We are back in the Highlands enjoying a Robert Macfarlane kind of holiday, for here, Nature is full of enchantment. This year, we have ventured even further north to the coast at Nairn (near Inverness). What we have discovered is that the Highlands are like a magician’s trick: every time you think that you have fully explored an area, a wand is waved and another wonder is revealed.
Though we have been here just a week, my journal and camera are bursting with observations. I’ve selected the highlights for you to enjoy here and next week, I shall share the rest.
Image: Celine Geeurickx
I-Spy on the motorway
Our journey was nothing if not fraught. The car clogged motorway slowed our progress to a snail’s pace (sometimes literally). What should have taken eight hours for the first stretch took eleven and not until we were far into Scotland did the traffic improve. Thinking back to last week’s blog, I decided to do an I-Spy on the drive. It passed the time and cheered me, for even the bleak asphalt was fringed with beauty and glimpses of nature. I spotted a rabbit, a deer, baby lambs and red kites by the dozen. Trees were coming into leaf and tipped with palest green; the budding silver birches’ tops were haloed with deep pink. Inspiring architecture, both ancient and modern, could be seen from the road and when I saw a rainbow, I knew this boded well for us.
Fabulous flora
The joy of travelling during the spring is that one is rewarded with gorgeous floral displays. Nairn is in a very sheltered position and has a micro-climate that allows for a wider range of flowers than its colder neighbours. All through the town the grass borders are filled with various golden narcissi. Giant camellias spill their rose pink blooms over the stone garden walls. Under the trees bloom the woodland flowers of white and blue anemone and whenever one walks in the borders between beach and forest one is assailed by the delicious pina colada scent of broom.
Fascinating fauna
Our first full day in Nairn, we ventured across the Moray Firth to see the bottlenose dolphins. We were not disappointed. I would love to include here some stunning photos of dolphins leaping in the air and smiling impishly. Alas, we were far away on the shore and the dolphins were shy- only breaking through the water to reveal their dorsal fins. But that was enough for me.
I had hoped to see seals too – only to discover that it was an either or proposition. The two are seldom seen together. Perhaps we shall have to make another trip.
A trip here would not be complete without seeing some Highland cows. There are three in a field nearby and I have seen countless others in the farms surrounding the town. My husband noticed that the ones he passes on his daily walk with Hermione have companion birds who presumably feast on the ticks and grubs buried in their shaggy, voluptuous coats.
Pheasants are in abundance as well as an endless array of field and sea birds. The salt water mashes on the edges of the forest at Nairn are home to many species that are endangered. I’m going to bring binoculars and a bird guide next time.
Once more unto the beach
Water is everywhere here. Rivers tumble into the sea from all directions and no matter where you are, the sea is there on the horizon. Nairn beach is sand and extends for miles; Findhorn, like the Black Isle, is surrounded on three sides. Land projects into sea and sea links to land through the river arteries.
Image: Karen Costello-McFeat
Nairn beach is rather typical of a seaside town. Findhorn beach, in contrast, seems to have been hewn from another planet. To reach the East Beach at Findhorn, one must first negotiate the giant, marram tufted sand dunes and then scramble down onto the pebbly beach. The pebbles here are so rounded and so colourful that they seem to have been worked with a rock tumbler. They reminded me of sugared almonds in their pale nursery hues. Then this beach too drifts into sand.
What my less than perfect camera does not show is that almost all views of the sea have the mountains in the background. Some are snow capped and others rugged granite, but all an imposing backdrop.
Land of the fairy folk
When I suggested that Scotland was magical, well, I was not being entirely metaphorical. In these vast and often hostile landscapes, belief in the fairy folk who stole milk, made horses lame and stole children only to replace them with changelings was common. How else to account for the trials with which life assaulted you? And fairy folk (fair folk or good people as they prefer to be called) in Scotland are not especially nice. In fact, cross them and they are often downright wicked. Do not, under any circumstances, succumb to the offer of hospitality in a fairy hill unless you plan to stay there a hundred years.
Though few would now admit to believing in this mythical race, the Highland retains a sense of the possibility of the supernatural. We went for a walk in the Fairy Wood near Rosemarkie on the Black Isle and if I were to choose a setting for my tiny, underground neighbours, this would certainly be it: towering ancient trees, pristine burns tumbling along and the path ending at a perfect waterfall. The walk that was easy for others, was brutal for me, but as a childhood fairy lover, I was certainly not going to miss this treat. I would crawl home if I had to. Fortunately, that was not required. And my pains were rewarded with a dreamscape of nature.
Image: Jeff Costello-McFeat
Next week, I shall embark on the cultural pleasures of Scotland. Till then – mar sin leat! (Goodbye) x