This is a charming estate village, located on the River Don.  Most of the town consists of buildings that had once belonged to the Monymusk estate that was purchased in 1712.  Most of the buildings were replaced in the early 1800's, but the church tower dates back to 1058, when Malcolm III had it built. 

It certainly was an amazing structure and I'm sorry that I didn't get a better frontal shot.

But I did take one of the side, where you can see the church connected to the tower, (and Marty posing in front).

We decided that we would have a look around since our intended destination didn't open until 11:00.

We found a path that we decided to follow, and walking it led to the original Monymusk estate house, which stands very near the River Don.

The views from here were spectacular

There really wasn't much more to see in this tiny village, so we headed out to find Craigievar Castle.  

Originally, I had planned for us to visit Castle Fraser on the Castle Trail, but suddenly I realized that I had missed in the planning that Castle Fraser is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Most of the National Trust Sites have random closing days of the week, and I had to research them all to see what would work for our trip.  All of them finish with Summer hours on Sept. 30, with many of them closing through next April.  I was disappointed that we would miss Castle Fraser, but equally eager to see the lovely Craigievar.

Imagine my disappointment when we drove up the road and saw the last-minute paper sign posted stating that the castle would be closed through March 2016.  Apparently someone thought summer hours ended early (or they wanted to be out and about enjoying the gorgeous weather!)

This castle is considered to be one of the best preserved in Scotland, and it has the added notoriety of having Queen Victoria pop in for a visit one afternoon in June 1879.

The views from the front were stunning.  (You are probably getting tired of hearing that!)

Although the interior was closed, we were permitted to walk around the grounds to enjoy the beauty of the castle.  There were several other disappointed visitors who had hoped to tour the castle as well.

One such visitor informed us that Walt Disney used this castle as his model for the Castle in Disneyland.   Perhaps that is why it seems to be familiar?

Now that we had more free time than I had planned, we decided to drive to Leith Hall and have a look around the grounds.  I already knew that the building was closed on Tuesdays, but the grounds were open for exploring. 

We decided to take a shorter route that took us up and over a mountain that offered outstanding views.

Gorgeous, don't you think?

Soon we were at Leith Hall, which, in itself was pretty spectacular. 

Leith is a typical Scottish laird's family home which was built in 1650.

I noticed some unique windows in the place.

as well as the inscription of John Leith above one of them.

We  then headed to the much acclaimed gardens.

We didn't get too far when I noticed that there were two Pictish stones standing near the gate entrance to the garden. 

I don't think that I mentioned this, but Marty seems to have some sort of fascination with the Picts, so he finds these stones to be extremely fascinating.  Why else would I find myself traipsing through a cemetery in search of 4 of them in Inverurie?  

This particular stone has some pretty interesting carvings that resemble a dog or a horse. 

One of the features of the garden is that it has the longest continuous border of cat mint...apparently 94 meters.

It runs along the entire length of the side wall, and has a lovely scent....... Just ask Marty.

Once again, we were surprised and delighted by what we found in the garden.

Since it was such a lovely afternoon, we decided to take one of the nature walks on the estate.  We came across a sign that said, "Bird Hide" and we set off to find it.

After walking quite a distance, we both decided that the bird hide was definitely well hidden!  Eventually we found it and stepped inside to see what kind of activity was going on just outside.

No wild or exotic birds, no otters....just ducks.  Oh well!  

On the way back to the car park, I spotted this lovely little waterfall in the distance.

By now, we could certainly use a bit of a rest, so we decided to head to our B&B in Dufftown.   We soon found ourselves on a narrow road and entering Moray.  We no sooner passed the sign when Marty spotted activity ahead on the road.

Luckily, these woolen creatures knew to jump off the road when a car was coming.

We soon found ourselves back in Sheep country and, believe me, the fields are loaded with them!

This guy was keeping a watchful eye from the back of the truck. 

Unfortunately, this Lorry was filled with them.  They had obviously been taken hostage. I do not want to surmise their fate.

Finally, we were in Dufftown, checking into our B&B, then heading out for a quick walk around the town.

Isn't this place awesome?

Actually, it appeared that we might just have gone back in time.

Gotta love those cars!

And, now let me show you our B&B.  Our room is on the upstairs corner on the left.  It is quite comfortable and the owner is a real hoot.

We are in the Distillery capital.  Proof of that can be found on the mantle.

Care for a wee dram, anyone?

A Sunny Day in Aberdeenshire

Once again, we were blessed with sunny skies as we made our way out of Aberdeen, heading west and away from the coast.  Believe me, we know how rare that circumstance is, and combine the blue skies with temperatures in the mid-60's and you have the perfect weather for walking in Scotland!

First stop was Pitmedden Gardens,  another one of the great formal gardens of Scotland.  Pitmedden was made for Sir Alexander Seton around 1675, and the walls have sheltered flowers and fruit trees for hundreds of years.  In fact, the last Sunday in September is called "picking Sunday" and the apples are harvested from the trees and sold to the general public.

Just as you enter the grounds, there is a museum of farming life on the left, which has a vast collection of various farming tools used over the centuries.

