I have been wanting to visit Newburgh Beach, a little north of Aberdeen, since I read about its seal colony. Last week Matt and I finally got round to a trip on a calm but dull morning - perfect conditions for a stroll.

On arriving at the car park we were immediately aware of the sounds of terns and a singing yellowhammer. The yellowhammer’s distinctive song always reminds me of my childhood, because the hedgerows where I grew up were always alive with this song in summer. A quick scan soon revealed the singing bird perched on the seed head of a curled dock plant.

Newburgh Beach, on either side of the Ythan River Estuary, is backed by extensive sand dunes which form part of the large Forvie National Nature Reserve. From the car park a boardwalk headed off into the sand dunes.

The boardwalk soon came to a fork. One way led straight down towards the beach, while the other led up into the dunes to a higher level viewing platform. We chose to follow the latter. As we climbed gently, accompanied by the songs of skylarks, we passed many lovely flowers growing wild among the dunes. Shown below are rosebay willowherb (fireweed), harebell and Rugosa rose.

We soon reached the viewing platform, which had a convenient bench. Here we got our first view of the seals - a group of grey seals hauled out on the sandy beach.

The seals were resting peacefully. We were aware of continual moaning and wailing sounds as the seals communicated with each other - I had not realized that they are so vocal!

Another large group could be seen further along the beach resting at the edge of the waves.

The Forvie National Nature Reserve is a designated haul-out site for the seals, meaning that the colony is protected and it is an offense to disturb the animals. Grey and common seals are present here throughout the year, with numbers rising in autumn and winter when the grey seals give birth to their pups. Numbers are actually at their lowest in mid-summer when we visited, so we were very happy to see so many!

In addition to the seals, the viewing platform provided an excellent view over the River Ythan Estuary.

The terns that we could hear on arriving at the car park breed in a mixed colony on the other side of the estuary. Sandwich, Arctic, common and little terns breed here. Terns nest on the ground, and access to the beach around the nesting colony is restricted in summer to prevent people from trampling over the vulnerable eggs and chicks.

The Ythan Estuary also has a large colony of eider ducks. We could see many of these resting on the other side of the estuary. The ducks were in the middle of their annual moult (known as being in eclipse), and the males did not therefore have their usual distinctive black and white plumage.

After enjoying the views from the viewing platform, we continued along the path through the sand dunes. This was a very pleasant stroll, with more wildflowers and views of the sea.

We found a dilapidated old pillbox from WW2, which judging by all the discarded cans and bottles appeared to be a hangout for local youths. Such a pity about all the litter!

Soon after passing the pillbox we reached the glorious beach, which was almost completely deserted. The tide was low, and firm golden sand spread in both directions seemingly for miles. How amazing that we could have such a beautiful beach almost to ourselves in the middle of summer!

We soon came across a group of oystercatchers feeding on the shore. With their distinctive calls, smart black and white plumage and vivid red beaks and legs, these have always been among my favourite birds.

We spent some time enjoying exploring the beach. I was captivated by the patterns left by the constant ebb and flow of the tide.

When we returned to the estuary the tide was beginning to come in fast. Terns continually flew past carrying small fish back to the nesting colony to feed their chicks.

The seals that had previously been hauled out on the beach were now being reached by the waves. It was comical watching them being dislodged one by one, and then allowing themselves to drift up the estuary with the tide, often backwards, to some other unseen haul out site.

We very much enjoyed our visit to Newburgh Beach, especially as seal numbers are supposed to be at their lowest at this time of year. We look forward to returning in autumn when numbers increase and pups are born. Even without the seals, being able to walk for miles on such a beautiful deserted beach is always a special treat!

You can read more about the Forvie National Nature Reserve here.

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A 10 minute drive took us through Cairnbulg village and along a lane to a parking area at Cairnbulg Point. A couple of camper vans were parked up for the night, and someone was walking a dog, but otherwise there were just the sounds of the sea and seabirds on the shore.

Cairnbulg Harbour is tiny, used by small leisure craft and fishing boats, with a very narrow entrance. We strolled along one of the rather dilapidated harbour walls, enjoying the views out to sea with the low sun.

There was a particularly fine view of a local shipwreck, the Sovereign, which was completely exposed at low tide. The Sovereign hit rocks in a storm just over 20 years ago (apparently the watchkeeper was distracted by emails on his mobile phone!) The crew were rescued and everyone was safe.

Leaving the harbour wall, we followed a sandy trail along the coast. The view across to Fraserburgh Beach was stunning in the golden evening light.

After a short distance we found a convenient bench and sat for a while to watch the shorebirds, lulled by the haunting calls of curlews and oystercatchers.

As it was beginning to turn dark we strolled back to the car. But before driving home we enjoyed watching the sun sink low over the sea and the distant view of Fraserburgh. A lovely end to this spontaneous little evening adventure!

Having been regular visitors to the seabird colony at Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast for many years, we were delighted to find that Scotland’s only mainland gannet colony is just a few miles from our new home. Troup Head is located on a spectacularly wild and remote section of the north Aberdeenshire coast. We were keen to check out the reserve, and could not have picked a nicer morning.

Arriving in the car park, the contrast with Bempton Cliffs was immediately obvious. Here there is no visitor centre, no shop or cafe, and just a very small parking area. Large crowds are obviously not expected here - which is fine by us.

We set off along a grassy path surrounded by farmland and accompanied by the songs of many skylarks.

Approaching the cliff top we enjoyed the view of the wonderfully blue sea and sky. It is not always like this in northern Scotland!

On reaching the cliff edge another contrast with Bempton Cliffs was apparent. Here there are no viewing platforms and no fences protecting you from the sheer drops. On this beautiful calm day this was not a problem, but on a wild and windy day common sense would definitely be required!

There was a sudden change from the sounds of singing skylarks and yellowhammers to the sounds (and smells) of the seabird colony. To our right was a fantastic view along the cliffs eastward. Scanning with binoculars revealed many kittiwakes, fulmars, guillemots and razorbills perched on the various cliff faces.

However, we had come to see the gannets, and so we headed west. Easy steps took us to the top of Troup Head, where the views in all directions were magnificent.

The path continued over the headland to descend on the other side, and as we proceeded more and more gannets came into view. Suddenly views of the nesting colony opened up, with birds perched on every available spot. Many of the birds were paired, with others probably waiting for their partners to return from hunting trips.

Gannets are hefty birds, with wingspans up to 180 cm. Their nesting ledges always look impossibly small and precarious. It is remarkable that the eggs and young chicks can stay safe on the exposed cliffs in the frequently wild, wet and windy coastal weather.

In the photo below you can see the scant nesting material below two of the birds. It would not provide much protection in a storm!

On the day we visited it was not wild and windy weather that was the problem, but the heat. Many birds were holding their beaks ajar and panting by flickering their throats as a way of keeping cool, like the one shown below.

The gannets seemed to be totally unconcerned by the close presence of people walking past (and the frequent camera lenses being pointed in their direction). As we were walking past a small hidden gully the head below suddenly popped up right in front of us, and casually watched as we walked by, with no attempt to fly off.

The seabird colony at Troup Head is much smaller than the one at Bempton Cliffs, and the reserve does not have the same facilities or infrastructure. But the lack of crowds, remote location, untouched nature and magnificent scenery are what give the reserve its charm. We will definitely return to explore more of this special place.

Read more about Troup Head at the RSPB web page here.

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I didn’t expect much from three of my four new raised beds this year.

I bought them back in February, and together with my partner Matt we assembled them and sited them on grass in the back garden. To fill them I ordered a bulk delivery of 50 bags of vegetable topsoil, which was duly delivered, and we also had numerous bags of homemade compost that we brought with us from our previous home when we moved.

I naively assumed that this would be more than enough to fill the new beds, but we very soon realized that it would not. Not even close.

I wanted one of the beds to have deep, loose soil to grow carrots and parsnips, so we completely filled one with a mixture of the topsoil and compost. To my astonishment after doing this we only had a few bags left - obviously a serious miscalculation!

I didn’t want to order another bulk delivery, so we decided to use what we could find around the garden. There were several log-piles among trees in the wilder parts of the garden, so we used a few logs from each in the bottom of the beds. Then we just added any suitable material we could find, including leaf litter, fallen twigs, pine needles and cones, wood chip, shredded cardboard, vegetation raked from the surface of the pond, grass cuttings, mole hill soil, etc. We finally got them filled, and finished each bed off with quite a thin layer of the topsoil mixed with compost.

