Castle Fraser

Despite being part of the Fraser tribe for the past 53 years, I had never visited the Aberdeenshire castle named after my possible ancestors. This summer, the planets aligned favourably. We had arranged to visit our friend Caroline for a few days, who lives just a few miles from the National Trust property. Our membership would cover the cost of admission. It was the proverbial no-brainer. We drove north towards Aberdeen, taking the new city bypass to arrive at Caroline's place in the village of Blackburn.

On the way up, we had stopped in Montrose for lunch by the promenade. We also paid a visit to the wildlife centre on Montrose Basin - the tidal enclosed estuary of the River South Esk. We know the nature reserve well and often drop in when in the general area. As members of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, we were granted free entry. An elevated glass-fronted viewing gallery looks across the mudflats and guides are on hand to point out species of interest. Binoculars and scopes are provided. Today's volunteer was a highly knowledgeable (and rather excitable) man from Belgium, who had travelled the whole world in search of new spots. He was an interesting character and very helpful to visitors of all birding abilities. We saw tern, greenshank, lapwing, oystercatcher and a couple of seals out on the sandbank. For dinner that evening, we had pizza outdoors at the Forest Farm organic dairy on the edge of Blackburn. Established in 1989 by Anne and Anthony Willis from Wiltshire, the business switched to organic produce in 1998 and the current herd numbers 150 grass-fed animals. The farm is now managed by the third generation of the family. Visitors can fill glass bottles from the milk vending machines and an on-site ice-cream shop sells gelato, in addition to speciality coffees and homemade cakes. The pizzeria was added to the portfolio two years ago and some of the outside tables are enclosed within pods. It took just 20 minutes to drive to Castle Fraser the following morning and entry to the manicured grounds is free, with non-members asked to pay a car-parking charge. We strolled down to the reception, where I was invited to sign the Fraser guest book in the Great Hall upstairs. The first room on the self-guided tour was the kitchen, which would have fed the entire estate staff, as well as the Laird and his family. It would have been in operation round the clock. Castle Fraser is a large Z-plan tower house and the core part dates from around 1450. The modern building is A-listed and compromises six floors, two wings and the round tower. The Fraser family resided here until 1921 and a portrait of General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser (1758-1809) hangs above the fireplace. He had a distinguished military career across Europe and North Africa. The castle was modernised in the late 18th century and further interior alterations were carried out over the next few decades. The last laird - Frederick Mackenzie Fraser - died childless in 1897 and his widow Theodora sold the largely derelict property in 1921, due to mounting financial pressures. The purchaser was the English industrialist Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, who primarily wanted to acquire the surrounding land. He gave the ailing castle to his son Clive as a restoration project. A programme of work was undertaken, with Clive Pearson's daughter Lavinia Smiley taking over the reins in 1946. She and her husband Michael were the last private occupants before the National Trust acquired the estate in 1976. Today, visitors can explore the 300 acre site and inspect one the most finely evolved tower houses in the entire country.

