What do castles, whiskey and dolphins have in common? the madness continues...

After leaving the Firth of Moray we decided to take a longer route back to Aberdeen and just see what adventures we could find. I as always was on the lookout for a castle - I seem to have quite a addiction to exploring them at present. So I considered it an early birthday present when on our way to the Glenlivet Distillery for some whiskey tasting that we noticed a castle on the map not far from the distillery. And that was us decided! It was off to the castle we went. 

Situated high on a bluff is the now ruined tower house known as Drumin Castle. With it's naturally strategic position and the fact that it overlooks the confluence of the Rivers Livet and Avon (pronounced A'an) makes it likely that there was some sort of fortification dating from the Iron Age located on this site. But Drumin Castle itself dates back to the 14th Century and has a rather unknown past, with what little is known being under question. 

Walking up the stairs from the rivers below you begin to catch glimpses of the house through the trees. 

It is thought that Drumin Castle was granted to Alexander Stewart on the 17th July 1372 by his father King Robert II. Alexander who was referred to as the 'Wolf of Badenoch' was known for his temper and is remembered for his sacking and burning of Elgin Catherdral. Although according to historians it is more likely that Alexander resided at one of his other estates and that Drumin Castle was held by one of his sons. 

Not much remains of the castle as it fell into despair around the early 1700's. 

As we were the only people at the castle and that it is not very big as much of it has been removed over the years we decided to play in the castle for a while (as you do). Hence Ceri, Luke and even myself feature in some of the photos. You can see through this gap in the wall that the walls were roughly 3m thick at the base.  

It had a single barrel vaulted cellar. 

Half of which is now gone, so when you stand in the cellar and look up you can see the railing from the first floor. 

Drumin Castle was rectangular in shape and consisted of four levels. 

Don't worry I'm not on the fourth floor, but it was snowing! Yes snowing, even though the sun was shining. For all the South Africans reading this is was the Scottish equivalent to a monkey's wedding (when the sun is shining but it rains). 

The cellar and first floor are the only two floors that are still semi intact. A small staircase allows you to climb to the first floor. 

A single placard on one of the only walls still standing states the castles name and echoes its undocumented history and lost memories. 

What do castles, whiskey and dolphins have in common?

Well for starters they were all involved in my epic birthday weekend roadtrip! And yes you guessed it they can all be found in Scotland. 

My sister and I were told by her boyfriend Luke, that we were to keep the Sunday before my birthday open for a surprise roadtrip. Intrigued and always up for a surprise, especially when it involves a roadtrip, I was instantly game to give up my Sunday for whatever he had planned. My sister on the other hand is not too fond of not knowing what the surprise is so she promptly begun quizzing and trying to figure out where we were going to be heading. She was not very successful and against the odds Luke managed to hold out. The only thing he did tell us was that it was a three hour drive from Aberdeen and that we should dress really warm, wear our wellingtons and pack a change of clothes in case.....

And so we piled into the car at 7:30am (a timely rarely seen by me on a Sunday unless I have plans to photograph) and sipping condense milk coffee we zoomed off into the Aberdeenshire countryside with the Cairngorm Mountains greeting us with glimpses of its snow covered peaks.  

Like all good roadtrips music was played, lyrics were sung and car games were played. Our favourite two being 'Spot the hairy coo' and 'That town is named what?!'. To explain my sister and I have grown up with a mother who adores cows - I have literally lost count of number of black and white cow decorated items in our kitchen (Love you Mom) - hence we think that the hairy coo or Highland cattle are so cute with their wavy sometimes even dreadlocked hair. But since arriving in Scotland four months ago I had yet to see one besides on every Scotland postcard I have ever seen....hmm a touch of false advertising perhaps, but I digress. Where was I, oh yes the second game involved reading all the road signs and trying to pronounce the names of towns. Easy yes? No. I was probably the worst at this game. Some of the funniest names for towns that we encountered were Tomintoul (Tom-n-tool), Dufftown and Boghead. 

Finally on driving by Inverness, we saw a Moray Firth sign and it hit must sister well like a sign. We were on our way to Cromarty to see the dolphins with Ecoventures. And so it was a race to the RIB (rigid inflatable boat) and off out to sea that we went, hoping to catch a glimpse of the most northerly colony of Bottlenosed Dolphins in the world. 

The view looking back at the town of Cromarty as we headed out on our dolphin adventure. 

On our way out to the open water we pass the base of an old oil rig that is waiting to be sold. It has basically been sitting there for years and has become a nesting place for local birds and sea life. 

Pulling up alongside the huge pillars Sarah, our skipper, explains the history of how they got here. 

Sarah shares more local sea tales from the area. 

The HMS Natal was a Duke of Edinburgh-classed armoured cruiser that was built for the Royal Navy. A series of internal explosion rocked the ship on the 30 December 1915 causing it to sink within minutes killing between 390 and 421 people on board.  The remainder of the ship was blown up in 1970 to prevent it being a hazard to navigation. This is all that remains now to mark the resting place of this once great ship. 

The cliffs and rocks provide homes for a wide variety of bird life.  

Coastal batteries can be found on the north and south headlands. 

They were built to protect the port of Invergordon and Cromarty Firth during the 1st and 2nd World Wars. 

Our waiting is rewarded with a sighting not far from the boat. 

And with no more dolphins frolicking in the ocean for us to see we headed back to Cromarty's little harbour...

To get back into the car and go to the next stop on our adventure!

Discovering the Fittie

Footdee, or the 'Fittie' as it is more commonly known as in Aberdeen, is nothing short of charming. Upon reaching the end of the beach promenade you would be forgive for thinking that there was nothing next to the harbour expect grey, cold stone houses. But if you walk a little way up to get around a wall (and in my case climb over it) and then turn the corner you will be amazed to discover the Fittie that lies before you. 

The area itself has been inhabited as far back as the Medieval times but is mostly known for housing the local fishing community of Aberdeen. The Footdee, as a housing development was laid out by John Smith (a well known Aberdonian architect) in 1809 and has since then seen many seafaring families come and go. The rhythmical crashing of waves and the smell of salt reminds you that you are in close proximity to the beach. Although from the narrow streets of the Fittie you cannot see the sea as all the houses face inwards with their backs to the ocean to protect their inhabitants from the weathers cold grasp. 

In 1880 the Town Council decided to start selling the houses to their inhabitants and so began a time of reconstruction and individuality in the Fittie. Some people built 'tarry sheds' in the squares of open land that the houses faced. These sheds were originally built from drift wood but over the years some of them have been built and rebuilt using other materials. 

But all the houses and sheds have personality. 

It jumps out at you in the vibrant colours that scream knock on my door. 

It is whispered as you walk by the strangest decorations in the gardens. 

It is written in the history of a hard life lived. 

It is noticeable in the smallest of details. 

It laughs with you at the absurdity of it all. 

It smiles back at you as you realise that you just encountered a slice of something out of the ordinary 

But shhhhhh don't tell anyone.....

The 'Fittie' is hidden from the public's view by stone walls,  

but it's a discovery worth making.