Because of this my expectations for this year were low. I thought that these materials would need time to break down, and that plant roots would not grow well in this coarse, open, heterogeneous material. I resigned myself to having minimal success this year, and planned to add homemade compost to the beds later in the year so they would be much more productive next year.

But I could not have been more wrong!

The photo below was taken in early April, just after planting. The bed on the right at the front is the deep-filled one, sown with rows of carrot and parsnip seeds (yet to germinate when the photo was taken), together with some spinach seeds and a few herb plants. The one on the left at the front has a couple of rows of dwarf pea seedlings, with some posts to support them. I then, rather foolishly I now think, added some seed potatoes on either side of the peas, thinking it was very unlikely that they would grow.

The photo below shows the bed on the left now, just two months later. And just look at it - positively exploding with growth!

I have never grown potatoes before, and had no idea they would grow like this. Of course it could be all leaves and no spuds! And harvesting them (and the pea pods) is going to be a bit of challenge - but a fun challenge to have!

Similarly, the photo below shows one of the other two beds, which I planted with spinach and onion seeds together with a few herbs and companion flowers. This one is now a bit depleted because I have been harvesting the spinach twice a week for the last month, and also now have a whole drawer full of frozen spinach in the freezer. I have never had success with spinach before, but this grew so fast I just couldn’t keep up with harvesting it!

There is no doubt that gardening is a never-ending learning curve. And this year has been a particularly steep one for me, with a new garden that could not be more different to my previous one. Next year there are definitely things I will do differently, like plant/sow less densely and keep potatoes separate.

Sometimes, when you think you have done everything right, your plants inexplicably don’t thrive and you are disappointed. But other times, when your expectations are low, magic happens!

Many years ago I bought my partner Matt some chili pepper seeds as a gift (he loves chilies). The seeds grew in pots on the kitchen window ledge, the chilies later ripened in the garden, and they were impressively hot.

Flushed with success (and capsaicin) I decided to try growing some lettuce. It was too late in the year to start from seed, so I bought a punnet of young lettuce plants at a local garden centre. After planting them in bowls of all-purpose compost, they started to grow well.

Then one day I realised I had forgotten to buy a bag of salad leaves, so I reluctantly cut all the biggest leaves off my young lettuce plants and used those. They were lovely — so much fresher and crisper than the usual bagged salad leaves. But I was really sad that I had already used up my young plants when they were just starting to grow.

But then, only a few days later, I was amazed that the leaves had almost regrown! It was like magic! How could they grow so quickly?

I suddenly understood the concept of ‘cut and come again’, and it was a complete revelation. From that moment, I was totally hooked. Growing edible plants became an obsession, which has stayed with me to this day.

There is something I should mention here. Before my obsession with food growing, I HATED gardening. I loathed getting my hands dirty (gardening gloves solved that issue). I have mobility problems which make bending to work in the ground painful and difficult (containers and raised beds helped with that one). And I was always working to tight deadlines, and wanted to spend my free time visiting interesting places, not struggling with weeds and dirt in the garden.

So from being an avid non-gardener, I suddenly had dreams of becoming self-sufficient in salads, herbs, vegetables, and fruit. Matt and I are not vegetarians, but our diet is predominantly plant-based. We love salads, vegetarian pasta dishes, and vegetarian curries. I thought how great it would be to grow most of our food in our own garden. How it would be so fresh, contain no chemicals, and be great for the environment. And I spent the next few years trying to achieve just that.

Now, I don’t do things by halves. From having no interest in the garden whatsoever, I was suddenly acquiring potting tables, raised planters, containers by the dozen, trellises, automatic watering systems, and ultimately a greenhouse and potting shed.

I completely lost count of how many bags of compost I got through in those early years, but visits to local garden centres became a very regular event indeed. (These days I compost our kitchen and garden waste at home to produce our own.)

And I spent hours perusing online seed catalogues, amazed by the sheer number of varieties available to home growers. This is one of the great benefits and joys of home growing — being able to try varieties you will never find in the shops because they are not suitable for packing and transporting on a commercial scale.

Of course, despite my limitless enthusiasm and early successes, I very soon found out that growing your own food is not always plain sailing.

At first, I was way too ambitious. I tried to grow far too many plants in containers that were far too small. They ended up being over- or under-watered (and in many cases, I couldn’t decide which).

My salads got badly infested with aphids. My brassicas were attacked by slugs, flea beetles, and cabbage white caterpillars. Our lovely blackbirds took to rummaging through my pots looking for worms and often threw my carefully nurtured young seedlings out in the process. Storms resulted in pots being blown over or flooded. I soon learned that gardening tests your ingenuity, as I strove to devise methods to protect my plants from the weather and local pests without doing any harm to wildlife.

Also, much of my modestly sized Yorkshire garden didn’t receive full sun, and some of it received hardly any. Many plants didn’t thrive in conditions that were simply not suitable for them.

In those early years, I had a LOT of complete failures, and my initial enthusiasm was definitely tested. I often wondered why I was bothering, especially at the end of the season when so many things needed cutting back and clearing away (cleaning out moldy, root-bound, slug-riddled pots is not a job I enjoy).

But I had invested a lot of time and effort (and money) and was determined not to be put off. And despite the failures, there were some notable successes.

Tomato plants were a complete revelation. They grew so incredibly fast to the point of becoming completely rampant (it took me a while to get the hang of managing cordon varieties). But the plants were really productive, even with less than perfect care, and the tomatoes were sweet and lovely, unlike anything from a supermarket.

Unlike many edible plants tomatoes are largely left alone by the slugs and birds. The main difficulty was devising ways to support the weight of the fruit, and watering evenly to prevent splitting. Even now I get excited selecting new varieties to try each year, and harvesting them in the summer months is one of my great joys.

Runner beans were another delight. Once I got them started they literally flew up a trellis on my garage wall. They produced massive crops of beans that were lovely sliced up quite thinly and used in pasta dishes. I filled whole drawers in my freezer to keep me supplied all winter and into the following spring.

Other successes included strawberries, blueberries, chard, and aubergines. Over the years I have learned what works in my garden, and what doesn’t. I have stopped trying to grow everything, and instead concentrate on the crops that are successful for me.

I think one of the greatest lessons I have learned is that every garden is unique, and what is easy to grow in one garden can be impossible in another. I am always reading that spinach and rocket are easy crops, but I never had success with them in my Yorkshire garden. Spinach either didn’t grow at all or just went to seed at the first sign of sun, while rocket always seemed to get infested.

Whereas aubergines should have been almost impossible to grow outside in my northerly garden, but surprisingly I got really good crops from dwarf plants that I grew in pots, even in cold seasons. The little egg-sized aubergines are perfect in roasted vegetable pasta dishes and curries. I love them.

I am so glad I bought Matt that first pack of chili seeds all those years ago. Little did I know what it would lead to! Home growing is now such a big part of my life, and I cannot imagine it being otherwise.

On a sunny May morning Matt and I decided to visit the gardens at Castle Fraser; a National Trust for Scotland property just over an hour’s drive from our home.

The castle is one of 19 castles on the Aberdeenshire Castle Trail; Fyvie Castle which we visited recently being another. It certainly looks impressive with its multitude of turrets and towers, surrounded by mature trees and gentle hills.

However it was the gardens and estate that we were keen to explore, and we chose to visit on a day when the castle itself was closed so the gardens would be quiet.

Walled Garden

Our first stop was the Walled Garden. This peaceful place contained a mixture of flower beds, ornamental shrubs, some fruit trees and bushes, vegetable plots and lawns with easy paths between them. There were a number of cosy corners to sit and enjoy the surroundings, and we enjoyed a flask of coffee in the glorious sunshine.

From one area of the garden there was a particularly fine view of the castle nestled on the hillside beyond the wall.

On the other side of the wall were some notable trees. Of particular interest was this young but already impressive giant redwood….

….and this enormous old monkey puzzle tree with a base that reminded us of an elephant’s foot.

The Orchard

After exploring the Walled Garden we visited the orchard, which consisted of a small collection of apple trees. Some of the tree varieties were labeled, but unfortunately not all, which was a little disappointing.

To us the most interesting thing in the orchard was the wonderful lichens growing on the fruit tree trunks and branches. Many were completely covered.