Nicole and I added our details to the Fraser book. Many entries were from overseas. Accessed by a beautiful stone spiral staircase and located within the original building, the Great Hall is the principal room used for celebrations within the castle. With its high barrel-vaulted ceiling, this bright and spacious room enjoys natural light from three large south-facing windows. The striking chamber can be hired for weddings and other functions. The tour progressed to the dining room - added as an extension in 1633 and lavishly decorated in Georgian style. The mahogany table is an original feature which can seat over 20 people when fully extended. The adjacent Peacock Parlour was the smoking room to which gentlemen retreated after eating. Here they would unwind after the strict formalities of dinner. A portrait of the ill-fated Charles I is on display. We checked out Lady Smiley's sitting room. An author and illustrator to trade, she didn't live permanently in the castle during her stewardship, choosing instead to convert the octagonal stable block. Major Smiley fought in WW2 but was captured early on. He spend most of the conflict holed up in prisoner camps, including Colditz. Returning home eventually, he settled into the role of running the Castle Fraser estate. A room has been set up as a commemoration of his activities. A stuffed wildcat sits atop a cabinet. The species is now incredibly rare, due to persecution, habitat loss and cross-breeding with feral cats. A photograph shows the mausoleum of Elyza Fraser - a lady laird who inherited the castle in 1792 at the age of 58. She made a number of improvements, including widening the west window in the Great Hall to provide a view of the setting sun. She also added her own coat of arms to the exterior and - unusually for the time - played an active role in managing the estate. A large sum of money was spent on the landscaping of the grounds, a project that included the addition of the walled garden, serpentine lake and stables. With her long-term companion Mary Bristow, Lady Elyza travelled extensively across Europe, visiting many gardens. A large collection of horticulture books reside in the castle library today. The A-listed mausoleum is located in nearby Cluny Churchyard. The photo showed mort safes next to the tomb. The purpose of these strong metal cages was to deter grave robbers, allowing the body to decompose for a period in a secure setting, thereby rendering it worthless to thieves looking to supply unscrupulous medical research centres prepared to look the other way. Game shooting was a commercial activity in the post-war period and a poster on Major Smiley's office wall outlined the etiquette. Here is a small excerpt. A hat and tie must be worn. Shooters should introduce themselves to all fellow participants upon arrival. Never take aim at someone else's bird, unless he is a close friend who won't take offence. Thank the beaters, catering staff and tip the keeper (lucky man). In the games room, the guide was a fellow Fraser and he chatted at length about the characters who had inhabited the castle over the ages. A green baize table stood in the centre. A type of bagatelle game, rather than billiards. The trophy room had the usual assortment of animal heads from hunting expeditions, some being brought home from European forays. Included in the menagerie were two stuffed dogs - family pets from the 19th century named Laddie and Joe. Living on forever in their glass cases. The spiral staircase brought us to the top of the tower and we enjoyed the panoramic views across the wider estate. The walled garden was nestled below. It provided fruit and vegetables for the castle and contained two peach houses and a vinery. The heated north wall facilitated the growing of produce deemed exotic for the northeast of Scotland. Also visible from our vantage point was the stable block, now hosting office space and rental apartments.

We gradually worked our way back down to ground level. A secret spy hole was the laird's lug, used to eavesdrop on conversations taking place in the Great Hall. Noble families looked after their own interests in those days. The Frasers' stance on the Jacobite Rebellion was never clear cut. God was always present in some way, as evinced by the well-appointed chapel. We finished up in the Bailiff's Room - where staff wages were disbursed and rent from farming tenants collected. It had been a fascinating tour and the volunteers had delivered a wealth of information, both historical and humorous. After a coffee in the cobbled courtyard, Nicole, Caroline and I decamped to the walled garden for an outdoor lunch. Deckchairs had been handily set out and we consumed our sandwiches among the colourful vegetation. The present layout is a nice balance between decorative displays and food production. The garden is run along organic principles and an abundance of insects and butterflies were winging their way through the plants. The upper parts of the castle protruded above the south wall and a number of people were relaxing in the large compound. A wooden cart offered a selection of vegetables and payment could be dropped into the honesty box. Castle Fraser has a lot to offer and I recommend allocating half a day to explore the main attractions. More if you wish to follow the waymarked woodland trails. We dropped Caroline back at her house and drove down towards Stonehaven to check out a beach in the tiny village of Muchalls. Unfortunately the clifftop path had been washed away in a recent storm and we returned to Blackburn. The following day, we were northbound, seeking out the Loch of Strathbeg, beyond the major fishing port of Peterhead. A shallow freshwater dune loch close to the coast, Strathbeg is a protected area due to its importance to wildlife. Much of the area is managed by the RSPB. Formerly a sea inlet serving a small harbour at Rattray, the channel silted up over the centuries and an enclosed lake was formed. Attempts to drain the land were (thankfully) unsuccessful and the remains of a 19th-century wind pump can be seen from the viewing window in the visitor centre. An elderly gentleman was scanning the landscape with his binoculars and he told us how to reach the hide by the loch shore, which lay a good few hundred metres in the distance. The reserve contains a healthy mix of habitat around the loch. Sand dunes, wetlands and grassland provide rich pickings for birdlife. Vast numbers of pink-footed geese visit during the colder months and there are breeding terns and gulls, alongside migrating waders and wintering wildfowl (such as whooper swans and teal). Grazing livestock (including ponies) help maintain a suitable balance of living conditions. Water levels are carefully monitored and controlled.

