Our first stop this time out is in the lovely highland town of Pitlochry, and we popped into the Old Mill for a few ‘jars’ before heading back to Iona for a quiet night.
Time for some exercise! So we walked around the loch, 3.6 miles.
We enjoyed a pleasant walk around town this evening before enjoying a couple of ‘jars’ and getting a fish supper to take back to Iona.
Moving on, we stopped off at one of our favourite spots, Loch Dunmore, just north of Pitlochry. Here we prepared lunch, and afterwards, we strolled around the loch, enjoying the colours, sights and sounds.
Heading north, we stopped off to see the MacThomas Clan Cockstane (Clach an Coileach). Fascinating historical background to this old stone which you can research online if you are of a mind.
In the late afternoon, we stopped in Braemar and had a pleasant stretch of the legs and an ice cream!
We eventually pulled up at a fantastic spot alongside the river Dee and were sent off to sleep by the sound of a bubbling river.
Today we stopped off at Craigievar Castle, sadly shut due to ‘Covid’; however, we had a great walk around the adjacent woodland.
We had a pleasant 4-mile walk today and spotted some fungi!
Our next overnight stop was on the slopes of Bennachie. Once the hill and dog walkers had left for the day, we had a very peaceful evening/night.
Today was another 4-mile walk partially up the lower slopes of Bennachie and the adjacent woodland. After lunch in our van, we set off north to find our next stop-off.
Pulled into this roadside layby and parked up for the night. Not the best park-up as there was some traffic noise from the adjacent road, especially in the morning. However, we had a pleasant night.
Time to freshen up, and so we booked into this lovely hotel in Elgin for two nights. A comfy bed, pleasant room and a shower!
Drove into Lossiemouth and parked up at the beach for lunch.
In the evening, we visited Against the Grain, a fine wee pub we had discovered last night, and then we enjoyed an excellent curry in Qismat on High Street.
Before leaving Elgin, we stopped off at the cathedral and wandered through the adjacent Biblical Gardens. Then we headed west to find our next stopover.
The view of the Moray Firth
Having parked Iona, we had a leisurely walk around the town of Burghead and enjoyed a pint or two in a couple of the town’s bars. We then sauntered back to Iona for dinner and a quiet night listened to the tide roll in!
Today we had a tremendous four-mile walk along the beach and through the nearby woods before returning to Iona and sheltering from the rain showers!
Sitting in Iona enjoying lunch when a shoal of these fellas passed by!
Later in the day, we headed east and settled on an overnight stay at the Newburgh Inn, where we enjoyed a couple of ‘jars’ and a takeaway fish supper!
As it was a lovely day, we walked down to Seal Beach and watched the seals bobbing around in the sea. Sadly, it was too warm for them to be sunbathing on the sands!
In the afternoon we found a lovely location next to a bird hide on the Ythan river estuary and then had a 3-mile + walk around the countryside.
Later in the evening, we were treated to a wonder of nature as the sun departed our hemisphere.
Having seen this lovely walk advertised, we stopped off after our morning cup o Java and enjoyed the fab weather and a great four-mile walk along the coast.
It was great to be able to wander barefoot in the North Sea too!
We spent our penultimate night in a woodland car park, and the following day, we had a lovely three-mile walk in the adjacent woods.
After lunch, we packed up and headed south towards Glasgow and stopped off in Pitlochry for our final night, so we ended up where we started this trip. A nice loop around the northeast of Scotland.