Alton Brae Trail

Leaving the orchard we decided to walk one of the two marked trails on the estate. We chose the 1.5 mile circular Alton Brae Trail which started and ended at the car park.

The trail set off gently through the estate, with many beautiful mature trees and cows grazing contentedly in the fields.

The trail soon began to drop down into a valley. As it wound its way through the trees, there were some fine views over the surrounding countryside to the Bennachie hills beyond.

On reaching the bottom, the trail led to a tranquil pond known as the Flight Pond. This pond is home to several species of damselflies and dragonflies, including the rare northern damselfly. We were not lucky enough to see one of those, but did see several dragonflies hunting above the pond.

A convenient bench was a good excuse to stop and have our packed lunch enjoying the view of the pond.

Leaving the pond the trail climbed gently back up through the woodland to reach some meadows. We were particularly impressed with the field of dandelion seed heads shown below.

Finally the trail passed through a gate to rejoin the woodland near the castle and car park. Here were more lovely mature trees with beautiful fresh spring foliage.

We thoroughly enjoyed our short trip to Castle Fraser, with the trail being the highlight of the day. I am sure we will visit again one day to explore the castle itself, see the Walled Garden in a different season and walk the other trail on the estate.

Read more about Castle Fraser at the National Trust for Scotland webpage here.

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It is hard to believe we have been here in Aberdeenshire for four months now - goodness, time flies! And still only one proper day out!

I would like to apologise to the readers who enjoyed reading my posts about nature reserve visits, public gardens and countryside walks. With so much land to explore and manage, and so many ongoing projects, we just haven’t had the time or the inclination to get out exploring our new area. We definitely will - soon!

A little background information for my new readers. Matt and I lived for over 30 years in a semi-detached house on a housing estate near York in England. Both now retired and with no ties (after both losing our respective elderly parents), we realized that we wanted a more peaceful way of life with solitude, space to grow our own food, and to be surrounded by nature rather than constant human noise.

We sold our house in Yorkshire and intended to buy a detached rural property with a larger garden and countryside views in southern Scotland. But then I spotted this wonderful property for sale in five acres of land with a huge pond in north east Aberdeenshire, incredibly within our budget, and so here we are. It is far more land than we ever imagined, and there are of course challenges as well as opportunities. I still get a shock when I open the curtains each morning and realise that we actually live here. We couldn’t be happier with the way things have turned out.

This is a brief review of wildlife observations so far, our progress on various garden projects and future plans.

Wildlife Observations

We moved into the property in January, when wildlife highlights were the constant flocks of pink-footed geese flying to and from the nearby Loch of Strathbeg nature reserve, and feeding in the adjacent fields. We had regular sightings of roe deer in the garden, evidence of badgers (lots of scrapes and snuffle holes), and resident herons, cormorant, mallards and moorhens on the pond. The back garden, however, seemed disappointingly quiet.

Now it is early summer, the deciduous trees around the perimeter of the property are in full leaf and blossom, and the garden is completely transformed. Some days are wet and (very) windy, but on calm sunny days the back garden is a real suntrap, and it is hard to believe we are in the north of Scotland.

We like to have breakfast and lunch in the conservatory, and the sound of the birdsong is just incredible. Chaffinches, willow warblers, chiffchaffs, robins, wrens, song thrushes, blackbirds, skylarks, great tits, coal tits, house sparrows, tree sparrows, goldfinches, swallows and pied wagtails are all constantly present.

Then there are a couple of male pheasants, a nest of noisy carrion crows, magpies, jackdaws, woodpigeons, oystercatchers, greylag geese, herring gulls and buzzards, all adding to the soundscape. The only human sounds are occasional tractors, helicopters presumably going out to offshore rigs and farmers tending livestock in neighbouring fields.

A very exciting spot one day was a pair of ospreys circling above our pond! I don’t think the pond contains fish large enough to interest ospreys (though we do sometimes see fish jumping for insects), and they soon flew off. But it was amazing to see them!

Another exciting observation was a pair of moorhen chicks on the pond. For a few days after we spotted them one of the parents was constantly collecting food, but this suddenly stopped and unfortunately we have seen no sign of the youngsters since. I suspect the herons could be to blame.

Other sightings include a little field vole who we regularly see scampering in the back garden, toads in the grass, tadpoles in the pond, a hare on the lawn and occasional glimpses of the sparrowhawk who visits regularly. And the garden is just teeming with bees, butterflies and other insects and spiders - but surprisingly no aphids or midges (yet!).

The Orchard

One of my first priorities after moving here was to create a small orchard. After much research we ordered and duly planted nine bare root fruit trees (3 apple, 2 pear, 2 cherry, 1 plum, 1 damson). More may be added in the future.

I am pleased to report that eight of the nine trees quickly developed leaves, and some have already had blossom. The ninth (the damson) does now have a few leaves appearing low down on the main trunk, so there is still hope for that one too.

I would not expect any fruit in the first year, but so far signs are good that the trees are healthy and coping with the windy location. Though worryingly I have recently noticed brown/black spots and curled leaves on several of the trees. I am no expert, and hope that it is not a serious problem.

You can read more about how we planted the orchard here:

The Raised Beds

I love growing edible plants, and want to be as self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables as possible. Along with the orchard, establishing some raised beds was another priority. After much thought we opted for these metal beds. They were very reasonably priced, easy to construct and should be long lasting.

They took a lot of filling! As well as a bulk delivery of vegetable top soil we used branches and twigs found around the garden, raked up leaves, vegetation skimmed from the surface of the pond, leaf litter and anything else we could find.

I started stocking the beds with some herb plants brought from our previous home, seedlings raised in the greenhouse and seed sown direct a couple of months ago. I am already regularly harvesting spinach, komatsuna (mustard spinach) and lettuce. Cabbages, garlic, dwarf peas, carrots, parsnips and potatoes are also growing well.

In addition to the raised beds, we are also using sheet mulching to create more beds for growing vegetables, particularly various types of beans, brassicas, courgettes and squashes.

I like to use natural materials available to us whenever possible. For these beds we used the cardboard from our removal boxes to suppress the grass and weeds. We are covering this with layers of grass cuttings (of which we have a lot), compost that we are already harvesting from our Hotbin composter, and, most helpfully, soil from molehills found around the grounds! New ones appear most days, and we scoop them up and spread the lovely fine soil on the new beds.

Of course it will take a while for these materials to properly break down and form really good soil for growing. I expect to get crops this year, but think the beds will become more productive in future years.

Elsewhere in the Garden

Having moved into the property in January when many plants were dormant or completely died back, we had no idea what plants were growing here. Spring has been an absolute joy, with new discoveries almost daily.

Bluebells are flourishing among the trees. Unfortunately they are the Spanish variety rather than English, but they are still gorgeous.

The trees that looked so dead and dormant when we moved in are now resplendent with fresh foliage and blossom. I haven’t got round to identifying and cataloging them all yet - another future project!

In the established flower beds in the back garden new plants keep appearing almost daily. Lupins, columbines, Welsh poppies, cranesbill geraniums, alliums, globe thistles, peonies and many different hostas are just a few of the plants here, and no doubt there are many more still to be found.

Future Projects

A major project that we are working on at the moment is the heating system. The property already had solar panels, which are working remarkably well despite being around 14 years old. The roof faces south, and summer days here are long. We are going to install battery storage for the panels and an air source heat pump to replace the current oil burning heating system.

We had a similar system in our previous home, and were delighted with it. After having a heat pump for several years burning oil seems like a major step backwards, and just feels wrong.

Another priority is to get a decent broadband connection. Luckily fibre to the property was installed soon after we arrived, and we just need to arrange a service. We don’t actually have a TV aerial and are relying on a mobile broadband hub at the moment, so being able to watch programs without being constantly interrupted by spinning wheels will be a real luxury. Not that we have time for much TV!

Other projects include installing more water butts (we have already installed three, but could do with more), automatic irrigation systems and hopefully some trail cameras. Of course as soon as one project is finished there will always be another one…..

If you have made it this far, thank you so much for reading, and do watch out for future updates. And of course follow us as we finally get round to exploring this (to us) little known area of Scotland!

Yesterday was a good day. The wind had dropped, the sun shone and the birds were singing. When I opened my curtains I saw my first chiffchaff of the year hopping around in a flowering red currant bush. I decided to make the most of the favorable conditions and spend the day pottering around in the garden.

