The Ham Nomads

25 Jul 2014. <GB-SCT> Ardesier, & Inverness, Inverness; Elgin, & Lossiemouth, & Keith, Moray —

Woke up in Ardersier, had a partial breakfast before going into Inverness to do a little shopping, for Warren to visit Starbucks to get a little internet time, while Susie went into the high street to look for a little novelty present we had seen a while back — we thought it was in Inverness (and were to be proved to be wrong!!)

Warren couldn't find Starbucks, so settled for Macca's, and got in 45 minutes of blogging, enough to put up only one day (July 21, with Dunvegan Castle and the seals), but it was a big one. Better luck next time.

Having restocked the larder, we then set off for Elgin, getting there near lunchtime. The Tourist Information Centre is in the public library, and the gentleman there couldn't have been more helpful! We asked him where would be a good place to sit and have lunch, with a good view. He suggested Lossiemouth, a seaside town about 8 miles north, so off we went.

Well, a beautiful seaside town with a good sandy beach, fine hot weather — where was the rest of the population of Moray but at Lossiemouth. In spite of this, we easily found a park right by the beach and settled in for a lazy lunch. We were wondering why everyone and his dog was walking past us with an ice-cream cone, until when we were setting off, we passed an ice-cream shop just round the bend.

We were intrigued, as when we were coming into Lossiemouth we noticed what appeared to be a large dark cloud on the horizon. Turns out this was smoke from a fire across the Moray Firth — probably from somewhere near Cromarty, where we were the other day. By the time we left, Lossiemouth was shrouded in white smoke!

As we were coming up to Lossiemouth, we noticed Spynie Palace just off the road. Decided to give it a look-see on the way back. This was the residence of the medieval bishops of Moray. Although the original bishop's palace existed on the site from the early 13th century, the existing Tower House was built in the late 1400s. It's a ruin today, but the conservation work done here is fascinating. Instead of providing a roof for the main keep, for example, a fine wire mesh has been stretched over the opening to keep out animal life. The floors have not been reconstructed, but instead, sections at the side of each floor (all on the eastern side) have been reconstructed, with timber railings to prevent any accidents — it's as if there has been a balcony provided at each level so we can view the place properly. The original stairs have been kept where possible, but any lacunae (and there were many!) have been replaced with good solid modern concrete steps.

We went up to the top of the tower and looked towards Lossiemouth, we could see the whole horizon was a smoke cloud spreading 120° (or one third of the whole way) round us. We really must check out what's going on! The air was starting to get a little hazy even here from the smoke.

Must mention that in the ticket office/gift shop Susie spied exactly the novelty present she had been trying to find in Inverness earlier on today — who says that serendipity doesn't play a part!?

It was coming on to 5pm when we left, and we decided to light out towards Huntly and, beyond it, to Leith Hall, an NTS site we want to visit tomorrow. We got a little beyond Keith, about half an hour short of Leith Hall, when Susie spied a wonderful shaded layby fully off the road, so we pulled in for the night.

Distance driven — today, 59 miles ( 95 km ); to date, 5,088 miles ( 8,189 km )