Our cottage is in the old part of the village with a view of the sea - from a bedroom window! It is a five minute walk around the harbour to the pub. There's a little shop and that's about it!
Our cottage is the large one on the right stretching towards the sea - with the end, white wall showing. It seems to be two or maybe three cottages knocked into one.
Coastal walk from Findochty - big waves so walking over the bridge needed to be timed very carefully!
More pics of the Bow Fiddle - can you tell we liked it?!...
This flask has become an important part of our holiday essentials!...
As the journey up here was so long we decided to make a little picnic so that we could stop when we wanted. So we had a flask of coffee as well.
At the risk of offending Dora (the Explorer, sat nav) we went 'off piste' at Aviemore to have a look round and we stopped at the side of a pretty loch for a quick picnic - quick because it was very cold, not the weather to linger! And we had a cup of coffee from our flask...
The next day was dry and bright - and cold. So the flask came out again on our dawn trip to look at Bow Fiddle rock. Most welcome as a hand warmer as much as for the coffee!...
We then went for a walk at Spey Bay - and the flask came too...
The flask came on another picnic when we sat in the car at Sandend Bay watching the waves being blown in - it really looked like the Guinness advert with the spume off the waves looking like the horses' manes - it was too cold to get out so we had sandwiches and coffee in the car like a proper elderly couple!...
We had been for a walk to look for a ruined castle and it was extremely cold and windy as we had to walk across a very exposed headland - so we had been very chilled already and had decided to look at the next views from the inside of the car!
Findlater castle...
Most of our photos seem to be of waves - or the flask!!...
The waves - with the wind - have been absolutely fantastic.
We watched a mad surfer out in the bay - not a very successful surfer as he/she spent more time off the board than on it!
Findochty harbour
Cullen Skink - originated in Cullen just two miles away from where we are staying - so we had to try it.
Smoked haddock, potatoes and cream or milk basically - totally yum!
And lots of selfies...
The wind was blowing my pom poms here - I look like Minnie Mouse!
Driftwood on the beach - too big to bring home...
A wet day today so off we went in the car - and the flask came too! We drove through several little villages on the coast and had our coffee in the car - too wet to get out...
As it had stopped raining we decided to go for a stroll down to the harbour.
We could see a black shape in the water which looked like a piece of rubbish - until it moved, snorted a bit and disappeared underwater!
It was a seal!
As we set off back the skies cleared and there was a pretty sunset but Mike was driving so the photos were taken from a moving car...
As we were passing the Bow Fiddle rock we stopped to have a look at it at dusk...
Today the forecast was for rain later on so off we went to Findhorn Bay - it looked nice on the map! And it was...
And of course the flask came too!...
Lovely!
We then drove to Burghead for our picnic but the weather was a bit bleak and windy so we didn't stay long.
The weather veered between mildly chilly, quite nippy, fairly cold, freeze your bits off cold and brass monkeys brassic!, slightly breezy, very blustery, breathtakingly gusty and hair whippingly windy, light showers, heavy showers, very rainy, extremely rainy, horizontally rainy - and in between times it was also surprisingly bright and sunny!
A great holiday in a very beautiful part of our country. We will be back for more!
Our cottage is the large one on the right stretching towards the sea - with the end, white wall showing. It seems to be two or maybe three cottages knocked into one.
Coastal walk from Findochty - big waves so walking over the bridge needed to be timed very carefully!
Bow Fiddle rock at Portnockie...
Harbour at Cullen with the waves coming over the walls...
More pics of the Bow Fiddle - can you tell we liked it?!...
This flask has become an important part of our holiday essentials!...
As the journey up here was so long we decided to make a little picnic so that we could stop when we wanted. So we had a flask of coffee as well.
At the risk of offending Dora (the Explorer, sat nav) we went 'off piste' at Aviemore to have a look round and we stopped at the side of a pretty loch for a quick picnic - quick because it was very cold, not the weather to linger! And we had a cup of coffee from our flask...
The next day was dry and bright - and cold. So the flask came out again on our dawn trip to look at Bow Fiddle rock. Most welcome as a hand warmer as much as for the coffee!...
We then went for a walk at Spey Bay - and the flask came too...
