Stonehaven

70 miles from Perth is the pretty, former Herring Fishing, village of Stonehaven, our next stop on our journey up the East Coast of Scotland.

Not the prettiest of sites, a bit car park-ish, on the edge of the village, just across the road from the sea front. However, lovely walks in either direction, which we took advantage of.

On our first afternoon we walked down to the Harbour and as luck would have it the Reaper, a beautifully restored Herring Drifter, with masts I could never have imagined, made from Douglas Firs, was there and open for free tours around above and below decks.

In the evening we took a pre-dinner stroll, which turned into quite a long cliff-top walk, in the opposite direction. Lovely views and we saw an Eider Duck, which always amuses us, as Simon Mayo uses a recording of their call on his programme, often, as the make the campest noise of surprise ever. We walked as far as the local ruined church, the churchyard alive with rabbits, amongst the long dead residents.

 Yet another sad tale of the incredible bravery of our Lifeboat men, the work they do has always touched my heart and I shed a tear reading this, of their long ago sacrifice in their attempt to save others.