The infamous 'stolen' beanie (shown: washed together with dried)
Memory is a actually weird affair together with reflecting dorsum to concluding calendar week is a weird task. We checked out of The Glen for really the concluding fourth dimension , together with decided to teach southeast to Braemar. Given that the conditions gods were all the same against us together with the the world was all the same moisture together with mutual depression temperature with sleet , nosotros decided to give some other twenty-four hr menstruation of hiking a immature lady together with caput to the Highland Wildlife Park to meet some actual wildcats (also wolves).
In the concluding piffling spell I accept give-up the ghost real skeptical of zoos together with places that give-up the ghost along animals inward captivity. While I intend it tin go actually irresponsible to give-up the ghost along animals confined for our pleasance , that’s in all likelihood the no. 1 agency that children together with people educate a love for non-domestic animals together with does a lot inward the agency of inspiring people to await after animals. I was actually keen to meet wolves together with reindeer together with , of course of report , the Scottish wildcats that are flourishing inward their breeding computer program , thus nosotros fighting the bullet together with went.
We were pleasantly surprised yesteryear the commons , which featured a ‘main reserve’ that you lot accessed yesteryear machine , together with a secondary reserve that you lot could walk around. I gauge it makes sense that an animate beingness commons inward the Highlands tin accept acres together with acres for deer to explore , thus they’re non thus cramped. The 1 identify this became actually obvious was the polar comport expanse , where 2 manly someone bears were policing the struggle because they could odour a female. My other experience with captive polar bears is SeaWorld , which had a lot to a greater extent than H2O for them to play inward but was much , much smaller. While my initial idea was that the expanse looked much less polished , I came to realise it was far less contrived together with tourist-driven together with in all likelihood suited the needs of the bears a lot better. When nosotros went to the utter most them together with watched their feeding fourth dimension , the keeper gave us a fighting utter most climate alter together with how nosotros could aid the polar bears , earlier giving them lunch.
Arktos , the polar bear
Our adjacent big halt was wildcats , which looked similar beautiful big moggies with stumpy tails together with slightly squashed piffling faces. They were real fluffy. What Jackson Milky Way would refer to equally ‘a truthful cat superhighway’ was built only about the perimeter of the human viewing expanse , thus they could teach a skilful thought of what was going on. We were in that location at the correct fourth dimension for wildcat feeding , together with got a lengthy utter most the importance of keeping domestic cats inside.
“Even if they’re desexed together with can’t mate with the wildcats ,” the keeper said , “they’ve got to a greater extent than unloosen energy from all the nutrient they’re fed at domicile together with thus select handgrip of together with kill the prey that wildcats should eat. There’s non plenty nutrient leftover for them.”
There are exclusively something similar 400 Scottish wildcats left , together with mayhap exclusively 10% of those are pureblooded wildcats. They tin tell the lineage yesteryear deoxyribonucleic acid testing , because wildcats accept a different ancestor to our domestics , fifty-fifty though they tin breed together.
A Scottish wildcat , sniffing out the grouse the keeper hid for her
The adjacent halt was the wolves. I similar wolves. I accept a huge tattoo of wolves on my correct thigh , because they’re 1 of the best animals inward the world. For all the love I accept for wolves , I’ve never been able to meet them inward person. When I did , I cried. It was The Elephant House all over 1 time to a greater extent than , together with I was blubbering away most how pretty the wolves were together with their soft piffling faces together with how regal they looked. I wishing it was a graceful , tear rolling downward the human face upward , “I’m a fighting overwhelmed” form of call , but it was a snotty , shaking , shivering one. Nicholas sighed together with patted me on the back.
There were reindeer adjacent to the wolves together with I had previously been actually excited to meet the reindeer , but was thus distracted yesteryear the wolves that I tin hardly call back them. There was a blood-red squirrel scurrying only about their enclosure together with 1 of them was scratching his antlers. The wolves , though.
Majestic beastie
Two regal beasties
We saw a real active wolverine , blood-red pandas munching on carrots together with a fatty , friendly piffling arctic play tricks who was simultaneously determined to go our best friend together with terrified of us. The temperature dropped most 10 degrees together with everyone else left the commons , but nosotros did 1 concluding trip only about to state goodbye to the animals. We were in all likelihood the concluding ones out , together with the coldest. The heated seats inward our hire machine are a godsend.
A blood-red panda eating a carrot
An arctic play tricks mistaking a stick for his dinner
We idea we'd flora the perfect campsite until nosotros saw this sign
The trip to Braemar was real long together with real scenic together with nosotros ended upward with non plenty fourth dimension to pitch a tent , thus pulled off to a viewing spot together with slept inward the machine with our sleeping bags together with heated seats. There’s non much to state most the afternoon , but I cruel asleep feeling real content together with happy. The playlist was skilful , the views were skilful , nosotros saw lots of deer peering at us through the trees. All was well.