To reach the far hide, we had to drive through Crimond Airfield (officially Royal Naval Air Station Rattray) - a mothballed MOD site that has restricted public access. A signed roadway leads to the RSPB car-park beside a patch of woodland. Crimond boasted four hard runways and opened in 1944 for training drills. The project was short-lived as the war finished the following year. Active operations ceased in 1946 but the land was retained by the government. High-frequency transmitting equipment occupies part of the site today, one of six such bases across the UK that form a national network for defence purposes. Motor sport in various forms has been staged at Crimond since the 1950s. A two-mile circuit was fashioned from the old runways and Jim Clarke made his racing debut here. The Fife-born driver went on to enjoy great success, lifting the F1 Championship twice in the 1960s before tragically losing his life at the Hockenheimring in Germany. At the time of his death in 1968, Clark had won more Grands Prix than anyone else on the planet. Stock-car racing has taken place at Crimond for half a century. The present track is located on the southern edge of the airfield and a couple of meetings are staged each month. There was car-related activity in progress as we drove past and we could still hear the engines revving as we arrived at the bird hide on the far side of the compound. A boardwalk took us through the ancient forest. Lichen hung from the trees and I wonder if the off-limits nature of the military zone had helped preserve the habitat. There wasn't a great deal of bird activity on the actual loch but two white blobs stood on the far side by a reed bed. Nicole suspected they might be spoonbills and the scope was straining at maximum range, unable to provide conclusive identification. The shapes certainly projected the general body dimensions of this elusive wader. Two fellow spotters in the hide agreed with Nicole's theory and a spoonbill sighting (my second) was logged. An unexpected bonus that put a spring in our step as we trooped back to Dolly Duster. Driving back down the A90, we turned left towards Rattray Head. We parked by the remains of St Mary's Chapel (pictured below). The loch lay clearly visible across a field (next photo up). The historic church dates from the 13th century and is one of the oldest structures still standing in the northeast of Scotland. I had a walk around the adjacent graveyard, whose walls were restored in Victorian times. Rattray is a vanished Royal Burgh, a status conferred in 1564 by Mary, Queen of Scots. This development brought foreign trading rights, as well as two local fairs per year. However, Rattray failed to thrive, chiefly because the founding of the Royal Burgh was a political manoeuvre to settle an ongoing local dispute, rather than a solidification of economic growth. The community's fate was sealed in 1720 when a major storm destroyed a sand dune and blocked the navigable channel leading to the North Sea. Without a harbour, the village was doomed and the population dwindled away.

We decided not to proceed to the extremity of the headland as the road beyond the church was not for the faint hearted. This meant missing out on a lighthouse but we gained ample compensation at Boddam, a coastal village just beyond Peterhead. Buchan Ness Lighthouse came sharply into view as we drove down the hill towards the harbour. Arctic whaling voyages departed from here in times gone by. The 36-metre granite lighthouse was completed by the Stevenson family in 1824 and helped prevent vessels running aground on the treacherous Buchan coast. The red band was added in 1907 to help passing ships determine their exact location and a foghorn (locally known as the Boddam Coo) was installed. Its booming finally ceased at the turn of the 21st century. The Boddam branch railway closed in 1948. It also served the grand Cruden Bay Hotel - a late Victorian hydropathic resort, something in fashion at the time. Peterhead has been bereft of a rail link since 1970, despite being the third-largest fishing port in the United Kingdom. My dad recalls watching the fish trains thunder through Fife en route to the big-city markets. We had a table booked at an Indian restaurant in Inverurie that evening. A little celebration for Caroline's birthday. There was still time to nip along to Newburgh - a small port on the Ythan Estuary, 14 miles north of Aberdeen. It was historically the sea link for the town of Ellon, further upstream. Clipper ships once sailed to destinations all over the globe, delivering tea and other cargo. Coal barges sailed up the coast from Aberdeen to offload on the quayside. Salmon fishing was a major local industry. Commercial sea traffic declined over the post-war decades but the large village experienced an upturn in economic fortunes in the 1970s, when the Aberdeen oil boom brought wide investment to the region. Newburgh now functions as a dormitory village within easy commuting range of the Granite City, and also Peterhead. A popular local attraction is Seal Beach - one of the few locations in Scotland where sightings of the marine mammals are virtually guaranteed. A huge colony of 400 spend considerable time here, chilling out on the golden sands. After paying a few pounds to park, we followed the walkway between the dunes and immediately clocked a group of seals lounging on a sandbank. More could be seen slightly further out and the beach thronged with visitors enjoying a wildlife experience that - thankfully - appeared to leave the subjects largely unperturbed. There is no access on foot from the viewing area to the land occupied by the seals.

