I haven't blogged for a month! My main excuse is that I have been in Scotland for a couple of weeks, the longest holiday in around 4 years. I've got plenty of photos which I plan to show you in next few days. What a beautiful place! We stayed in the highlands for most of the holiday, house sitting with two gorgeous cats and 4 hens who supplied us with fresh eggs every day.
Apart from the breath taking scenery and the incredibly winding roads, there were 2 real highlights that stand out. The first was watching an otter eating fish in a loch at Kylerhea on the Isle of Skye. We had to take a long, mainly single track road to the purpose built hide to view this beautiful animal, it was sooo worth it! We do have otters here in Devon and I have seen two very briefly, but this time we enjoyed a good 10 minutes viewing. I highly recommend you go if you get the chance, heres a link http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/wildwoods.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/ScotlandHighlandNoForestKylerheaKylerheaOtterHide
Unfortunately, my camera doesn't zoom enough to get a good pic, but there were binoculars in the hide, so we got great views.
The other highlight was on our last day in Scotland, much further south near Callander.
http://argatyredkites.co.uk/index.php
We were wanting to go to Doune Castle, but it was closed for filming. We had seen signs for this place nearby, saying Red Kite viewing hide, so decided to have a look. By this time it was raining heavily (again!). We got to the car park, having no idea what to expect and thinking of leaving as it was so wet. We saw one kite, felt pleased with ourselves, decided to go, then were approached by a chap who asked if we wanted to come up to the hide to see the kites. 'OK', so we walked up, with dog (on lead) to the large hide where a few other people were waiting. Tom, the guy who met us, turned out to be an incredibly knowledgeable guide and a really lovely bloke! The hide was built on his parents farm, and is a feeding station for the kites. Tom told us all about these amazing birds and then went outside to put out food. We saw nearly 40!! We ended up staying for an hour 1/2, so worth the accidental visit! Read more about them on their website.
Again, no pics but then you will have to go and see for yourself! Please go if you are in the area, you wont be disappointed :)
Well, thats a bit about our Scottish trip, I will write more in next few days....
Great stuff. We've been going to Scotland for 30 years and never seen an otter! One or two flying haggis but no otters.
ReplyDeleteAs for the red kites, magnificent birds. Almost extinct in the 1980s but re-introduced in the Chiltern Hills and Scotland as an experiment and have flourished ever since.
Other Great Scottish Experiences:walking in the rain; walking in the mist;getting lost while walking in the rain and mist;vegetarian soup cooked with ham. Seriously, though, it's a wild and wonderful country.
never seen an otter in Scotland?? You got your binoculars round the wrong way?! Well, we only saw one but that was good enough, and it wasnt raining...for about 10 mins anyway! Next time you are up go to the Kite place
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