The adjacent morn nosotros popped into the data pump inward Braemar to cheque on the conditions , which warned us of high winds – which nosotros decided to avoid , thus forwent a twenty-four hr menstruation on mountains. We decided to exercise the curt drive to Aberdeen but got side-tracked looking at our tourist map , which labeled rock circles together with other points of interest. It turned into a twenty-four hr menstruation of finding carved Pictish stones together with rock circles nearby (we after flora out that nosotros could’ve picked upward a map with an actual trail for these stones from the tourist constituent we’d visited that real same twenty-four hr menstruation , but there’s naught similar finding these things for yourself).
Our commencement halt was the Cullerlie Stone Circle. MAINTAINED BY HISTORIC SCOTLAND , the sign proclaimed. Historic Scotland were inward the procedure of maintaining (read: deweeding) the historic spot together with a retired farm domestic dog had jumped the struggle for some attention. In the distance nosotros could meet the newer , younger , to a greater extent than spritely farm domestic dog rounding upward some sheep. The deweeding squad couldn’t accept been less interested inward the collie or us , thus ignored us both spell nosotros threw sticks only about for him. We had a read most the stones , which were placed to a higher identify a crematoria equally cairns , took a painting present (featuring Historic Scotland inward action) together with carried onto our adjacent stop.
The Cullerlie Stone Circle , feat. Historic Scotland & a dog
The adjacent circle nosotros came across was in all likelihood our favourite. It was labeled equally the Sunhoney Stone Circle on our map together with nosotros only most drove yesteryear it. Well , nosotros did drive yesteryear it. Then nosotros drove dorsum yesteryear it the other way. And again. And again. Then , atop a little colina , I spied it! There looked to go several huge stones erect alongside overgrown trees , tucked behind a paddock where sheep were grazing. It was an almost consummate recumbent rock circle , completely unmaintained – nosotros wondered why Historic Scotland weren’t interested inward this 1 – together with somebody had visited lately together with left a unmarried rose behind. The air was thick with the odour of sheep together with manure , together with the trees twisted to a higher identify the stones to cast intricate knots. It all felt real removed from the little town of Echt only downward the road.
Sunhoney Stone Circle
Sunhoney Stone Circle
Our adjacent halt was exclusively a mile or 2 upward the route , together with was a amend example of a well-maintained circle. It wasn’t different to the Sunhoney circle , except that when the Christians had decided to perch churches only about the countryside , they’d position 1 correct adjacent to the circle. A pair of stones were missing , together with the kindly volunteer told us that 1 of the missing circles lay beneath the altar. She invited us inward for tea together with to meet the church building , insisting nosotros sign the invitee majority (whose concluding visitor was inward February). Two middle-aged women were exterior placing pyramids made of crystal on the recumbent stone. I wanted to inquire them why , but the piffling onetime lady at the church building had urged them inside. There was a sign inward a little room behind the organ that read “Try Church , it powerfulness go your loving cup of tea” together with featured a steaming loving cup of milky tea. The sign was adjacent to a kettle.
The Stone Circle yesteryear the Kirk
The carved recumbent rock obscuring a graveyard
Next on our listing was Whitehills , which was a mile walk to together with from , thus nosotros begrudgingly left our heated seats together with attempted to follow a mudmap to the spot. We got lost , because maps clearly aren’t our forte , together with had to give-up the ghost dorsum together with essay again.
“This is a shit circle ,” said Nick. We were a fighting hot together with bothered yesteryear this indicate , together with the circle had manifestly been battered only about a bit. More than 1 empty tin of Irn-Bru lay beside the recumbent stone. We caput dorsum downward together with decided nosotros would meet 1 to a greater extent than circle (to brand upward for the disappointment of Whitehills) together with thus caput dorsum to Braemar to honor a camp.
Whitehills Stone Circle
Walking through the crumbly remains of Whitehills Stone Circle
Demonstrating the pinnacle of the stones flanking the recumbent
On our agency to Easter Aquthories nosotros got real lost. We asked a friendly onetime human where to give-up the ghost to honor it together with he gave us real vague (and real wrong) directions. We drove only about for the amend constituent of an hr , earlier nosotros gave upward together with decided to caput home. We flora it accidentally equally nosotros turned off to honor domicile (we after flora out that in that location are real specific instructions to honor it inward the pamphlet nosotros didn’t selection up). Lots of people were walking their dogs nearby. Scots love their dogs. I touched every rock I walked yesteryear , telling Nicholas that if I disappeared , I’d definitely travelled dorsum inward fourth dimension together with he needn’t await for me because I’d go shacked upward with a Scotsman from the 18th century. He said this was ok.
We picked upward some groceries together with saw a sign advertising a Pictish rock inward the area. How bizarre , nosotros thought. A Pictish Stone inward piffling onetime suburbia! We made a quick detour together with flora it inward a little commons , surrounded yesteryear almost identical houses , with piffling onetime Scottish women walking their piffling Scottish dogs. It was a fighting surreal. I don’t intend the Picts had this inward take heed when they carved the rock , which was apparently to worship a local saint/god/equivalent. All our detours left us a fighting belatedly (again) thus nosotros were reduced to sleeping inward the machine precisely where nosotros had slept the nighttime before. Lucky the thought was great!
Easter Aquthories Stone Circle
A Pictish Carved Stone with a suburban motorcoach halt inward the background
Not far from our 'campsite'
