First Day at Strathnoon Cottage September 25, 2006

After a good nights sleep in this place where the only thing you hear is the bleating of sheep and the wind as it moans over the highlands we woke and enjoyed of all things a sunny morning. Holly fixed a decidedly not Scottish breakfast of cereal, grapefruit and toast which we topped off with coffee made the old fashion way; no filter.

Walter, the ghillie, came by around 10 and told me with yesterday’s rain the Findhorn was a little high and dark and we should try for the fish tomorrow. We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope the river clears in the next day or two. He also gave some directions on where Holly and I could hike today.

We decided to hike the hills above the cottage. The hill is named Carn Ruighe Shamraich and is approximately 1750 feet above sea level and about 800 feet above Strathnoon Cottage. The trail winds up a drainage beside the stream black with water that has filtered through the peat. As we climbed we kicked up grouse that sailed away following the contours of the hillside. We passed a small pond and jumped a wild duck that was resting in the rushes and voiced its displeasure as it struggled with the wind that was blowing between the hills. Rabbits feeding in the heather, invisible until they ran at our approach, were visible for a hundred yards or more as the sparse vegetation offered no place to hide. We had been told that there are many Roe Deer in this area but we did not see any on this hike. As we neared the peak of the carn we came upon several areas that had been excavated with short trenches that ended in an L shape. These appear to be attempts to uncover ancient sites as they were all dug into small mounds, which potentially are burial sites, but we’re not sure of their purpose. Once reaching the top we stopped for a rest and then started down toward the cottage as clouds had begun to gather and we had left laundry hanging on the clothes line outside. By the time we reached the cottage the skies had again mostly cleared and we continued to enjoy a beautiful day.

After lunch and lounging in the cottage for a while we drove to Aviemore to pick up more groceries including a couple of disposal BBQ packs that include charcoal and grill as we plan to cook steaks tonight. This will be the first time we have grilled out since last December when we were visiting Andy and Kim in Florida and we were looking forward to it. The timing of our BBQ was perfect as just as the steaks were done the rain started. I had set the grill up on a picnic table outside the cottage and quickly moved the meat inside as the raindrops sizzled on the charcoal. Holly had made her scalloped potatoes and steamed broccoli which both came out perfect and although we don’t usually eat dinner we enjoyed our feast immensely.