An early stroll revealed that a previously dormant hedgerow had burst into blossom, and that it is blackthorn! How lovely. Because we moved into our new home in January, every day is like a voyage of discovery. New plants popping up, coming into leaf and bursting into flower. When we moved in we had no idea what grows here - it is exciting to see and identify new plants as they appear!

While I was admiring the blackthorn blossom I could here a skylark singing above a nearby field, and a familiar cry alerted me to a pair of buzzards circling overhead. Predictably a pair of crows building a nest among our Scots pines soon saw them off, accompanied by raucous cawing.

I turned and took in the view over our pond. After living my entire life in housing estates I still can’t quite believe that we now live here. It seems surreal. I take time to just breathe in the feeling of space and calmness.

I don’t feel a sense of ownership - more of responsibility. And opportunity. I can’t change the world or the awful things happening in it. I can’t take world leaders and bang their heads together and force them to care about things that matter. But I can do my very best to care for this little patch of the earth and the plants and animals that live here. I can use this space to be as self-sufficient as possible, while minimizing our impact and benefiting the nature around us.

Time to get down to some work. Most of our land is to the front of our bungalow, around the pond as seen in the photo above. Although beautiful, this land is not suitable for kitchen gardening. It is too exposed to the frequent strong winds and prone to flooding.

Although not obvious, our land is situated on a slope that goes from right to left in the above photo, with the pond in a bowl. After heavy rain, water flows down the slope and the pond fills and overflows. The water then continues to flow downhill to the left. Perhaps this explains why our land was so affordable - it is not particularly suitable for development or cultivation.

There is, however, a much smaller garden round the back that is sheltered by dense hedges and fences, and is an absolute sun trap. This area was mostly grass, with flower borders and shrubs along one side. We decided to convert this into our kitchen garden, and one of the first things we did after moving in was to install four raised beds.

These took a lot of filling. We used the turf removed when we planted the trees in our new orchard, fallen branches, leaves and pine needles from around the garden, vegetation skimmed from the surface of the pond, and many bags of homemade compost which we brought with us from our previous home. We also had a bulk delivery of vegetable top soil to finally get the raised beds full and ready for planting. Here are a couple of photos from February when we had just started filling the beds.

The paths between the beds are a work in progress. First we lay down a double layer of cardboard (from the boxes we used for moving). This is then watered well, and covered in wood chip we have prepared from branches and twigs found around the garden (the recent storms helped!) Eventually we want to extend the paths all around the beds, but it takes a lot of branches to make a decent amount of wood chip with our small and aging chipper, so this is a slow process.

Yesterday I planted out spinach, chard, dwarf pea and cabbage seedlings that I have grown from seed. I added some oregano, thyme and sage plants that we brought with us, and sowed lettuce, carrot, parsnip, parsley and coriander seeds.

It was a pleasant task, accompanied by the songs of the previously mentioned chiffchaff, wrens, chaffinches, robins, blackbirds and a very vocal song thrush.

When I looked up I saw a coal tit checking out one of several nest boxes around the property - I hope it meets with approval.

Various alliums have already been planted in the raised beds, and these should help to deter some insect pests. Later in the spring, after the last frost date, I will add flowers to attract pollinators and other beneficial insects. Alyssum, marigold, Calendula and poached-egg plant seedlings are growing in the house ready to be transplanted in due course.

After completing the day’s planting in the raised beds, I shift my attention to the first of our beds created using sheet mulching. Like the paths mentioned above this was created using layers of cardboard laid over the grass. The cardboard was watered thoroughly, and then covered with a mixture of top soil and compost.

In this new bed I cut holes through the cardboard layer, and planted sprouting broccoli and Brussel sprout seedlings through the holes. Stakes were added to support the plants when they grow. The bed was then covered with a vegetable cage we brought with us from our previous home. This was our first attempt at sheet mulching, and I am happy with the result.

After a break for lunch we headed down to the very front of the garden, where a large raised bed was already present when we moved in. On the way I spot a beautiful peacock butterfly fluttering by. And a little toad in the long grass, presumably heading to the pond. I hope the heron is looking the other way!

The raised bed at the front of the garden is too large to access without walking on it, so we created a path down the middle, again using cardboard and wood chip.

It is a bit of a trek down here, especially in wet and windy weather, so in future years I intend to use this bed for perennial plants that don’t need a lot of attention.

This year, though, I planted several varieties of potatoes and sowed some tough Swiss chard, beetroot and kale seeds, which will hopefully survive the exposed conditions. And my prized Babington leek bulbils which, when established, should provide food for many years to come.

In the photo below you can see Matt in the background hoeing an area where we are sowing native wildflower seeds. Hopefully these will provide food for all manner of creatures - and be beautiful, of course.

While I was working I heard a sound that got my heart racing. I looked up and, sure enough, there was a group of nine whooper swans flying past in a perfect ‘V’ formation. What a wonderful sight! It seems unfeasible that these large, hefty birds with their long necks can actually take off and fly, and yet they go all the way to Iceland and back each year.

But then the tiny chiffchaff that greeted me this morning may have migrated from North Africa, and even butterflies cross oceans. These feats are so precarious and fraught with danger that the least we can do is to ensure there is suitable habitat for these animals when they are in our part of the world. I believe that supporting conservation societies is one of the best ways of doing this. The reserves they create and manage are so vital for both migrant and resident species.

After all our exertions it was time to pack up for the day. Walking back to the house my back and hip ached alarmingly, and my bad knee kept threatening to give way with every jolt. But it was worth it. There is something so immensely satisfying about achieving tasks in the garden, and knowing you will reap the benefits later on.

And seeing the whooper swans was, as always, just so special.

It was indeed a good day.

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A few days ago it was Matt’s birthday, so we decided to have a trip out. Amazingly, apart from trips to supermarkets and garden centres, it was our first day out since moving to north east Scotland over two months ago! There has been so much to do in our new house and garden that we haven’t even considered going out until now.

The weather forecast was not good, with rain expected from late morning. After some consideration we decided to have a short trip to explore the grounds of one of the nearby National Trust for Scotland properties - Fyvie Castle.

A 45 minute drive through gentle countryside brought us to the castle estate. The castle looks amazing - all imposing towers and fairytale turrets and quirky stone features. Just as a Scottish castle should be.

As usual for us, though, it was the outdoor space we were interested in exploring. The threatened rain was holding off, and our first destination was the walled Fruit Garden.

Although quite small, this walled garden actually contains the largest collection of Scottish fruit varieties in the UK.

Having just planted our own small orchard and many soft fruit bushes, we were particularly interested in the various growing techniques on display here. Especially as many of the trees here are very young, like our own.

Shown below are hybrid berries trained on wire supports, an espalier trained apple tree, a fan trained pear tree, unusual criss-cross trained cordon apple trees, stepover apple trees and some unusual support structures.

It will be fascinating to visit again in summer when some of the trees and bushes are developing fruit, and also in future years to see how the young trees develop.

After spending time in the Fruit Garden, we made our way through the woods towards the lake. The abundant wild garlic was not quite flowering yet, but its presence was definitely discernible on the air.

The threatened rain still had not arrived, so we decided to follow the gentle path around the lake.

This provided pleasant views over the lake and woods, with several benches along the way. There was also a small bird hide, but this was not really needed because birds on the lake were easily visible from the path. We saw mallards, tufted ducks, greylag geese, coots, moorhens, mute swans and a heron.

A bench at the tip of the lake was a convenient spot for our packed lunch. We were closely watched by the two characters below, who were obviously hoping to share.

Appealing as these two were, we resisted the temptation to feed them. Bread is not good for ducks and other water birds. It has little or no nutritional value for them, but it makes them feel full so they don’t eat the food that they should be eating. Too much bread and they can become malnourished despite having clogged up digestive systems.

The return path offered views over the surrounding parkland, where we admired many ancient trees. Spring comes late this far north, and many trees still had a stark winter appearance, especially with the forecast rain clearly approaching.

The specimen below, which I believe is a beech, must have been particularly impressive before it was cut, presumably for safety reasons.

The expected rain arrived just as we got back to the car park - how lucky was that?

We very much enjoyed our short walk around the Fyvie Castle Estate, and will definitely visit again in different seasons. And with so many new places to explore, do watch out for future posts!

Read more about Fyvie Castle at the National Trust for Scotland website here.

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It was a cold and windy morning here today in Aberdeenshire - a perfect excuse for me to do what I like to call ‘planty stuff’ in the house and greenhouse.