It was certainly the largest blubber fest I'd ever witnessed anywhere. Something of a hidden gem, as I have never heard anyone else talk about this nature haven. We had been tipped off by the excellent smartphone app Where to Watch Birds in Scotland. Sorry. my dear feathered friends, you were outgunned on this occasion. A fine way to cap a day's coastal exploring and it was time to head inland to Inverurie to sample some quality Asian nosh. I ordered a lamb curry and had onion bhajis as a starter dish. My (highly successful) ongoing weight-loss programme was temporarily paused as I tucked in. Balance is required in these matters. We had to depart Blackburn the following day and our next destination was Nairn, where we had three nights booked in a familiar bed & breakfast. We drove up to Banff and cut along the coast to Cullen. A hearty lunch was enjoyed in the Rockpool Café, situated in the main square of this pretty seaside town. I ordered the house burger and a mug of the famous fish soup Cullen skink. We pushed on to Nairn and checked into the same property we had booked for a weekend stay back in November. Hosts Corrin and Jimmy had converted the front room to a double ensuite since then and we were the first guests to sleep there. A few finishing touches were still required and we had secured the reservation at a bargain rate. We had a large TV and basic food could be prepared in the corner kitchenette. Perfect for our needs. Our hosts invited us to the family dinner table for a Sunday roasts, where we were joined by their adult daughter Jude. A pleasant evening ensued and we planned to visit the Black Isle the following day. Cromarty was our final destination, at the tip of the peninsula. We stopped at Chanonry Point - one of the best places in Scotland to view bottlenose dolphins at close quarters. The narrow shingle spit on the Moray Firth is often crowded and the car-park can get very busy in summertime. Nothing is guaranteed, and we were delighted to spot a couple of dolphins in proximity to the shore. A modest lighthouse has overlooked the swirling waters since 1846. It has been automated for the past 40 years and was previously a one-man posting. Approaching Cromarty, we pulled over at the automated egg dispenser by the A832 then dropped into the beer shop. I purchased a selection of bottles and cans for later consumption. Cromarty Brewing has been trading since 2011 and more information about this venture and the history of the port town can be found in an earlier blog entry here. We enjoyed an outdoor coffee by the ferry terminal. A small craft with space for two cars shuttles across the Cromarty Firth to Nigg, every half hour. We popped into a pottery and the neighbouring craft shop, places we had visited last year. Unfortunately Tasha the cat was not in attendance today. A walk along the seafront took us past the lighthouse, which sits in an elevated position, around 100 yards back from the shoreline. It was decommissioned in 2006 and is now used as a field station for marine research by the University of Aberdeen. We ate lunch while watching the waves and then drove around the peninsula coast to RSPB Udale Bay. The tidal estuary is a haven for waders, ducks and gulls. A spacious hide offers a cinematic view and we spent a good hour here. A large Norwegian cruise ship was anchored further out in the firth. Back in Nairn, we found a chippie, parked up at the large harbour and ate fish suppers. Afterwards, we walked the full length of the pier and sat watching the birds for a while.

