DARN! WE WENT THAT AWAY.

 May, and everything is blooming and bursting into life. Just what you need for a walk in the countryside. So, we gathered at the small Tearie Walks car parking area near Darnaway Castle. Now, I did wonder why they are called the Tearie walks, but I have been unable to find out. There is a Tearie Moss, as well as a Tearie Farm and Tearie Lodge.

I have made a completely unsupported leap of logic to decide that Tearie is just related to weeping. Very close to Tearie Farm are two small tree covered knolls, that are thought to be Moot Hills. In essence, Moot Hills were places where justice was dispensed and criminals were sentenced in public. They would often be executed nearby and there is a Gallows Hill not very far away, just to the east of Auldearn, within the same parish. I imagine that many a tear was shed by relatives of those condemned at the Moot Hill. Of course, it was usually only men who were hung. Women were more commonly drowned in pits built for the purpose!

On that happy note, we consulted the clock and realised it was time we were all here!

Astonishingly, it was not Agnes, who was last to arrive, but that might have been because we had picked her up along with Sue!

Soon we were on the way, the Darnaway.

It being May, there were lots of flowers in bloom, including these dainty little Forget-me nots. Except, they are not Forget me nots, they are Germander Speedwell. Forget-me-nots have five petals and these only have four. The white centre is a classic sign of the speedwell, and this species is one of 17 in Scotland. It is the most common of them all, but its name has nothing to do with Germany. Instead it is a corruption of Latin and Greek words for ground hugging plants. However, in Germany it is called men's faithlessness, because the flowers wilt and die soon after being cut!

This is, of course, a common dandelion along with some stitchwort. Dandelions are very important early flowering plants. They provide vital nectar for Queen bees, so don't worry about them growing in your lawn, you're doing the environment a real favour.

Stitchworts were once used as a remedy for stitches in the side that people get from running too fast  - we are in no danger of that happening to us!

Can you see a theme developing here? I feel there's every chance of you skipping to the end if I go into detail about all the flowers that we passed on our walk, so I'll keep it brief(ish).

Bluebells - known as Cuckoo's shoe in Gaelic. You can tell that these are the native bluebells or wild hyacinths, because the flowers droop down from one side of the stem. The invasive Spanish bluebells have flowers arranged all round the stem.

Dog violet - so called because they have no scent.

Bush Vetch, one of the pea family.

Comfrey - not an Aberdonian question - but a flower. Pam will be interested to know that it was often called knitbone or boneset. The leaves and roots could be used to treat bruising, sprains and broken bones. Indeed, the roots can be mashed up, applied to the limbs and, when they dried out, they form a "plaster cast".

Red Campion - Cock's Comb in Gaelic, but Fairy flowers in the Isle of Man, where superstition demands that you do not pick them.

All of these plants were in the verges as we walked along. A veritable botanical cornucopia.

Soon everyone (especially Susan) is saying to themselves - surely there can't be any more botany involved in this blog!

Well, from Botany to Dendrology, which to be honest is a branch of Botany. I thought this must be a Lodgepole Pine but, the cones on the ground were surely Scots Pine. That would indicate that it was part of a wider plantation and hadn't the opportunity to grow in the more familiar multi branched form that we more commonly associate with Scots Pine.

I sense some people might be getting tired of this focus on plants.

Finally we stopped at the Scur Pool for lunch. The Pool is a famous salmon fishing spot. It being Sunday we didn't disturb any anglers. It really is one of the finest spots you could ever wish for for lunch.

Here we are all seated at the best seat in the restaurant.

There is no real information as to why the pool is called scur. My guess is that it comes from Gaelic. Sgur would mean to scour or wash. Certainly, the Findhorn can be pretty wild here despite appearances. The shingle banks are good evidence of the power of the water. Alternatively, sgurr would mean a cliff or crag and the river has been slowly eroding the sandstone cliffs on the opposite bank. This has given the spot a distinctly pre-historic feel to it. You can imagine groups of hunter gatherers coming here for the salmon runs every spring.

Take your pick.

Is that some hunter gatherers now?

Not sure what this one is looking for!

Perhaps this ceremonial dance will help.

Another hunter joins on the dancing ritual.

However, he soon decides he's not strictly necessary and waves farewell.

Another hunter, known as Hopping Bunny, appears.

The hunter with the spoils. At least we know what's for T!

Either Jimmy knew what was for tea, or he didn't know what was for tea and he was dreaming about something good. Or, he was missing Jacque, who couldn't make the walk. He does look a little crestfallen, so he must be missing Jacque.

Robin, on the other hand, was missing some of his lunch! Agnes had a wee slip down the bank and knocked his tomatoes into the river! The Findhorn is one of Scotland's longest rivers at 100 kilometres long, so who knows when the tomato might reach the sea? Interestingly, or  not, the Gaelic for the Findhorn is Uisge Eire, which, on the face of it, means Irish water. However, there are two rivers named Eire. The second is the Deveron, Eron and Horn being derived from the same root. The two rivers are distinguished in Gaelic with our river being the Fionn Eireann and the Deveron being the Dubh Eireann - the white and black Eireann respectively. Certainly the white waters of the Findhorn are a major attraction for canoeists and kayakers. 

As we were leaving our lunch spot, Agnes and I were quite taken with these yellow flowers, which I had assumed were one of many yellow dandelion like flowers that you can easily find. However, having now gained a degree in Botany, I fell almost confident in saying that this is Leopard's Bane, which is not that common. It is native to eastern Europe and was once widely planted in formal country house woodlands. It is now found mainly in the east of Scotland in shaded areas of woodland. You won't often find it in much of the rest of Britain. It is poisonous to humans if eaten. The Gaelic name is, rather blandly, but accurately, Dithean Buidhe Mor, which simply means Big Yellow Flower. These are between two and three feet tall and they looked almost like little lanterns in the shade.

You can see why they were popular in big drifts under trees. Apparently, bees love them.

We were soon at The Meads of Saint John. Mary Queen of Scots is said to have watched a jousting contest here in the later 1500's and she sheltered under the giant oak trees here. Whether that was from rain or sun, I don't know.

The jousting lists are now covered in oilseed rape.

The oaks are very large and very old. There is no doubt that they were standing when Mary was there. They are the remnant trees from the Royal Forest of Darnaway. Much of this was felled in the Middle Ages to provide timber for ships, castles and houses. One of the oaks here was the largest girthed broad-leaved tree in Scotland. Unfortunately, it was blown down in a gale in 2023. Sampling of the tree showed it to be at least 740 years old!

Almost as old, Jimmy and Dave have a look inside one.

At least, I hope that is what they were up to.

I was suffering for the art of photography, or else, my backpack was a bit heavy.

As we came up from the Meads we came across one of the jousting horses (maybes eye, or maybes neigh).

Looks like an Aye.

I know what this horse is looking for in the General Election.

A stable economy!

In the olden times, they used to put a light on the backs of horses. It was the first known example of saddle light navigation.

Later on they moved on to something more sophisticated.

This is your worst nightmare - a pile of blogs.

It wasn't just me who suffered for the art of photography.

It wasn't too far from the little car park to Brodie for a cup of tea and some nice cakes.

A fine end to a great walk and full of exciting flowers, as well. Dave and Sandra did a good job of organising the walk and the refreshments. Many thanks again.

THERE NOW FOLLOWS THE BLOG FOR JUNE

Organised by Susan and Robin.

Poured rain.

Cancelled by Susan and Robin.

The end!