I absolutely love this time of year, when many of my early seeds are germinating and shelves are filling up with all manner of seedlings. This year I will actually have space for them, with a larger greenhouse, new raised beds to fill, and a spacious garden.

One of my first tasks was to re-pot some dwarf tomato plants, which were already outgrowing their original small pots. These little tomato plants are great, because they are small enough to grow in the house on a window ledge (or under a grow light) at any time of year.

The variety here is ‘Raspberry Ruffles’, and I have also grown ‘Red Robin’ in the past with great success. When mature they produce lots of little cherry tomatoes that are perfect in salads or pasta dishes.

We have a spare bedroom in the house that I am using as a grow room. Here I have seeds sown in a heated propagator, as well as on various shelves and table tops under grow lights.

The first thing I do each morning is to check what has germinated. Even after many years of gardening I still get a thrill each time a new tiny seedling appears.

Shown below are some mixed sweet peppers, Nepeta (catnip) and Korean mint. Other seedlings currently developing in the grow room include chilli peppers, aubergines, more tomato varieties, lettuces, celery, hyssop, parsley, coriander, basil, marigolds, and various microgreens.

In the greenhouse lots of seedlings are beginning to appear. Peas, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, kale, mustard greens, chard, lettuces, spinach, onions and many herbs and flowers.

Below are some eager-looking cabbage seedlings that have now been transplanted into one of my new raised beds. The variety is ‘Greyhound’ - which I am hoping implies they grow quickly. After two house moves within the space of a year I am very keen to start harvesting homegrown produce again!

The Swiss chard seeds have taken a long time to germinate this year, and I was beginning to worry they were not viable. But then a few days ago the first ones pushed through the surface and into the light.

I love Swiss chard. You get two vegetables in one, with the crunchy colourful stems chopped and cooked a little longer than the large green leaves. They keep producing for months, even over winter. And they are less pest-prone than Brassicas (except for leaf miners which can be a nuisance, and tend to be a worse problem in spring than autumn).

The seedlings below are a mixture of varieties ‘Bright Lights’ and ‘White Silver’.

Usually this time of year for me is all about starting annual vegetable plants, together with companion flowers like marigolds and cosmos.

This year, however, I am very keen to establish more companion flowers that are either perennial or readily self seed. Hence the catnip, hyssop and Korean mint mentioned above. Others I am growing from seed include Calendula, Alyssum, Limnanthes (poached egg plant), clover, chives, dill, borage and several other herbs.

I have also bought plug plants of lavender, scabious and lupins. I intend to use these flowering plants around the edges of my vegetable beds, and among the new trees in the orchard. They should attract lots of pollinators and beneficial insects like ladybirds, hoverflies and parasitic wasps to help control pests. And of course they will be beautiful!

For me the biggest wrench when we left our Yorkshire home was leaving all the vegetable plants that were still cropping. And our few months in temporary accommodation was the first time in years when I didn’t have edible plants to attend to.

It is good to be growing again!

Yesterday was an exciting day for us because the first of our bare root fruit trees arrived!

Having an orchard has long been a dream of mine. When we moved to Aberdeenshire early this year, getting to work on creating the orchard was my No. 1 priority. I wanted to get the trees ordered and planted during this year’s bare root season, which ends around late March.

Buying bare root trees in winter, as opposed to potted trees in summer, is much cheaper. Planting is easier, and the trees establish faster. I didn’t want to miss the season and have to wait an extra year for the trees to begin producing fruit.

I have spent many hours pondering over which varieties of trees to select, bearing in mind our northerly location and the rather exposed and windy site. And trying to decide on the best rootstock. For any particular variety of fruit tree the rootstock determines vigour and the final size that the tree will attain. Dwarfing rootstocks produce small trees which are easy to prune and harvest. But often trees on dwarf rootstock struggle in cold and windy sites, and are not ideal for the north of Scotland.

When I finally came to order the trees I had to make a few last-minute changes because some of the varieties I had chosen were sold out, but the final selection was:

Apples (rootstock M26)

• Red Falstaff - a very prolific variety producing heavy crops of beautiful red apples that are crisp, sweet and juicy and store well

• Greensleeves - an attractive variety with lovely blossom producing green apples that ripen to a golden colour, with a nice balance of sweetness and acidity. Known for starting to produce fruit at a very young age.

• Discovery - an early season variety known for being very successful in the north.

Pears (rootstock Quince A)

• Beth - a compact tree producing small but beautifully sweet pears with a melting texture

• Concorde - a variety producing Conference-like pears, but with better flavour and improved disease resistance.

Cherries (rootstock Colt)

• Morello - a variety known for doing well in less than ideal conditions. Produces acidic cherries that are great for baking and preserving.

• Stella - produces heavy crops of sweet cherries ideal for eating fresh, known for doing well in the north.

Plums and Damsons (rootstock St Julien A)

• Opal Plum - a variety with excellent flavour, suitable for eating fresh or cooking. Known for being successful in the north.

• Merryweather Damson - a very hardy variety, producing fairly large damsons predominantly for cooking and preserving, but also suitable for eating fresh when fully ripe.

There are actually a couple of apple trees and at least one pear tree already present in a different area of the garden, but I have no idea what variety they are. They will hopefully provide us with some fruit while we wait for ours to reach fruit bearing age.

I have also ordered many soft fruit bushes, including blueberries, honeyberries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries and currants. And lots of strawberry plants which I will grow in containers in the greenhouse to protect them from badgers.

This sounds like a lot of fruit for two people! But much of the fruit will be frozen or used to make preserves with an aim to keep us supplied throughout the year. Any excess can be given to neighbours or perhaps donated to local foodbanks or animal sanctuaries - something to look into in the future.

For our first few weeks here the weather was simply not suitable for preparing the ground for planting trees. But eventually we got some dry days and wasted no time in getting down to the task.

For each planned tree we first dug a 1m square hole in the grass. This was harder work than I expected, and I have to admit Matt did most of the digging! The turf we removed came in very handy for putting upside-down in our new raised beds, thus reducing the amount of topsoil that will be required.

We dug over the soil in each of the planting holes, removing any large stones, and added a little home-made compost (brought from our previous home in Yorkshire) and a small amount of blood, fish and bone to provide slow-release nutrients.

Then, yesterday, in glorious sunshine, it was finally time to plant the first six trees (with the remaining three coming next week).

The actual planting was easy in the pre-prepared holes. We made sure the graft-union between the rootstock and the main tree was above soil level, sprinkled ‘Rootgrow’ micorrhizal fungi on the roots to encourage strong root development, then gently heeled the trees in and gave each one a sturdy stake. We watered them well, and used woodchip that we have prepared ourselves (from fallen twigs and branches around the garden) as a mulch to help keep the moisture in.

The final task was to make a sturdy cage around each tree using wire netting to protect them from grazing deer and rabbits.

In time I will extend the grass-free zone around each tree using sheet mulching, and plant some companion plants like chives to repel pests and attract pollinators and clover to fix nitrogen.

It is the first time we have planted any trees, and I am really pleased with the result. Of course, time will tell how well they stand up to the wind and the foraging deer. I hope they fare well, and can’t wait for them to produce their first spring blossom - hopefully buzzing with bees. And of course the first fruit - though I think this will be a couple of years or so. Watch out for future updates!

The main reason we decided to buy this property, which was well outside our preferred area of Scotland, was its huge garden. I have long dreamed of having a garden with enough space to create a productive kitchen garden and orchard, so we can be more or less self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables, as well as having plenty of space for wildlife.

When our offer on the house was accepted back in October, the first thing I did was to start planning the garden. Where I would put raised beds. Where I would plant fruit trees and bushes. Where I would plant herbs and flowers to attract beneficial insects. What I would leave wild for nature.

I studied the orientation of the grounds, and where sun and shadows would fall throughout the day. I learned that the climate here in the north east of Scotland is usually much dryer than the west with more sunshine hours, less snow in winter, but often exposed to strong winds.

I spent many, many hours researching fruit tree varieties and rootstocks suitable for our northerly location. And even more hours browsing through seed catalogues, selecting and ordering hardy varieties fit for our somewhat harsh environment.

By the time we actually moved in, I had the whole garden planned in some considerable detail. I could picture in my mind exactly how it would look and how productive it would be.

It only took a few days after we moved in before I realized my plans were completely useless.