We awoke to a glorious day and a trip down memory lane was on the agenda. My folks had a static caravan at Embo, near Dornoch, for many years and the whole family enjoyed summer trips to the large campsite named Grannie's Heilan' Hame. It took around an hour to reach the resort and we approached via Loch Fleet, where a number of seals were basking in the sun. A French family were excited about seeing the mammals in the wild for the first time and the mother asked us where they could see puffins in Scotland, or muffins as she mistakenly called them. An amusing moment. We wandered across the campsite and down to the beach. Nothing much had changed but we both remarked that the place wasn't quite as busy as we had expected it to be, especially in the period when the Scottish and English school holidays overlap. In Dornoch town, we browsed the bookstore, one of our favourites in the whole country. The type of place that you don't want to leave without making a purchase. I bought a copy of Night Train to Odesa, an account of a Scottish journalist witnessing the outbreak of the invasion of Ukraine. After eating an ice cream and wandering by our old haunts, we headed back down the A9 and cut across to Chanonry Point for another look. This time we were out of luck. The tide had turned and the dolphins were drifting back out to sea. Nevertheless we sat in the sun and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, watching people mill around. Passing through Fortrose on the return journey, Nicole bought a pair of earrings from an artisan jeweller. Many wildlife-inspired items were on display. A few miles along the road, we paused at Avoch Harbour for a stroll. Nowadays mainly a leisure marina, a few small commercial fishing boats remain. Dolphin viewing trips depart from here. The village now serves as a commuter base for Inverness. A branch railway ran out to Fortrose but closed in 1960. A long stretch of the embanked formation is visible from the A832 between Avoch and the road junction with the A9. Back down in Inverness, we ate at Nando's - a restaurant chain specialising in chicken. A group of Germans were sitting at the next table and had mistakenly entered the wrong branch into the ordering app. Technology generally makes our lives easier, but it's not completely foolproof. We settled in for the night at our accommodation and I even had a go at using the smart toilet the next morning. You can clean yourself up afterwards without paper being involved. I'll leave the rest to your imagination. It was time to hit the road, but I'm sure we'll stay at this large townhouse again. The Findhorn Foundation ecovillage lies a few miles along the A96 from Nairn and we always visit when in the area. The roots of the sustainable project can be traced back to 1962 and the spiritual community grew throughout the following two decades. Nicole attended the well-known "Experience Week" a number of years ago, although the retreat has now been transferred to Iona in the Inner Hebrides. By 2005, the ecovillage had around 450 resident members, who were claimed to have the lowest recorded ecological footprint of any community in the industrialised world. Around 5000 people per year attended the various courses, conferences and educational programmes. The pandemic provoked a downward financial spiral, compounded by an arson attack on the village hall by a disgruntled worker who had been made redundant. Wholesale restructuring was required and the place now has a much quieter feel.

The Phoenix organic shop still trades on site and it is one of Nicole's favourite places to browse. We sat in the tranquil garden, where the caravan that housed the original pioneers stands in the corner. Certainly a unique place in Scotland. To the north of the ecovillage, lies the actual historic settlement of Findhorn, considered a separate entity from the Foundation's territory. Findhorn Bay is an enclosed estuary and an area of scientific interest. The beach was inaccessible today as the tide was right in. We took the scenic route south, driving across wild moorland before emerging at Grantown on Spey. We proceeded to RSPB Loch Garten, located within the enormous Abernethy Forest and one of the few places to see crested tits in Scotland. Despite us having come a long way, they didn't come down from the pine trees to greet us. How inconsiderate! The visitor centre has scopes trained on the osprey nest but there were no sightings to report today. It was here in the 1950s that the elegant bird of prey returned to Scotland (from Scandinavia) after being declared locally extinct. A conflict occurred last year between rival males, leading to eggs being destroyed. Things seem to have settled down again. We contented ourselves by watching the smaller birds on the feeders, while eating our sandwiches. Our holiday was almost over and the final push down the A9 was halted briefly near Dunkeld, where an air ambulance landed in a field next to the road. Two cars had their front ends mangled. Hopefully nobody was badly hurt.