River Walk

I had a walk by the river today as the wind has changed direction and it wasn't nearly so cold.

The river is high as the snow is slowly melting in the mountains but that's normal at this time of year.

I'd love to get started properly on the garden but I've promised my gardening friend I would wait until the 1 May. All this came about because I said a few weeks ago I was going to dig out plants which I've lost over winter. So far I calculate the number to be 9.

My expert friend told me to wait until the beginning of May just to ensure there was no growth as certain plants could recover. I can't see any signs of life in them but I will wait as I promised.

When I'm taking out the dead ones I may just remove some of the old heathers. They've become very 'woody' and really do need replacing.

Of course, for all this work I will require a willing under-gardener as I don't have the strength to dig out large shrubs, so I suppose I'd better start doing a little spoiling before the first of next month.

Glenshee Skiing Continues

There is still plenty snow at Glenshee and plenty day visitors. One of my family has just spent a fortune on a skiing holiday to France. When Glenshee was compared with the destination in France, it would found the skiing was actually better!

Too late to cancel the French holiday of course, but there was no guarantee we would have such a long winter.

There's been no more snow here since January. Sometimes I can't believe that, just a 40 minute drive into the hills, is what is pictured above. In fact March was a very dry month and winter is surely over down here at the foot of the Grampians.

Glamis Castle

I hope the owners of Glamis Castle don't mind me using one of their website photographs to tell you that the Castle is now open for the season.

Regular guests will know that Glamis Castle is one of my favourite places to visit in Perthshire.

It has so much to offer and it's quite easy to spend a whole day there without realising it!

Have a look at their website. It's around a 15 minute drive from here on a reasonably quiet road.

Still Very Cold

WINTER CONTINUES

The winter weather is not easing. Not too much more snow but temperatures never rise above freezing any day and at night it's well below.

The house is lovely and warm though and the new boiler makes such a difference.

My normal outdoor activities have been curtailed and I am only going out when completely necessary. As I haven't used my car much the battery was flat when I attempted to go to town on Friday! Fortunately the local garage came, took the car and put the battery on a slow charge and returned it to me on Saturday evening.

I hope wherever you are you're keeping warm.

A Happy New Year for 2010

This is the view outside the front door around midday on Hogmanay. It looks lovely but the fresh snow covers hard-packed ice.

We've cancelled our plans to go to a party and are going to keep safe and warm in the house. There's not much point in driving in weather like this if you can avoid it and the council staff are still on holiday so, with the exception of the main roads, walking is treacherous.

I've ordered a pair of pull-on cramptons for my boots as I find it hard to balance on the ice. Maybe once they arrive I'll feel more confident getting out and about.

Happy New Year!

Guest Reviews/Comments Added

Some of my guests have suggested I have a guest comment slot on my website and I have asked my wonderful techy man if this is feasible. He's rather worried it could cause problems with spammers and has suggested I either use google local listing or make a separate blog for comments.

I've decided to try both. My google local listing page link is here and the blog comment section is at the top of the right hand column. To see the comments click on the wee box on the top right of the section. My techy friend says the google review is better as more people will see it but the choice is yours. Easy isn't it.

Also I've designed (if you can call it a design!) a separate blog for comments. It can be found here.

It would be lovely to hear from you and I promise I will reply!

'Castle Bagging'

Hill walkers established Munro bagging as a popular outdoor pursuit. Now, the conquest of Scotland's 284 mountains over 3,000ft, named after the mountaineer Sir Hugh Munro who listed them, faces a challenge from people bagging castles instead.

Historic Scotland, which is responsible for 63 castles in Scotland, has noticed a sharp increase in the number of people who say they are on a quest to visit as many as possible. Many visitors want to bag as many as they can in a day or weekend.

Historic Scotland said one family managed to visit 20 castles in one day, a party of German took in 35 sites in 10 days, while a Spanish couple managed 37 in 14 days. The agency is offering a reward for the family who can bag the most castles in a weekend. The winners will be reimbursed their entry fees.

Of course many of Scotland's castles are not part of Historic Scotland. Here in the east, I can think of 25 castles within an hour's drive and one of my favourites is pictured above - Dunnottar Castle just outside Stonehaven. It reeks of Scottish history and the setting adds to the extraordinary atmosphere.