Herb Riddle's photos

The village of Braemar is famed for its walking, highland gathering and idyllic views. Here we are just off a trail called 'Queens Drive' with the church spire of Braemar just beyond the trees here. Notice snow on the far away Bens of the Cairngorms National Park. Enjoy large.

The iconic Scottish Castle. Enjoy large. NB Pip is adjecent image. "The Castle’s original owners, the Earls of Mar were among the earliest rulers of Scotland and their power continued down the centuries. In 1628 the 2nd Earl built Braemar Castle as a base for his hunting excursions to his lands in the Braes of Mar but also to remind the local population who was in charge. In 1689 this authority was challenged by the newly formed rebel group, the Jacobites and the Castle was set alight in the first Jacobite Uprising. By the second Jacobite Uprising in 1715, the Earl of Mar had changed sides and it was the 6th Earl who raised the standard to start the rebellion in Braemar. However, the rebellion lasted no more than a few months ending in defeat for the Jacobites and disaster for the Earl. He lost everything and fled overseas. Braemar Castle was seized by the Crown and local landowners the Farquharsons of Invercauld grasped their chance and bought the Castle. The final Jacobite uprising led to another change of fortune for the Castle. Following the final Jacobite defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, Government troops were stationed in the Castle to make sure there would be no more rebellion. When the troops finally left in 1830, the Farquharsons set about converting the Castle into the delightful family home you see today. With visitors ranging from Queen Victoria to the present Royal family, the Castle’s guest list reads like a roll call of who’s who. For the last 10 years the Castle has been operated by the local community who are fund-raising to restore the Castle and bring it up to standard for our 21st century visitors." ~ www.braemarcastle.co.uk

"Prepare the Bentley Jeeves we are 'hoaff' on a picnic tour!" A stately view of this iconic Scottish castle. -- See Pip.

A view down the Royal Deeside valley towards Braemar in the early evening. This was from the grounds of our cottage here in the area. The yellow flag is the Royal Standard but the Royal family are normally present from August to October only, not in May. This completes the three main views from our cottage before we venture further. As always best viewed large.

Oh it’s good to be alive some days and even if it is a pretty ugly fence that I am dancing on, I know my mummy has a big juicy worm for me. I wish you all, a great weekend, Herb Best BIG whilst playing this: The Birdie Song

Taken at 05:15 (not the indicated 06:15) from our cottage.The pyrimid is actually a memorial to Prince Albert from Queen Victoria within the private grounds of Balmoral. Lochnagar (1155m) or Beinn Chìochan, located about five miles south of the River Dee near Balmoral, is one of the most celebrated of the Munros*; a pointed summit rising high above one of Scotland's most beautiful corries. It was featured in a poem by Lord Byron, ending with the following lines: England thy beauties are tame and domestic To one who has roved on the mountains afar Oh! For the crags that are wild and magestic The steep frowning glories of dark Lochnagar. * Munro: defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over 3,000 feet, and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club official list of 227 Munros. As ever - best vied full screen. PiP = flight around the summit via my Flight Sim

Crathie, our home for a week, is a small village on Royal Deeside on the edge of the Balmoral estate near Braemar. This is the view greeting us each day, taken from our garden, showing the majestic mountain of Lochnagar. Just behind the trees here on the right, in the valley, is the Royal Castle of Balmoral. Best viewed large

The Falls of Feugh is a stunningly beautiful stretch of the River Dee on the outskirts of Banchory, Aberdeenshire. Here you can see the River Dee flow down through the rocks and at key times of the year you can watch the salmon jumping. Taken from the Bridge of Feugh at Banchory, some 20 miles west of Aberdeen. Enjoy large

A last look at this Scottish Eastern coastline (for now). The historic harbour village of Johnshaven is where we stayed for a week. Sleepy at this moment but it has many tales to tell. 'Johnshaven was one of the most successful fishing harbours in the early days of the 18C. In 1722 it was the fifth largest in Scotland with 26 boats sailing from there. From about 1743 it began to decline, firstly with 2 boats being lost and a few years later with crews being press ganged into the Navy. In 1753 sea-faring people and their families made up a third of the population of the parish, but by 1793 that number had fallen to less than a fifth.' ~ Johnshaven.com Enjoy large.

A bit of sunlight to light the inside of someones workroom. These are getting less familiar now as plastic window frames dominate. What this really is - well does it matter.....

An old fence marks our way along this S-bend path to Scurdie Nes lighthouse here at Ferryden, Montrose. Like many lighthouses on this coast of North East Scotland, it has history. (see the PiP). First lit in 1870, still lit today, but as with all these, there is no lighthouse-keeper now, as it is fully automated. I wish you all, a great weekend, Herb Nice full screen. PiP

The wild flowers of May can be a delightful sight. Here we have three very strong colours in this green, blue and red meadow on the Scottish, Aberdeenshire coast.

Another old boat picture, this time showing more of the harbour village too. Now ask the question "have we not seen these boats depicted on the adjacent picture"? If so "how is it so different?" (see pip) Enjoy full screen.

Taken in the small fishing port of Gourdon in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. Still a working harbour since 1820 but now a shadow of its former glory days. In the 1881 season over 8,000 barrels of herrings were exported from Gourdon. The herring declined in the early 1900s and by 1912 fishermen from Gourdon had switched to long line fishing from motor boats, some of the first in Scotland to do so. Long line fishing entailed laying a series of lines about 1,000m long across the sea bed, one for each man on the boat. Attached to each line were around 800 hooks, baited with mussels by the women of the village. Getting the mussels and baiting the hooks could take up to 9 hours per day and each fisherman had two lines, one being used, the other being baited for the following day. A must, full screen.

SPC Domino effect competition May 2019 -runner up. Taken in Milan, Italy in 2013.

Guillemots by the thousands. They thrive on jellyfish. A city for birds here, here and all around here at the Fowlsheugh Nature reserve for a few hundred metres. These share the cliffs with their razorbill cousins (both part of the Auk family) and gulls. At times this is also the home to many of our puffins.. In excess of 170,000 birds inhabit Fowlsheugh at the peak breeding season between April and late July. This value places Fowlsheugh as the second largest seabird colony in Britain Enjoy large.

Enjoy this North facing view from the end of the the Fowlsheugh Nature reserve at Crawton Cliffs. You get a better idea of the sea-bird population with the PiP maybe. These are mostly guillemots at this time of year. Enjoy large. PiPs

My third offering of Dunottar Castle for you here. This time with the required fence taking the honours. The fence protects us from a rather high drop into the sea and rocks but a path descends to the castle from back here. I wish you all, a great weekend, Herb PiPs