What an incredible three days Theresa and I have been able to experience this weekend! It is the first one since arriving that we have both been off for both the Saturday and the Sunday and we were determined to make the most of it (our time in Scotland is running out far too quickly!). Fred very kindly offered us the use of an Invermark Landy which we gratefully accepted and we set off in the general direction of the West coast and Loch Ness… Apart from having a bash at seeing Nessie (one never knows when ones luck is on) we were on a bit of a puffin-finding expedition. Although we did manage to at least see pictures of both species – the puffin ones were noticeably clearer – the actual beasts eluded us. Not to be deterred by minor setbacks on the species hunt, we forged ahead to the West coast towards the town of Oban – and yes, I have to admit that we never made it to any distilleries, but good reason to return someday. Waking early one morning (again) I headed off for a walk along the waterfront road in order to soak up the scenery and take in as much as I could. On getting back to the guest house, I turned to scan the shoreline for any waders and there it was – one I had been waiting to see for a very long time – an otter! The animal was calmly foraging along the shoreline, totally relaxed with all the early morning activity of boats, cars and people. Unfortunately a distance of some 200 metres lay between us although I did manage to get some extremely dodgy pictures, some of which I believe are of good enough quality to be submitted as a sighting of Nessie foraging along the sea shore…

We included a visit to Glamis castle on the way back to Invermark on the Tuesday afternoon. Founded approximately 700 years ago, the castle is still in use today, with a large portion being open to the public on guided tours. And what a fascinating place! One can almost sense the history seeping out of the ancient walls, dripping down time-worn staircases and flowing along secret passages. Legends of ghosts in the castle abound and it would take an interesting person to spend a night alone in the place with only candle light keeping the shadows at bay… One thing is for certain, it won’t be me! Among the many things that fascinated me was to see the Queens Colours of the 75th Regiment – the “Black Watch”. With colours dating from the Napoleonic wars almost to the present, this most famous of Scottish regiments has an impeccable military history, including of course both the first (1889) and second (1899 – 1902) Anglo-Boer wars. We find clues to South Africas’ colourful past in the most unlikely places sometimes…