First there were the deer. When I looked out of my window on our first morning, I saw several roe deer looking very much at home nibbling on some as yet unidentified shrubs in the garden. How lovely! I definitely want to have deer visiting the garden. But of course those deer will also love to browse the fresh new leaves of my planned fruit trees and bushes, and probably anything growing in vegetable beds. First plan change - tree guards or suitable fencing/netting will be required - more work and more expense.

Later that day while walking around the part of the garden I had planned for vegetable beds, I noticed a large area that was very squelchy. A bit of research revealed that this was near the soakaway of the rather old septic tank, which is not sited quite where I thought it was. There are no apparent problems at the moment, but it is possible the whole system will need to be replaced at some point - thus definitely not the area to build a kitchen garden!

The next day we started noticing lots of scrapes and holes in the grass. The more we looked, the more we found, and new ones have been appearing every night since we arrived. Quick research revealed that these are snuffle holes made by foraging badgers looking for worms and grubs. Fantastic - badgers in the garden!

But like the deer they can cause big problems for kitchen gardeners. Apparently they absolutely love strawberries and other fruit, sweetcorn, and to dig up carrots, potatoes and other root vegetables. They are strong animals with formidable claws, so can easily tear through netting and even fences.

Hence more plan changes. Like the deer, the last thing I want to do is keep badgers out of the garden. In fact I am so looking forward to getting trail cameras installed so we can get footage of them! It is a very big garden, so there is plenty of space for wildlife. I just don’t want them to destroy all the plants that are going to provide us with food - especially when those plants will cost a lot of money, time and effort to establish.

I have been researching ways of gardening to minimize badger damage. Ideas that I like include:

• Growing foods that badgers dislike the smell of among vulnerable crops. Onions, garlic, aromatic herbs like rosemary, oregano, thyme, mint and lavender are often suggested - and I want to grow all these anyway.

• Motion activated lights or sprinklers.

• Solar ‘Predator Eyes’, which are pairs of red lights that come on at night and, when strategically placed, make the badgers think they are being watched. They can be regularly moved to different locations so the badgers don’t just get used to them. I have already purchased a couple of these, and will be interested to see how they perform.

• Citronella spray around the growing area (badgers hate the smell).

• Putting out food in the areas I would prefer the badgers to visit (like near the trail camera!)

Other suggestions include human male urine (haven’t mentioned this one to Matt yet - not sure I like the idea, lol) and electric fences around the growing area. The latter is probably the most effective method. Badgers have very sensitive noses, and after experiencing an electric fence once they are unlikely to return to the same area. But it seems a bit extreme to me (I would feel cruel), as well as expensive, and I will keep that as a very last resort. For the moment I will grow strawberries in containers in the secure greenhouse instead of in the planned beds, and try a combination of the methods above. If anyone has any other ideas I would love to hear them!

And then it started to rain - and didn’t stop for over three weeks. Our large pond broke its banks, and expanded alarmingly until it covered almost the entire garden, including areas where I had intended to plant fruit trees and vegetable beds. This was, apparently, a rare event. But as we all know the climate is changing rapidly, and it may be less rare in the future.

So, despite having several acres of land, there is nowhere that is ideal for growing fruit trees. Fruit trees don’t like to be waterlogged, and they like shelter from wind and plenty of sun. The land that is on higher ground, and thus unlikely to flood, is either predominantly in shade or exposed to the full force of the frequently strong wind. Shucks!

But I am not one to be put off easily. Where there are problems, there are usually solutions. And opportunities. I will have to settle for a much more modest kitchen garden than originally hoped for in the small enclosed rear garden, which is hopefully deer-proof. It does have several fresh snuffle holes, but it should be easier to control badgers in this enclosed space. It is also unfortunately surrounded by trees and largely in shade.

But chard, kale, lettuces, spinach, beans, peas, carrots, onions, etc. will all grow in partial shade - just not as quickly or productively as in sun. Tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and chillies will have to be limited to what I can fit in the greenhouse (which of course is now almost stuffed with strawberry plants!). Perhaps another year we will think about a second greenhouse, or even a polytunnel, if funds permit.

As for my dreams of an orchard, I will plant some hardy varieties of fruit trees on higher land which should be safe from flooding, and hope they will survive the sometimes brutal winds. Disappointing, but still a massive improvement on what I had before.

The rain did finally stop about a week ago, and we have even had a little sunshine. When the sun does come out it is really lovely here - far-reaching views, birds singing, moorhens on the lawn, and hardly another house in sight.

The flood water disappeared remarkable quickly, like it was never there. At least it was clean water and didn’t leave a muddy mess. So after a slow start I am now frantically sowing seeds, planting fruit bushes and digging turf to prepare for the fruit trees which have been ordered and are heading this way.

One thing this did make me realize is how impossible it is to plan a garden unless you know how its ecology changes through the seasons. One short viewing (in the midst of Storm Amy) and hours spent poring over photos taken in late summer did not prepare me for the reality.

It also made me wonder how many important land planning decisions are made by people who do not really know what they are dealing with. I suspect there are a lot!

Because of the adverse weather, and the time and effort needed to get the garden established, we haven’t been out exploring yet. Hopefully this will change before too long, and I will be able to get out with the camera. Look out for future posts, and also for observations and updates from the garden - I am really excited to see what as yet unknown plants emerge here as spring progresses. And of course watching the wildlife that visits will be such a joy!

Until next time, take care everyone, and enjoy the early signs of spring!

Our first two weeks living here in Aberdeenshire have not gone according to plan.

When we were trying to decide whether we should take the plunge and purchase our new home in north east Scotland (an area we were totally unfamiliar with), one of the factors we took into consideration was that the east coast of Scotland tends to have a better climate than the more scenic west.

On average the east coast has significantly less rainfall and more sunshine hours. We thought this would be better for gardening. And with climate change and rising sea levels, we thought there would be less chance of extreme weather events and, in particular, flooding.

But of course, this is based on average figures, and averages don’t always apply. Just before we moved in there was heavy snowfall in the area. And since we took possession, just over two weeks ago, it has rained heavily every single day. The forecast is for rain or sleet to continue every day for at least the next two weeks.

The photos above and below show the small river next to our land. When we viewed the property in early October, this was just a trickle - hardly sufficient to be called a stream. Certainly nothing to be concerned about.

In the photo above, the trees on the left are at the edge of our property, and our bungalow is just behind them (thankfully at a higher level).

In the photo below, you can see the river beginning to flow over its banks into the field adjacent to our land.

Before we put in our offer, we checked the flood risk on the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) website. The result showed no significant risk, except for a small area close to the bottom of our large pond (which was classed as low risk - i.e. a 0.1% risk of flooding in any particular year).

Our ‘pond’ is now more like a lake, spreading in all directions and getting closer to the house every day. The photo below was taken yesterday, and it has expanded significantly overnight.

The two photos below show a culvert which takes rainwater from the property to the pond. The first shows Matt on the frosty morning we took possession, and the second shows the culvert this morning. What a difference two weeks can make!

The grass areas on either side of the culvert are where I was planning on creating my kitchen garden - clearly not a good idea!

We are seriously beginning to wonder whether we should have a bag packed just in case we have to leave!

But Matt got chatting to a neighbour this morning who told him that she has seen it worse, and that it is nothing to worry about. She thinks the river has now peaked, and that when it goes down it will be like someone pulled out a plug, and our pond will drain. I hope she is right. But with weather patterns changing I still feel more than a little concerned that events like this will get more regular, and more extreme, in the future.

It is ironic that we lived for many years just outside York - a city known for its regular floods. And for the last 6 months we lived close to the wettest place in England. But this is the first time we have been seriously worried about flooding affecting our property.

Watching the water slowly rising, I am beginning to realize just how frightening it must be for all the thousands of people who have been affected by floods.

And meanwhile it has just started raining again….

At least our resident cormorant seems to be happy!

A warm (or should I say wet and windy) welcome from Aberdeenshire! This is just a quick post to let everyone know that our move has gone well, and we are slowly settling in to our new home.

We originally drove up here a couple of weeks ago just to collect the keys and take possession. Our first chance to really look around on our own was on a gorgeous crisp, frosty morning, and it was hard to believe that this beautiful property and enormous garden was really ours - it felt like a dream.

