Mother Nature

The scenery of Northumberland and northern Scotland is wonderful. Although living in Wales one does get used to beautiful scenery, because it is everywhere, the scale of Scotland and the Northumberland coast are breathtaking. There are a few photos which don't begin to do it justice - even the videos don't do it justice.
This is the view from the mountain next to Ben Nevis









And this is Ben Nevis.








We didn't see the red squirrels which the signs said were around but we did see an osprey hunting when we were sitting reading at the beach at Lossiemouth, which was exciting.











But the deer which stayed and grazed quite calmly and allowed lots of photos to be taken when we were by the loch was a real treat.










We didn't see Nessie or an golden eagle either, sadly. I did have my camera ready for Nessie as we drove the whole length of Loch Ness but not a sign of a prehistoric dinosaur.

This is the beach at Findhorn. The beaches along the Moray Firth are huge, sandy and empty. Admittedly we were there on a Monday and Tuesday during school term time so I expect that it gets a bit busier during the holidays, but I doubt if it ever swarms with people because the beaches are just so huge.
We had two days lazing on the beaches and reading which was lovely after the touring we had been doing in Northumberland. Then when we went to Fort William we found a fantastic walking area, though surprisingly full of Germans - by the coachload actually. However there was still plenty of room for us to walk in peace and quiet (apart from the jets - with RAF bases at Lossiemouth and Kinloss there are rather a lot of jets roaring around). I can recommend Scotland and Northumberland unreservedly.