THE RIVER BEAULY - DON'T YA JUST LOVAT

This was a strange walk. Not for the walk itself, but for the signs of confusion among some of us about whether we had done the walk before. Firstly Mac and Janet had actually done this walk in 2014.They were the only two who had turned up to the walk due to confusion on the parts of the rest of us - I think. Secondly, it might also have been the walk that Charlie and his Angels did some years before. However, those that were on that walk were unsure, so that was inconclusive. Sharon and I were certain we had done at least half of the walk and thought we had done it with some of the dinos but those on this walk denied all knowledge.

As if all that wasn't confusing enough for a bunch of old people, Agnes turned up to walk with us which only added to the sense of deja vu.

Susan had clearly been catching up on War and Peace on the telly.

Before beginning our walk we visited the nearby Kiltarlity old parish church which is mentioned in 1227 as being the church of Kyntarlargyn. The church that can be seen today  actually dates from the 16th Century. In the graveyard, which is still in use, there is supposed to be a cup-marked stone, which is used as a gravestone. Cup and cup and ring marking of stones is a  prehistoric art form that is found widely throughout the world. There are good examples at the Clava Cairns near Culloden.

The Gaelic name, from which Kiltarlity is Anglicised, is Cill Taraglain. This means chapel or burial place of St Taraglain. He was a Celtic saint, sometimes associated with Columba. 

Upstream of the church is The Kilmorack dam and Power Station. This is the lowest station in the Affric Hydro electric scheme and it uses the water that has been through all the other stations on the scheme. It provides a head of 17 metres to two 10 megawatt turbines.

Soon we actually started on the walk proper. We passed the gate with the self-explanatory sign. The gate was, indeed, shut.

We passed along the edge of Balblair wood. Balblair translates from Bail' a' Bhlair, the town of the moor. I don't know whether this was a ghost town, but there was a strange hand on the bushes by the side of the path.

A view of the River Beauly. Beauly is derived from the French "Beau Lieu" (Beautiful Place), which is what Mary Queen of Scots is reputed to have said when she visited the area. The Gaelic name for Beauly is A' Mhanachainn which means the monastery. As we know Beauly Priory is a significant ruined building in the centre of the village, so the Gaelic is probably a more accurate, original and representative name for the village.

Further down the river we come to our first sight of Beaufort Castle. There has been a castle at the site since the 12th Century. At that time it was known as Caisteil Duaidh, The Castle of the Battle. That castle was besieged in the reign of Alexander the first. It came into the hands of the Frasers late in the 13th Century. The castle was burnt by Oliver Cromwell's forces in the mid 1600's. It was completely destroyed again after the Battle of Culloden. The present house was built in 1880 and was sold to Ann Gloag of Stagecoach fame in 1994 by the 15th Lord Lovat to meet Inheritance taxes.

It was pretty frosty as we crossed the open ground going towards the river. 

There were some really big moles about by the look of things.

The frost on the top of this post looks like a punk head of white hair.

Lots of frosty plants about to take nice photos of.

Little beads of ice marooned halfway up (or down) the length of the rushes by the side of the water.

A better view the castle.

Frosted broom seed pods.

Frosty cow parsley seed head with the castle behind.

Snow, sand, water. I suspect there is the bones of a haiku somewhere in there.

Below is an example of what is called a frost flower or feather frost. It forms on water-logged wood and is reasonably unusual as the conditions have to be perfect for it to form. Essentially the ice is pushed out of the pores in the wood as it freezes. Strictly speaking it is not a frost as it is formed from liquid water and not water vapour.

A good example of a silver birch. The Latin name is Betula pendula. You can probably guess why.

The river and the castle.

Nobody fancied stopping on the plank of wood for a bridge photo. But there was an opportunity for some interesting photos of people gingerly crossing the burn.

Cows. Luckily they were behind a fence and Pam wasn't with us.

The almost lunch spot. I say almost because we only had a snack as we were having soup and sandwiches in Beauly.

An icicle.

The Lovat Bridge. You might be surprised to know that the bridge was built in 1811-14 by Thomas Telford. It was partly rebuilt following a flood in 1892.

A final view of the castle on the way back to the cars.

Another frosted birch tree.

We spotted this cloudbow which is a type of rainbow. They are formed by light diffracting through little water droplets in the air, cloud or mist rather than rain.

Two trees seemingly growing from the same root. Scots Pine and Beech.

A long view of Kiltarlity old parish church and churchyard.

The spectral hand has moved further into the woods. Spooky.

Back to the cars and off to Beauly for soup, sandwiches, cakes and tea or coffee.

Here a few pictures of us all looking longingly at the cakes.

Thanks to Susan and Robin for arranging the walk and the lunch. Even if we might or might not have been here before but can't remember due to advancing years. A fine start to the New Year.