A week later, when we actually moved in, was entirely different. Driving rain and 40+ mph winds. We were worried how the removal lorry would cope with the strong gusty winds and the rough single-track road to our property, which is difficult to find at the best of times. But of course the team had dealt with far worse, and all went well apart from a few broken tree branches from the lorry reversing up our drive.

Unfortunately the weather has got worse since we arrived, and the forecasts imply that the next two weeks will be just as bad. I am writing this listening to 50+ mph winds tearing around the property, and worrying about the ancient Scots pines and many other as yet unidentified trees around the perimeter.

Because of the weather we haven’t spent much time exploring the grounds yet. And all the gardening that I was planning from Day 1 has had to be put on hold. Just as well, really. Moving is hard work and we are still busy unpacking boxes, deciding where to put things and learning how everything works.

I did manage to take part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, though numbers were low due to the weather. The results were, not surprisingly, very different from those gathered last year in our previous home near York.

As you can see from the photo below, the garden includes a rather substantial pond! (The photo was taken on our initial trip when the weather was frosty and bright and the pond was frozen over.) Last year’s Garden Birdwatch consisted of typical garden birds, whereas this year’s count included 4 moorhens, 3 mallards, a grey heron and a cormorant diving in the pond!

The latter two probably explain why we haven’t seen any of the fish we believed were present!

We have what seems to be a resident male pheasant, and when I opened the curtains this morning three roe deer were grazing just outside my window. We are also very close to the RSPB’s Loch of Strathbeg reserve, so large flocks of geese regularly fly over, which makes me feel right at home.

I can’t wait for the weather to improve so we can get started on transforming some of the grass into a productive kitchen garden and orchard. Though obviously we will have to think about netting to protect our plants from the deer!

And of course I can’t wait to get out with my camera - watch this space!

After seeing all the pictures on the news about the chaos and damage caused by Storm Chandra around the country, I realise that we have got off lightly (for now at least). I hope everyone is OK and not affected by the floods and gales. Do take care and stay safe everyone 💚

It is hard to believe that it is almost 6 months since we took possession of our rental property here on the Solway Coast of Cumbria, England. Or that our short time here is coming to an end.

But our house purchase in Scotland has gone remarkably smoothly, and last week we drove up to Aberdeenshire to collect the keys and take possession of our new home (more posts to follow). We are now back in Cumbria for a final few days, with removals booked for tomorrow.

We have really enjoyed our short stay here on the Solway Coast. It is an area we knew little about, but we loved being so close to the tidal estuary. The open views and presence of so many wildfowl and wading birds literally outside our window was such a revelation after living on a housing estate for so long.

A real highlight was the arrival of thousands of barnacle geese in the autumn. I had not seen this species in the wild before, and the knowledge that they had flown all the way from Svalbard to spend the winter right here on the Solway was very special.

Another highlight was watching the peaceful sunsets, often accompanied by the sounds of geese flying overhead and curlews on the mudflats.

On some evenings colourful skies were reflected in the water of the estuary, creating beautiful vistas.

We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the local nature reserves, particularly the string of lowland raised bogs which together form the South Solway Mosses. These habitats are now very scarce and precious, and it was fascinating reading about the work that is being done to protect and restore them.

We had no idea these bogs existed here, and have spent some memorable mornings exploring the boardwalks through these unique and fascinating sites.

We also enjoyed discovering the coastal settlements of Silloth, Allonby and Maryport.

With excellent coastal paths, extensive sand dunes, abundant wildlife and magnificent views over the Solway to Dumfries and Galloway, this stretch of coast is so much more attractive and interesting than we imagined it would be.

But this brief interlude is about to end. Our removal team will be here early tomorrow, and the next day we will leave Cumbria, and indeed England, for what may be the last time.

We are very much looking forward to our new life in Aberdeenshire, but will always remember fondly this quietly charming and overlooked corner of Cumbria.

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I am writing this as I watch the red sky of a beautiful sunset over the Wampool Estuary in Cumbria, England.

As the last day of 2025 arrives, it is hard to believe that when this year began my partner Matt and I had no idea we would be leaving our Yorkshire home of over 30 years.

Of course we had occasionally mulled over the possibility of moving, usually after returning from a particularly enjoyable walking holiday or bird watching trip somewhere. But moving was just a vague concept of something that we might want to do one day - in the distant future.

We thought we were happy where we were. And indeed in many respects we were happy. Yorkshire has some very beautiful countryside. The limestone scenery of the Dales. The heather-clad beauty of the Moors. The hidden valleys of the Wolds. The varied coastline. The characterful market towns and historic cities.

It also has fantastic gardens to visit and so many wonderful nature reserves, many of which I have written about here (and some I may yet get round to covering).

But we lived in a housing estate (admittedly in a pleasant village), and craved a life in the countryside surrounded by nature. I wanted more space for gardening where we could be as eco-friendly and self-sufficient as possible. And I was tired of having to wait until all the local kids had gone to school before I could go out and enjoy peace and quiet in my garden!

It was during a short holiday in Wales that we suddenly decided we should move. We saw so many lovely country cottages with wonderful views over the surrounding countryside, and commented how nice it would be to live in such a place.

And we also thought about how quickly time passes. If we kept putting off moving until some unknown date in the distant future, we might suddenly find that we had left it too late. And we could end up stuck in a place where we no longer felt that we belonged.

When the decision was definitively made we actually sold our house really quickly, and moved to the rented house in Cumbria where we are currently living. And we haven’t regretted it for a second.

We are in a very quiet and friendly village, surrounded by fields and a tidal estuary that drains into the Solway Firth. Nature is abundant, with masses of wetland and garden birds. We have enjoyed exploring the coastline in this lesser known area, and the many raised bogs that we didn’t know existed here.

But of course this was only ever meant to be a temporary home, and it didn’t take us long to find a house that was just too good an opportunity to miss. The surprise was that it was further north than we had intended to go. A lot further. Further north than Aberdeen and Inverness! And it has more land than we ever dreamed of.

Amazingly it is less than a month until we are due to move again. Time will tell if we have made the right decision, or whether we have been too ambitious. When we first went to the estate agent about selling our Yorkshire house his first assumption was that we would be downsizing!

Maybe we have been foolish taking on such a large garden at our age, and we will struggle to manage it. But we both feel that we want to try. While we still can. It is so easy to play it safe and get stuck in a rut, and then grow old regretting the things you wish you had done. We are taking a chance, and look forward to seeing what the future holds.

Because of the move the focus of my Substack will change a little. I will still write about the places we visit and discover around our new home. But, especially for the first few months, we will be spending much of our time working on the garden.

I want to identify and document as many of the plants growing there as possible, and the wildlife that visits. Hopefully we will soon get some cameras installed and I will be able to post footage as well as photos.

I also want to write about the process of transforming a large area of grass lawn into a productive orchard and kitchen garden. I want to do this following no-dig and permaculture principles, always with nature in mind. I am more than happy to share produce with the local wildlife!

I expect posts will include nature spots, gardening techniques, progress reports, successes and failures, and all manner of general observations. I do hope you will follow along on this exciting, and more than a little daunting, project.

Finally I would like to wish all my readers a very happy and successful 2026, and thank you all for your continued support, which as always is so very much appreciated.

I do hope all my readers and subscribers are having a lovely holiday season!

The weather here in Cumbria, England, couldn’t be better - cold and crisp but with lovely blue skies and sunshine. We spent our Christmas day walking along the coastal path from Silloth to Grune Point, which was lovely. And today (Boxing Day) we visited RSPB Campfield Marsh and had a walk along the boardwalk through the bog habitat, which is always a pleasure.

But we almost had to cancel our planned outings. When we walked out of the house on the morning of Christmas Eve, we immediately realised that something was different about the car - it just looked ‘wrong’.

After a moment’s thought we realised the front registration plate was missing. A quick check round the back revealed that the rear one was also missing. And the little plastic caps that cover the screws were all laid on the ground. The plates had clearly been stolen!

A quick bit of research on the Internet told us the steps we needed to take, including informing the local police (who were very helpful and gave us a crime report number), the DVLA (who were already closed for the Christmas period so we can’t inform them until tomorrow), our insurance company, and not driving the car unless it was to have new plates fitted.

We thought there would be no hope of getting new plates fitted on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and that our planned trips would have to be cancelled. But Halfords in Carlisle saved the day, and we are very grateful to them.

But there are still worries.

Why did they pick our car? There were several other cars parked nearby in the street, whereas ours was on our drive very close to our house. Did they particularly want the plates for a black VW Golf like ours? Was our car specifically targeted?

