Songbirds and A Little Toy Train

 Yesterday we drove from Aboyne all the way up the east side of Scotland to the northern tip called Fraserburg. This is the spot where the North Sea meets the Firth of Moray. It’s also home to the Museum of Lighthouses of Scotland. We learned a lot—being land faring folk. We started out the morning touring the museum and reading about all of the different lenses involved in lighthouses and learning about the way of life for the lighthouse keeper. Then we went on a tour with a guide who walked us all the way to the top of the lighthouse. It’s a lot of steps, but it’s done in stages, so it wasn’t overwhelming. The last stage is a bit surprising as the spiral staircase is suddenly replaced with a metal ladder with no back on the steps that goes straight up into the top of the lighthouse. It’s very small up there. The guide explained that each lighthouse has to have its own light code or pattern so sailors know where their ships are located. There’s a neat picture of David and I reflected in the lens of one of the old lights that is showing us upside down. It was pretty cool. I think those were the refractive lenses. Each lighthouse aspirant had to be able to survive life in three different scenarios: being stationed on the rock (with no family, just colleagues), being stationed on an island (where family are allowed to live with you) and life in a community. It’s a lonely occupation and it requires special skills to adapt to the isolation. 

Today we headed straight to Balmoral Castle. You’re permitted to tour the grounds and the conservatory but the only inside room you will see in the castle is the Ballroom. It’s definitely worth the trip. We were the first ones ticketed to get in today so it was nice and quiet and the serenity added nicely to the regal nature of the location. The gardens and conservatory were also very pretty even though most greenery is not yet in bloom—albeit in another month they will be stunning, I’m sure. 

Balmoral Castle and grounds

The brown wool and white wool are in use in this vegetable garden. Read more below. 

This explains how they are trying to use wool in gardens. 

The castle is set on grounds that include many old forests. The tree trunks are enormous. 

For supper tonight we walked down to the local pub, The Boat Inn, and had a delightful evening meeting a family celebrating the Dad’s 50th birthday. They had five kids in range from twelve to one and the twelve-year-old and the Dad were very interested in what life was like in Canada. This pub had a train that went around the top of the room along the ceiling. David was thrilled. You just can’t take the little boy out of some people!! Walking on our way back to our place the songbirds were out in full force—something we never seem to get enough of in Scotland. We are so enjoying all of the opportunities to do lots of walking. 

Look up, way up! Little toy trains.