SC500: part 3 from Inverness to Fraserburgh
From Inverness via Ardersier, Nairn, Findhorn, Hopeman, Portknockie, Whitehills, Macduff, Pennan along the Moray Coast to Fraserburgh.
Thanks to our hosts Deborah and Ben in Inverness; Steve and Sue after walking from Sandend to Whitehills and Eilen and Roy before walking from MacDuff to Pennan. Also for the company by Alison who came along between Whitehills and Macduff and Rick and Claire on the long barbed wire infested way to Pennan.
Culbin Sands waiting for the Water Taxi to Findhorn
Friday 28th July, Day 23: Inverness to Ardersier, 25734 steps
Lost tablecloth, orange, yesterday, LNER, panic, unlocked it, staff, 10.30pm, relief, imagine?, family, exhausted, from holiday, sunny, today, no access, to beach, woods, dog, argument, nice stride, mushrooms, feel fresh, Tornagrain, planned, weird, in a pretty way, lunch, long wait, annoyed, anyway, move on, BA above, KLM, airport, road, cars, cars, florage, for my hostess, no pavement, jump, fence, beach, stoney, slippy, tide out, thanks, Welcome to Ardersier.
Saturday 29th July, Day 24: Ardersier to Nairn, 27506 steps
Bus, back to start, dog walkers, Fort George, amazing, always, 60-80000, visitors, 500 daily, in summer, 5th, in Scotland, 500 soldiers, MOT zone, again, red flag, none, walking allowed, reach beach, and now? Fence, ditch, whatever, under, and over, on, on, tarmac, why?, car park, ok, fine, on, on, car, private land!, he says, ok?, how do I know?, lift, out of danger, zone, haha, tarmac, picnic, boiled egg, macaroons, like them, path, cars, hate rangerovers, jump in ditch, beach, lovely, clouds, another landscape, love it, tide out, beach stroll, ice cream, cappuccino. Puffed oot. Need to cook. For host. Hackfleischpfannkuchen. All great.
Sunday, 30 July 2023, Day 25: Nairn to Findhorn, 30895
Early taxi, back to Nairn, sun, sun, sun, walking artist waiting, Stephen, very nice, waving off, sand, sand, sand, as far, as it goes, white, and smooth, nervous, the water taxi, 4pm, what if its not?, forest, Culbin sands, Scots pine, no need, to go to Mallorca, hot enough here, Maldives view, march on, on, on, sandwich, on, no one, on, arrive at 2pm, haha, call Susi, my cousin, swim, glorious, taxi, yellow, like NY, Findhorn, busy, busy.
Monday 31 July 2023, Day 26: Findhorn to Hopeman, 25281
Sunny morning, Crown & Anchor, stitch, a bit, dunes, Franco-Scot woman, born Findhorn, left for warmth, back for coolness, sand, hard to walk, pillbox, drowing, phone, beep, last long walk, HOME, no whatsapp, schön, Scots pine, on, Sunak, in Aberdeenshire, promises, drizzle, Burghead, cup of tea?, man offers, funeral director, among coffins, daughter pizza place, no chef, rain now, mobile phone masts, Moray coastal path, Orienteering runners, 3000!, Hopeman, Station Hotel, no chef.
Tuesday 1 August 2023, Day 27: Hopeman to Garmouth, 36037
Toast, egg, off, off, dunes, quarry, no entry, warm, fleece off, sculptor’s cave, been here before, known territory, the North East, doric, tried to learn it, tough, tide in, living, with the tide, new to me, the dunes, lost, stuck, in buckthorn, spiky, Lossiemouth, herring, NE delicacy, at long last, ice-cream, passion fruit/pistachio, new bridge, 2 mio, or 5 mio, no worries, its nice, Germans, French, Scots, dogs, beach, white sand, then pebble, endless sculptures, nature crafted, all colours, hard walking, the pebbles, tank barriers, endless, 1000, or more? Kevin, old friend, from Huntly, so häppy, hot, florage, Hilary, nice host, co-knitter, stitch.
Wednesday 2 August 2023, Day 28: Garmouth to Portknockie, 30,895
Müsli, bridge, Spey, pebbles, dolphin centre, no dolphins, dogs, Portgordon, community growers, cucumbers, Audrey, volunteer, stroll, where is seal spot?, sunny, Buckie, Joe, crab factory, off to London, sun cream, expensive, Cullen skink, delicious, shipyard, golf course, everywhere, club houses, football field, in rocks, cute, Findochty, massive campervan, like a house, lime, and soda, kids jumping, from harbour wall, up, up, Portknockie, own pool, community effort, Victoria Hotel, no food, on Wednesdays, tVHR4DXCRaCGh7
Thursday 3 August 2023, Day 29: Portknockie to Whitehills, 39491 steps
Driech, post office, stamps, postcard, uphill, Fiddle Rock, work of art, formed by nature, Cullen, home territories, memories, me, my children, my team, rocky path, slippery, drizzle, drizzle, sunnyside, Findlater, windy memories, path, shitty, wet, slow, Steve, old friend, waiting, Sandend, sorry, fish factory, mackerel, delicious, surfers, their paradise, tide, path, like an autobahn, Portsoy, coffee place, scone, postcard, dolphin sculpture, hate it, the gossip, from Steve, concerned, my life’s work, pee, path finished, steep, up, up, road, ragwort, grass of parnassus, florage, for Sue, tonight.
Friday 4 August 2023, Day 30: Whitehills to Macduff, 11898 steps
Friends, bed in Huntly, lift, Alison, tea, stories, of olden days, playground, beach, white, surfers, Banff, old borough, taken away, then Grampian, now Aberdeenshire, no Banffshire, chit-chat, babies, emigrating, etc., spotty bag shop, Deveron, Macduff, run down, café, fishcake, £2!, bus back, Huntly again, other friends, reminiscing, work-life, back to Huntly, other friends, friends, friends…
Saturday 5 August 2023, Day 31: Macduff to Pennan, 40734
Aquarium, start, car-shifting, off we go, Tarlair, wonderful development, want that job, golf course, guerrilla pathmaking, all day, chit chat, chat chit, 6 of us, Brexit, babies, houses, future, knitting, Sunak, oil industry, fields, tree guard, best solution, for those barbed wires, stays with me, Gardenstown, Deveron Vale, fundraiser, café, dainty tea service, floral, tide out, Crovie, steep up, farmer watching, illegal fire, tires, barley fields, tramlines, new word, Troup head, gannets, so many, German cars, road, steep, fed up, Pennan, local hero, best film, bbq, wine, all fine.
Sunday 6 August 2023, Day 32: Pennan to Fraserburgh. 31402 steps
Local hero, my local hero, Pennan Inn, phone box, photo, write card, outside, over hillways, up and down, … bracken brown, Ohrwurm, burdock, bull in field, Aberdeen Angus, all glorious, churchyard, potato-salad, embroider, barley yellow, Egypt, down, great path, observation tower, bombers, till 1998, cold war, Bill Mackie, on bench, fishfactory worker, kids, jump in harbour, good fun, they have, not just computer, beach, long road, wrong accommodation, knackered, right accommodation.
Monday 7 August 2023, Day 33: Fraserburgh. 0 steps
Exhausted, wash trouser, insta, postcard, emails, family phone, pay bils, accounts, Symposium, bagel, sun, harbour, busy, arguments, with Nick, giant ships, all shellfish, John, the painter, a week, to paint a ship, red blood, on Union Jack, beach, tea, lighthouse museum, the optics, the house, keeper, shift with family, every 4 years, 22 miles, to see, Cheers bar, like Benidorm, French knots, kebab, postcard, emails, website, insta.
