Clarkes in England and Scotland 2024: Day 21 - Aberdeen

Day 21 - Aberdeen - 28 September 2024

Well, we woke to another fine day. It was very chilly though with a temperature of 5 degrees. We decided that we would go for a drive westwards to the Cairngorms National Park. We headed to Braemar in the west and worked our way east.

The drive to Braemar is very picturesque. The scenery is lush and the water in the creeks is crystal clear. We saw snow on the mountains and people fly fishing. I think that autumn has arrived in some places.

What beautiful countryside

Snow on the tops of the mountains.

Braemar has some beautiful shops selling local wares. There is one shop dedicated to merchandise made from deer horns. They are shed every year so there seems to be a plentiful supply. Some of the things were very good but of course we could not bring it back to Australia.

There is a creek running through the centre of the town and it is so typical of Scottish creeks. The water flows rapidly and the bed is rocks. Vegetation is very thick on both sides.

A wonderful looking creek

Look at those autumnal colours

The temperature was still below 10 degrees, so we dropped into the local café for a coffee. We then wandered through the town and checked out the shops. One shop sold small bottles of whisky with a tartan label. There was a bottle for every Scottish clan and we got the last McInnes bottle. That seems quite special.

We had been told that Baletar is renowned for their walks so that is where we headed next. On the way, we were going to pass Balmoral Castle. It is closed at the moment because the royal family is there. However, we can drop into the Crathie Kirk, the church where the royal family attends when they are at Balmoral Castle. It is a small church just of the road. It is closed to the public but we were able to walk around the outside. It is a typical, small parish church.

Crathie Kirk

Crathie Kirk Church

We found the visitor centre in Balettar and once again, they were very helpful. The went through all the possible walks in the area We set off with map in hand to find the special places of Cairngorm National Park.

We chose one that included an old suspension bridge. It passed across the Don River and then went through a pine plantation before opening into a beach forest. The whole round trip takes about 4.5 hours, but we did not walk the whole way. That was lucky as rain clouds were gathering, however they did not break whilst we were in the countryside.

Walking in Cairngorms

The bridge was opened by the Queen Mother

Don on the bridge

It is very different from walking through our national parks and forests. The trees and undergrowth were more open and at this time of the year, the golden leaves are everywhere. We also found it interesting that for autumn, there were a lot of wild flowers. The River don is also a deep, clear river, although the water appears to have a brown colour from the leaves.

Beautiful flowers

We decided to stop at the Falls of Feugh on the return journey. They are just off the main road and so not difficult to find. They are not high falls and some people would call them rapids, but they are a nice place to have a stop.