... still catching up -- Aberdeen/Banffshire Coast in Nov. 06

Sand art at Forvie Nature Reserve.

Hiya

Let me share a few pix of my recent trip to Aberdeen (Nov. 25-27). I was exceedingly lucky in every respect. Although much of the train ride north was spent in rainy conditions, my second day brought gloriously blue skies -- but perhaps the weather there is simply always better than on the west coast of Scotland. See for yourself!
On Nov. 26, my dear friend S. and her husband took me to Forvie Nature Reserve, just north of Aberdeen, for a wonderful, bracing walk. Glorious! I would have loved to spend a lot more time there. Next time!
The wide river slowly filling up with the incoming tide.
The point where river meets sea is the favourite haunt of a family of harbour seals (yes, those dark dots at the water's edge at the centre of the photo). They're shy and crawled nearer to the water when S. got too close for their liking.The long beach from which the pink sand is carried north to create some spectacular dunes.

Old Harbour Authority building at Aberdeen harbour. No longer in use, or so I believe.The above is the stunning new Port Authority building at Aberdeen harbour. Another place that I'd have loved to spend exploring much longer. All those huge ships from all over the world!

I didn't actually get to see all that much of Aberdeen itself because I wasted a couple of hours chasing an elusive adapter plug for my Swiss laptop, which has three pins that don't fit any readily available travel adapters; and spent another few hours looking at pins and badges at Aberdeen University -- very nice new buildings! Having a broken adapter plug for my laptop forced me to tap into my e-mails from an internet café. Very interesting experience: try producing a sound translation while being hammered by heavy metal music! Luckily, my client was understanding and patient.

S. also drove me north to visit Macduff and a few other tiny villages that cling to the sheer cliffs between Macduff and Fraserburgh on the Banffshire coast. We actually visited Macduff, Gardenstown, Crovie (pronounced something like Crivvy) and Pennan (of Local Hero fame). It was a perfect day with clear blue skies. But see for yourself:
Macduff from the Aquarium car park -- the midday sun low above the houses. That aquarium, by the way, is a stunning place from which to learn about the sea life in the North Sea just outside.
My first sight of Crovie -- and I knew I'd fall for this place on what's been called the 'Ligurian coast of Banffshire' -- too right: I was strongly reminded of the old villages of the Cinque Terre.
Crovie in the early afternoon. This tiny village has no pub -- maybe that's where I should go...
Play of light and shadow in Crovie.
A last look, for now, back at Crovie. I believe it is the only village on that coast that has a view of the setting sun.
It's not just in Switzerland that the vegetation has been pushed into unusual flowerings: all over the coast north of Edinburgh and along the Banffshire coast, the gorse or broom was flowering. I found these magnificent plants in a spot near one of the longest-inhabited places on the Banffshire coast (see below).
Above and below: the site of an ancient fortress at Cullykhan (Castle Point). In the cove in the distance, upper left, the tiny village of Pennan.
Pennan. There's a small inn here where S. and I found a warm welcome and a hot cup of coffee. In summer the place is alive with visitors and holiday makers, but even on that November Friday the landlady said she was fully booked. Good for them!Pennan harbour. Not a patch on what it once must have been, when smaller scale fishing was keeping this and other villages busy, fed and populated.