The Hunt for Scottish Dolphins

 We are in a prime marine-animal spotting location...or so we've been told.  But since we've been gallivanting along the shores of northern Scotland, I've spotted exactly 2 seals:  One feasting on a giant fish near Wick, and another bobbing in the loch near Dornoch.  And zero dolphins to be seen anywhere, even in what is considered to be a prime spot near Cromarty.

So, today we were hopeful that the Scottish Dolphin Center on the northern coast would delight us with some dolphin sightings.  But the only dolphin that we spied there can be seen here with Marty.

But, I wouldn't say that it was complete bust. The center is located on Spey Bay and the Moray Firth, and the area is quite unique as it has what is called a "shingle formation".  Instead of sand dunes, there are rock dunes.  

Rocks of every size, smoothed by the surf, tossed about along the shore.  I'd never seen anything like it, and I do have to say that it was quite a challenge climbing up those rocks to get to the top so that we could search for dolphins. 

Don't let those blue skies fool you.  It might have been sunny, but with wind gusts up to 24 mph, it was by no means warm.  But we were both prepared for the chill in the air, so that didn't keep us from attempting to spot a dolphin.  

If we had seen a dolphin, it would apparently have been much larger than those that we see in the United States.  Since the water temperatures are so much colder due to being so far north, the dolphins here have more blubber to help keep them warm, so they appear much more rotund.  But, we'll really never know, will we?

The center itself is located in a building that was once a huge fishery. There are three ice houses that stand next to it, that would have been used to keep the fish cold.  

And, there are several small houses located next to the building that would have been houses for the fisherman who worked there.  Unfortunately, no more fishing occurs at this spot, so the buildings have been repurposed.  (or would that be porpoised?) 

There are several murals that are inlaid into the ground, using many of the stones found on the beach.  Here are two of them:

The distillery represents the many such companies that are in abundance in this area.  They are the famous Speyside whiskies, and we had toured that area several years ago, but never made it this far north until now. 

As you can see, Marty enjoyed the visit, despite not seeing any dolphins. 

Our next planned adventure for the day was to visit Duff House, which is a bit east of Portsoy, where we are staying.  We decided to drive the coastal route which took us through quaint fishing villages along the way.  Each one had its own startling beauty, and with the beautiful sky above us, it was quite an experiencing driving through each of them. 

The coastal route took a bit longer, so we arrived at Duff house just before 1:00 pm.  And, apparently, just when it was lunchtime for the staff. And, we were told, that the house would close for an hour.  This came as a bit of a surprise, since nowhere on the website or information board does it say that the house closes for an hour for lunch.  We were lucky we arrived when we did, or we would have presumed it was just closed for the day for some reason. 

But, we used the time to our advantage and walked into Banff to explore a bit.

It really was a charming village with a lovely view of the harbor as well.

This last photo was taken from the Bridge Restaurant, that had a lovely view of the harbor as well as the bridge in the previous photo.  We stopped in for a bit of refreshment and enjoyed the views. 

We then made the hike back to Duff House.

The original plans called for a Georgian townhouse to be built on this estate by William Adam, the architect.  He was based in South Queensferry, but was commissioned by William Duff who later became the first earl of Fife. 

Work began in 1735, but Adam's grandiose plans began to add up in expenses, and Duff became quite annoyed by the escalating costs.  He refused to continue to pay Adam, so all work on the house was stopped in 1741, while the two men squabbled over payment. 

Adam died shortly after it was determine by the courts that Duff owed him the spent funds.  He was never paid, and the house passed to future Duff family generations to complete it. 

When Alexander Duff, the sixth earl of Fife  married Queen Victoria's granddaughter, the family felt that they no longer needed Duff house, so they gifted it to the towns of Banff and Macduff in 1907.  All of the personal items were removed so that the interior once again stood empty.  But, it would eventually become a hotel, sanatorium, and a hotel once again.  During WWII, it was used as an interment camp, POW camp, and HQ for Allied regiments.  It came under attack during a German bombing raid in 1940, and sustained damage to one of the wings. 

In 1950, it was placed under the care of Historic Environment Scotland who then researched the history of the house and the family, and painstakingly went about returning the interior to its original glory. They had photographs from the time that the Erskine family lived in the house prior to 1907, that were used as a basis for the present day decor.  Only three original items were retained. 

The sixth earl had several children, but all died without an heir.  His youngest daughter, Margaret, had the foresight to will all of her family possessions to Duff house to be preserved there for future generations, so these are the items that one now sees while touring the house.  The house is also used as a showcase for famous art on loan as well. 

The tour began in a large drawing room delicately painted with pink walls and an elaborate ceiling that had been preserved all these years.  I enjoyed the painting featuring this lovely woman although I cannot say who it is. 

This mirror is one of the original items from the house, purchased by Lady Erskine. Note the lovely Wedgewood piece that enhances the fireplace.

There are two globes here:  one representing earth and the other the heavens.

The house featured some exquisite chandeliers. 

and so many intriguing paintings.

I tried to have some fun with mirrors

This set of paintings was interesting.  They were originally a single painting.  Someone must have decided to modify them sometime down the line. 

And this painting is of the Erskine family whose youngest daughter, Margaret, gifted the contents of her home to fill Duff house when she passed. 

Such fascinating stories, and so many interesting items to admire. 

We really did enjoy our tour and were happy that we had decided to return later in the day.

From here, we drove into Portsoy, which is near our B&B.  The sun had decided to stay out this time, although there was quite a wind whipping. 

The views were stunning. 

We walked from our B&B to dinner at the Station hotel Restaurant.  Across the street stood this church with a lovely clock tower

and an unusual WWI memorial statue out front. 