These tractors immediately caught my eye:

One thing that Marty and I have noticed is that this area is obviously more conducive to planting and harvesting, as compared to grazing.  We have seen cattle, occasionally, but few hills filled with sheep.  Gazing along the countryside, the fields are loaded with round bales drying in the sun, obviously having been harvested sometime recently.

The grounds of Pitmedden are preserved as they would have been over the years and the farming museum is set up in some of the houses that would have been on the property.  One thing that I learned about this area is that farm hands did not commit to one farmer.  Rather, they changed farms about every 6 months, moving from place to place.  Not conducive to genealogy, for sure!

I was quite interested in seeing this potato digger:

And here you see a seed drilling machine.  It was made in Aberdeen in 1864.  It is pulled by a single horse and the seeds drop down through pipes to below the soil surface.

The information was fascinating, and there was even a surprise or two.

Finally we made our way to the gardens, which were, as predicted, spectacular.  There were two pavilions, one on each end, which were set up for viewing the gardens well over 300 years ago.

The ground stone work was place in memory of Sir Alexander Seton, who was shot through the heart at Brig " Dee in June 1639.

Isn't this place phenomenal?

Of course, we needed the "selfie" to show that we had been here.

As we were walking out, I snapped a photo of these two rabbits that look as if they are giving the high five sign to each other.

Which is kind of comical, as the gardens are set up so that no predators could get in.....unless a gate was left open, and even then, one would need to maneuver steps to get to the garden.  Somehow, I just can't see bunnies hopping down those stone stairs.

Moving on, we headed to Fyvie Castle which has to be one of the most spectacular castles that we've seen.

This castle was a Royal Castle as far back as 1200, and there is evidence that William I stayed here as well as Alexander II, Edward  I and Robert the Bruce.  Robert III came to the throne in 1390 and gifted it to Sir Henry Preston.  As the castle passed through history, it seemed that each owner added his own tower, resulting in the magnificent building that you can see today.

When the castle came into possession by Sir Alexander Seton, he had his tower built with a circular staircase wide enough to hold 4 horses side by side.  The rise on the steps were low, as it appears that the evening entertainment was racing horses up and down the staircase to see which one could make it to the top first, and subsequently to the bottom as well.

In 1733, it was purchased by William Gordon. He added the Gordon Tower and made many of the renovations that one can see today.  He also drained the moat, which resulted in a beautiful lake that sits on the grounds.

Unfortunately,  Gordon ran out of money and found himself forced to sell the estate.  In 1885, it was purchased by Alexander Leith, a local man who had made his fortune in the steel industry.  He built the Leith Tower and filled the interior with priceless heirlooms including a room filled with original Raeburn painting.

It was certainly interesting to see the difference in the towers as we walked through the castle, and to the learn the history behind each of the owners.  We learned that Fyvie Castle is one of the most haunted castles in all of Scotland.

One of the bedrooms features a window sill with an engraved name in the concrete.  The legend goes that Alexander Seton was tired of his wife, Lady Meldrum, Lillian Drummond,  because she would not bear him a son, so he locked her in a tower and starved her until she died.  He then went onto marry his wife's niece, only 15 at the time, and on their wedding night, they were awoken to terrible scratching at the window and a horrible noise.  The next day, this inscription was found on the sill. "D. Lilies Drummond."

Funny, but the chiseled granite letters are perfectly formed.  I find it hard to believe that a Lady would have such skill.  Not to mention that she's have to be hanging onto the wall with chisel in hand in order to accomplish this.  But then again, perhaps a lady ghost has such abilities, who knows?

In any event, legend holds that there is a reappearing woman, known as the green lady who appears frequently at the castle and items are often found moved about in the morning.

After our tour, we enjoyed a lovely Cream Tea in the tearoom, and headed out to see the gardens.
There were blackberries, and currents, turnips, rhubarb, various varieties of beans.  A real gardener's delight!

And there were fruit trees trained to grow up along the wall as we have seen so many places here.

Here you see a thistle, the traditional symbol of Scotland.

The place was filled with gorgeous flowers as well.

Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to walk along the lake, where we spotted a bird hide and spent a few minutes inside.    

Across the lake you can spot the hide.

Then, we headed back to the car and made the drive to our B&B.  This one is definitely off the beaten track and we had a wee built of difficulty finding it.  But, once inside, we could see that it was well worth the effort.

A bottle of Prosecco?  What a nice surprise!

We decided to head into town for dinner, but before that, we took in some of the town of Inverurie,

and headed to the cemetery on the edge of town.
There stand two mounds,  known as the Bass of Inverurie.

They supported the motte and bailey  castle built by the Earls of Garioch in the 1100s.  The castle here was used as a base by Robert the Bruce in 1308.

All that stands today are these two mounds.  Near them, in the cemetery, stand four pictish stones.

If you look closely, you can make out the carving a horse on this one.

Sorry, but I have no more explanation to offer regarding these curious stones.

I'd say that was quite a full day, and I'm going to call this quits for now.  A glass of Prosecco is calling my name!