We sat in the sunshine on a picnic bench watching the HUGE breakers coming into the bay.
The flask came on another picnic when we sat in the car at Sandend Bay watching the waves being blown in - it really looked like the Guinness advert with the spume off the waves looking like the horses' manes - it was too cold to get out so we had sandwiches and coffee in the car like a proper elderly couple!...
We had been for a walk to look for a ruined castle and it was extremely cold and windy as we had to walk across a very exposed headland - so we had been very chilled already and had decided to look at the next views from the inside of the car!
Findlater castle...
Most of our photos seem to be of waves - or the flask!!...
The waves - with the wind - have been absolutely fantastic.
We watched a mad surfer out in the bay - not a very successful surfer as he/she spent more time off the board than on it!
Findochty harbour
The flask had another outing to Kingston on Spey in the sunshine - nice surprise as the forecast had said rain...
Cullen Skink - originated in Cullen just two miles away from where we are staying - so we had to try it.
Smoked haddock, potatoes and cream or milk basically - totally yum!
More wave pictures at Lossiemouth...
And lots of selfies...
The wind was blowing my pom poms here - I look like Minnie Mouse!
Driftwood on the beach - too big to bring home...
Planes at Lossiemouth...
A wet day today so off we went in the car - and the flask came too! We drove through several little villages on the coast and had our coffee in the car - too wet to get out...
No picnic today so we stopped at a fish and chip diner in Fraserburgh for lunch. I had Cullen Skink to start (for the third day in a row!) and then I had a HUGE smoked haddock fishcake and Mike had haddock.
All served with proper chips and peas - and washed down with a can of Irn Bru!
As it had stopped raining we decided to go for a stroll down to the harbour.
We could see a black shape in the water which looked like a piece of rubbish - until it moved, snorted a bit and disappeared underwater! It was a seal!
As we set off back the skies cleared and there was a pretty sunset but Mike was driving so the photos were taken from a moving car...
Driving back though Cullen (of Cullen Skink fame) the road passes under a viaduct with a great view down to the sea...
... the sea was much calmer than a couple of days previously - but the view wasn't as spectacular!
As we were passing the Bow Fiddle rock we stopped to have a look at it at dusk...
... and a last look at the harbour.
Today the forecast was for rain later on so off we went to Findhorn Bay - it looked nice on the map! And it was...
And of course the flask came too!...
Mike decided to walk upstream towards the harbour and I walked in the opposite direction over the sands to the shoreline.
I could see him in the distance waving to me...
.. so I waved back and concentrated on taking my photos of views up and down the estuary, trying to get a good shot of the Cromarty bay hills which I could see in the distance.
He was actually waving to tell me that he had spotted a seal and that it was swimming downstream towards me!
It was a bit like the time that Lesley and I went to the Isle of Bute and took photos of scenery, carefully making sure that we didn't get the big boat in that would spoil the picture - and later finding out that was actually the QE2 making its last voyage down the Clyde!
The pile of 'rocks' that I had been not really taking pictures of, but which were in my photos of Cromarty bay - were actually a group of seals which were basking in the peace and quiet of the headland just over the water from where I had been standing!
So Mike legged it back round to where I had been to try and get some photos of the seals - while I kept my eye on the tide which was coming in fast and threatening to cut us off from two different directions. He got his pictures very quickly and then had to run back to avoid having to paddle his way over the sands!
We then walked back over towards the harbour - and Mike's seal obligingly bobbed above the waves to say hello!
Lovely!
We then drove to Burghead for our picnic but the weather was a bit bleak and windy so we didn't stay long.
We drove back to Bow Fiddle rock (again!) to look for some stones on the beach. We just got back to the car and the rain started - lots of rain!...
Here is our cottage - on another day without rain.
More pictures...
The weather veered between mildly chilly, quite nippy, fairly cold, freeze your bits off cold and brass monkeys brassic!, slightly breezy, very blustery, breathtakingly gusty and hair whippingly windy, light showers, heavy showers, very rainy, extremely rainy, horizontally rainy - and in between times it was also surprisingly bright and sunny!
A great holiday in a very beautiful part of our country. We will be back for more!