After dinner, we stopped next door for some Portsoy Ice Cream.

It was delicious!

I leave you with our most exciting dolphin moment of the day!

I'd say that was just about the perfect day, don't you think? 

Until tomorrow. 

Gallivanting on Scotland's NE 250

This morning began with a  brilliant sunrise, and Marty took advantage of the perfect conditions to head out for an early walk to start the day.

As mentioned yesterday, our travels on the NC500 have come to an end and it is now time to journey east. 

But not before we enjoyed another delicious breakfast at the Factor's House B&B in Cromarty. 

That, in combination with delightful conversation between a Scottish couple and ourselves, with whom we shared a table,  really made our morning special before we packed up the car to head to our next destination.

We are staying in Portsoy, along the north coast of Scotland, in the eastern side of the mainland, thereby the acronym, NE250.  But our travels are really only the NE125, as we experienced the bottom half of the circle several years ago on one of our gallivanting adventures.

But, our first stop once we were off the Black Isle was Cawdor Castle. 

The center of the castle, or keep, was built around 1380, with several additions added on by owners in subsequent years. 

 Interestingly enough, historians were able to date the structure by scientifically testing the age of a holly tree, which stands in the middle of the keep.  (This brought to mind a childhood memory of a neighbor who added a wing onto the house, but left a tree standing in the hall.  Perhaps he knew the history of Cawdor?) 

The property was originally that of the Caldor family, and in the 16th century, it passed to the Campbell family who continue to own it.   There is apparently a literary connection to MacBeth, but the dates of the castle do not correlate with the time period. 

The interior was filled with fascinating furnishings. 

including wall tapestries from the Don Quixote collection.

As is the case in so many of these type of residences, fine art was displayed throughout the many rooms, way too many to analyze in a quick tour.

We ventured outside to take a peek at the maze which is celebrated as very special.

Unfortunately, the maze itself was no longer open to the public.

Unlike so many that we have seen in the past, this maze was made from pruned holly bushes, making it really quite unique. 

The gardens still offered some blooming beauty despite being late in the season.

and there was a bird feeder at the entrance that attracted dozens of these chaffinches for our enjoyment. 

We were very surprised at how busy this venue was as we watched more than one tour bus arrive, loaded with people.  It's really the busiest place that we've encountered on this trip, and we were happy to go on our merry way within short time.

Twenty minutes later, we arrived at Brodie Castle, which seemed to me to be a much more pleasant atmosphere. This is a National Trust Property, and since we have Royal Oak memberships, we get admitted at no cost.  

There were no formal gardens to peruse, although the story was that there had been many years past. But there were extensive walks that one can take, some featuring wild flowers growing along the path. 

And, much to Marty's delight, there was an authentic Pictish Stone standing near the entrance to the car park, on display.  It has apparently stood in that spot since 1840, when it was rescued from a cemetery.

The stone is from the 7th century, and I find the distinct details to be remarkable.  

Another delightful feature of this castle is that it had two tea shops.  The one near the entrance was nearly wiped out due to large crowds earlier in the day.  And, although the one behind the castle was lacking scones, it did have cake.  Cranachan cake to be exact.  And I wasn't the least bit disappointed to make the substitution. 

  

If it makes your mouth watering while gazing upon it, then you are quite correct in your analysis.  It was scrumptious!

The interior of the castle was only available by private tour, and when we arrived at 1:00, only the last time slot was open: 3:00, and we were told that we were the last two to secure a spot.  I'm dubious about that comment as there ended up being 35 people in our group for the tour.  And the guide kept saying that it was an extremely large group.  But, although it was a bit tedious waiting for such a large number to move from room to room,  I think it's great that they opened up the opportunity for people to explore the interior.

King Malcolm IV granted the lands to the Brodie clan around 1160, and the castle housed the family for well over 800 years prior to being sold to the National Trust.  The 25th Brodie of Brodie, laird and chieftain, was named Ninian.  He had not been originally destined to be the heir, since he was the third son, but his two brothers predeceased him, leaving him to carry on the legacy. 

His father, Ian, the 24th laird, was known for having bred over 400 varieties of daffodils that are planted scattered around the estate.  Obviously, this was the wrong time of year to see that beauty but I imagine that it looks pretty remarkable in March and April when the blooms open. 

Photos were not permitted of the inside and I won't bore you with many details, but one thing of interest to me was the first floor library.  It holds over 6500 books, with the oldest being from 1540"  "The City of God", written by St. Augustine.  

As we walked from room to room, our guide, Rachel, entertained us with family stories and explained the genealogy through paintings adorning the walls.  History told of one laird spending a fortune on attempting to build gardens to match Versailles, only to be left with 3 million pounds of debt that carried down through generations.  A wealthy heiress helped to defray some of the loss, but the family never did regain solid footing financially. 

The tour took well over an hour (remember....a lot of moving...slowly....from room to room) but Marty and I were really quite impressed with Rachel's skill in keeping us enthralled during the process. 

By now, it was well past 4:00 pm, and we had more than an hour to our destination, so we headed out on the road to begin our NE250 tour.   We finally arrived in Portsoy, a harbor town that lies on the Moray Firth. 

We are staying at Durn house, a restored Georgian house with links to Bonnie Prince Charlie and the battle of Culloden.  Marty commented on the fact that it resembles many of the manor houses which we have toured over the years. 

I had booked dinner as the site made it seem necessary.  We pretty much had the room to ourselves for most of the evening.

It's obvious that someone has a real liking for deer here: 

And, if that isn't entertaining enough, we're still trying to figure out just why this chair sits in the corner of the bathroom.  

I'm game for hearing ideas if you have any. 

Until tomorrow....