The following day I needed to head to Kinloss to purchase a gas cylinder for the camper van. Substantial ruins of Kinloss Abbey can be found there - see http://www.madridman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=95484#Post95484

I took the opportunity to head to the nearby Findhorn


It was a bright but cold day at Finhorn Bay


Looking towards Nairn


A view of the village


A popular pub for visitors


A former gospel hall perhaps



Looing towards the mouth of the River Findhorn


The bay is popular for water sports


The bay in the low winter sun


This brought a smile to my face!


The wild waterfront and the pretty village...

As part of the Hogmanay Road Trip, we are heading west along the Moray Firth to Inverness. We are currently down by the seashore in Findhorn...

Brightly coloured huta are becoming popular - Hopemean gas them too


Looking across the Moray firth to the Black Isle and the snow capped peaks of Dornoch




Looing towards the marina


Looking across the mouth if the River Findhorn to the pine forests


In the village...





Leaving Findhorn, it was back to Forres via Sueno's Stone...

It is a Pictish stone


It stands over 6.5 metres (about 21 feet) high

The western face has a carved Celtic cross with elaborately interlaced decoration and a poorly preserved figural scene (perhaps a royal inauguration) set in a panel below the cross. The east face has four panels that show a large battle scene. The top panel is quite weathered and shows rows of horsemen. The second panel depicts armed foot soldiers and the third panel shows the decapitated vanquished soldiers, the heads piled up, and soldiers, archers and horsemen surrounding what may be a broch. The base panel depicts the victorious army leaving the battlefield. The sides are also elaborately carved. In the early 1990s the stone was encased in armoured glass to prevent further erosion and also graffiti.




Information source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sueno%27s_Stone

A costal walk from Burghead to Hopeman...

Waking was a feature of this year's Hogmanay Road Trip and whilst in Forres, there was the opportunity to walk along the coast from Burghead to Hopeman and back. Let's begin...

We started in the town of Burghead itself. There is free car park on the shore on the eastern edge of the village.

The walk is on a track on which the railway ran. Opened in 1892, the Burghead to Hopeman section closed in 1957


It was a cold day with a biting wind as we looked west to the seafront houses


The shore here is rocky with some sandy spots. We passed by the biggest building in Burghead, the maltings plant


A pleasant feature of the walk is that notable features are signposted




You can still see the frost on the grass despite being so close to the sea






Looking back to Burghead and the maltings factory


Information together with some great photographs about the Burghead to Hopeman railway line can be found here http://hopemanhistory.org/the-railway/railway

This week's Sunday SNaps can be found here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-42579494

Fossilised footprints and Gow's Castle...

We are on part of the Moray Coastal Route as part of this Hogmanay Road Trip..


The area around Burghead and Hopeman is of special scientific interest. We will see this information on some of the signposts...

Heading to Hopeman


The rock shoreline being washed by the wasves


A site of scientific significance




Looing towards Hopeman and Gow's Castle


Between Burghead and Hopeman lies Cummingston and the Cummingston Stacks







BBC News featured an article recently on The Burning of the Clavie which takes place in Burghead in January. The event first started in 1750. You can read the short article and see some picture here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-42662897

A bridge with a story...

This is one of the remaining bridges over the Burghead to Hopeman railway line. It would have allowed access to the sore without having to cross the single track line.


This bridge is at Cummingston, about half way between Burghead and Hopeman.




Crossing the bridge would allow access to the shore and the Roddoch Bow - a blowhole




Freshwater springs were also available on the town side of the railway line




A little bay that would have been well used in bygone days by day trippers


The maltings factory of Burghead in the distance


On the approach to Hopeman


Hopeman...

Here we are on the Hogmanay Road Trip, walking between Burghead and Hopeman.

Here is Hopeman in the distance with the caravan site and west beach in the foreground


The west beach and harbour wall - pity about the dumped tyres


Hopeman harbour


On our way to the main street, we spotted this


The entrance to the ice house
The Ice House in Hopeman is located not far from the harbour on the south west corner of the playing field next to the road bridge and was built to support the growing number of fish merchants and processing facilities using the port allowing them keep fish cool and fresh for the storing or transportation to markets such as Aberdeen and further South. Valuation Rolls for the village give an indication of the age of the Ice House. It is not listed for the year 1855/56 and so must have been built during that period.
More information here http://hopemanhistory.org/hopeman-ice-house


The Armillary Sphere


We luckily found a wee tea room for a coffee and a bacon roll




A typical Hopeman Street


The Black Isle looks more like The White Isle...

Having been in Forres for a couple of days, it was time to resume the road trip and continue heading west to the village of Ardersier...

Ardersier is on the coast just six miles east of Inverness and overlooks the Moray Firth.

Looking to the Black Isle - with so much snow on it, it looks like the White Isle


It is a former fishing village. This is the view towards the Kessock Bridge which connects Inverness to the norther mainland over the Beauly Firth


Looking towards Culloden


It provided some great sunsets






In the old part of the village


A fine view from the viewpoint




Looking to Fort George


A visit to Inverness...

Some of the former fishermen's cottages in Ardersier


The lights of Fortrose on the Black Isle as twilight approaches


In memory of Queen Victoria




I went to Inverness next day to meet up with a friend, do some shopping and have some lunch. Here are some photos from Inverness...

Abertarff House is the oldest building in Inverness and dates from 1593




The Old High Church



The Old High congregation was the oldest congregation in Inverness


It dates from the eighteenth century


Its site, overlooking the banks of the River Ness, has been used for worship since Celtic times


Down by the river...

On this part of the Hogmanay Road Trip we are in Inverness, down by the River Ness, the river that feeds Loch Ness...

There are fine views down by the river. Looking across to the far bank


Backlight on the bridge


One of the many churches


and another






It is always a pleasure to wander around some of the city centre side streets...







Views of Inverness Castle...