And, more seriously, what problems is this going to cause down the line? Will we get bombarded with parking tickets and speeding fines? What if the plates are used on a vehicle involved in an accident or, heaven forbid, a hit-and-run? Or on a car being used as a getaway vehicle in a robbery?

Online searches reveal that there are a huge number of plates stolen each year, and that the number is increasing. I would be very interested to hear if any readers have had a similar experience, and if it did cause any problems after the event.

And just a reminder to be vigilant. When we move to our new home we will be having security cameras fitted and will keep the car in the garage!

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Apart from this unfortunate incident our stay here in Cumbria has been so enjoyable and everyone we have met has been so friendly. We will still remember our one Christmas here very fondly indeed.

Enjoy the rest of the festive season, everyone!

For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed visiting bird hides.

When I was a small child my Dad often used to take me to a local nature reserve. I remember him getting me up, probably protesting loudly, at some ridiculously early hour on freezing cold winter mornings (unlike my Dad, I never was a morning person!) He would bundle me into his rickety old car, which I remember skidding alarmingly on icy mornings, and off we would go to the reserve.

There we would head straight for one of the hides, which was nearly always empty at that unearthly hour. He would get out a hot flask of coffee and a slice of cake, and a big cushion he used to bring in his rucksack so that I could see out of the hide window. Then we would sit in companionable silence, watching the sun rise over the water and listening to the sounds of nature.

The wind rustling in the reeds. Mallards quacking. Flocks of honking geese heading off to their feeding grounds. The long whinnying trill of little grebes. The sudden clucking of moorhens. The sharp ‘peeps’ of oystercatchers. And, always my favourite, the hauntingly beautiful call of curlews. I found these sounds so soothing and somehow familiar (and still do today).

Inevitably my Dad would be forgiven for dragging me from a warm bed and out into the cold.

When I got older my Dad moved away (I was actually brought up by my Grandparents). Life events happened, some of which I still find difficult to think about, and visits to nature reserves became rare.

But throughout life, in times of turmoil there was nothing I would find more soothing than sitting in a bird hide with a hot coffee on a cold morning and listening to the sounds of nature. And whenever and wherever I travel, I always research local nature reserves to visit before I go.

I suppose because I have always visited bird hides, I assumed they were available everywhere. I was somewhat surprised when a keen nature watcher once commented on one of my posts that he had never been in a bird hide, because they didn’t have any in his part of the world.

It made me realise how lucky I was to have lived conveniently close to nature reserves with hides. The structures vary from very basic shelters to elaborate multi-floor structures with luxurious seating, but all offer shelter from the weather and the opportunity to get close to wildlife without causing disturbance.

One of (many) favourites was the magnificent structure below at Alkborough Flats in Lincolnshire, which looks out over a massive reedbed to the confluence of the River Trent and the River Ouse. Matt and I once spent the morning of Christmas Day here after wading through flood water that threatened to come over the tops of our wellies. (Sad, I know, but we loved it.)

After spending the morning in the hide above we moved on to nearby Far Ings. Here we had the hide below to ourselves (perhaps not surprisingly), and ate our sandwiches for Christmas lunch watching an otter frolicking in the pond right in front of us. Marvellous!

Despite spending so much time visiting nature reserves, I am by no means an expert when it comes to nature watching. And I am definitely not, and never will be, a twitcher. I have never seen the point in traveling across the country because a rare bird has turned up, when there are interesting birds to watch in my own garden and local nature reserves.

Of course it is always a thrill to see a bird you haven’t seen before. I still remember the excitement of seeing my first bittern (at Leighton Moss, Lancashire), my first avocet (at Titchwell, Norfolk), my first cattle egret (at Fairburn Ings, West Yorkshire), my first Spoonbill (also at Fairburn Ings), my first glossy ibis (at St. Aidan’s Nature Park, West Yorkshire), and a rare white-tailed lapwing (at Blacktoft Sands, East Yorkshire).

But I am just as happy watching the antics of the mallards, moorhens, black-headed gulls and oystercatchers close to my home. I find the behaviour of all birds interesting, especially the interactions between them as they go about their everyday lives.

Like watching coots fight over territory, or the sudden panic as a marsh harrier flies overhead, or the struggles of a cormorant trying to swallow a fish that is just too big (poor fish). And of course, even on a seemingly quiet day sitting in a hide, you just never what might appear…..

Another thing I love about bird hides is how easy it is to chat to people. Which is something that is not usually easy for me, as I have always been socially awkward. I find face-to-face conversations difficult and often end up getting flustered and babbling and being misinterpreted. Communication online is so much easier because I have time to think about how to word things and review each sentence.

But in bird hides I find it easy to join in conversations. The very fact that people are there means we have shared interests, and most likely similar values. When other people are present it is always interesting to hear what they have spotted and where, and to learn about other local sites to visit.

Often someone will point out something we hadn’t noticed, drawing our attention to a bird we might otherwise have missed. And there is a special sense of pride if it is Matt or I that spots an interesting species, and alerts other people to its presence.

I have read that some people are put off visiting nature reserves because they are embarrassed by their lack of knowledge, and fear what might be called ‘bird snobbery’. I have to say that I have never experienced this.

Even with my chronic lack of self-confidence I have never been made to feel embarrassed because I have had to ask what a bird is, or made a wrong identification. I have always found people to be kind and eager to help and share their knowledge (and often their spotting scopes).

But still the best visits are the ones when we have a hide to ourselves. Sitting in comfortable silence, sipping our coffee, and just enjoying the solitude. Wondering what caused a reed to quiver (could it be a bittern?), or lapwings to suddenly take to the air (a marsh harrier?), or catching a streak of blue as a kingfisher flies past.

When I move to Aberdeenshire early next year one of the things I will miss most is having easy access to so many wonderful bird hides (though I am sure I will find a few to visit). These unassuming little structures have so often provided shelter and a safe calm place when I have needed to escape the pressures of stressful modern day life.

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It has been a bit of a chaotic week for us here in Cumbria. We have been arranging removals, sorting paperwork and doing some preliminary packing in preparation for our upcoming move early next year.

Then my computer died suddenly for no apparent reason, and needs to be returned to the manufacturer for investigation, which could take weeks. We have now bought a laptop as a temporary replacement, so at least I can write again, but we could definitely have done without the hassle and expense!

With so much going on, and the less than favourable weather, we haven’t been out much this week. So I thought I would share a few photos from a nature reserve we regularly used to visit when we lived in Yorkshire, but for some reason I never got round to writing about: Staveley.

Staveley is a wonderful wetland nature reserve managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. It is located close to Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire on the site of some former quarries. The reserve consists of several large lakes formed by the former quarrying activity with areas of woodland, farmland and a great network of paths to explore.

The level paths make for easy walking around the reserve, though some can get pretty wet and muddy in winter. There is always something interesting to see.

Otters have been regularly recorded on the reserve, though we were never lucky enough to see one. We did see barn owls, marsh harriers and water rails regularly, as well as all manner of wildfowl, woodland birds, frogs, insects and wildflowers.

There are several good bird hides in the reserve where you can get excellent views of the wildlife and shelter from adverse weather. There are also screens and benches to enjoy the views of the surrounding countryside.

Staveley is lovely to visit in any season, but I particularly enjoyed visiting in winter when the reeds were golden and the trees stark.

In autumn and winter impressive numbers of geese and other wildfowl can be present, and it is easier to see small birds in the bare trees.

Staveley is definitely one of the reserves that we will miss visiting now we have moved away from Yorkshire, but we are so grateful for all the happy hours we spent there. If you are in North Yorkshire and love being surrounded by nature it is definitely worth a visit.

You can read more about Staveley at the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust site here.

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On a glorious crisp and sunny winter morning, Matt and I went for a stroll in Finglandrigg Wood.

Located on the road between Carlisle and Kirkbride, Finglandrigg Wood is one of only a few areas of woodland along the Cumbrian Solway Coast. A convenient lay-by provides parking and an information board.

A gentle path sets off through mixed woodland, with low winter sunlight filtering through the remaining leaves.

A population of red squirrels apparently lives in these woods, but we are not lucky enough to see one. We do see lots of small birds flitting among the branches: robins, chaffinches, great tits, coal tits and blackbirds. A jay screeches in a nearby tree, and a buzzard cries overhead.

As we walk through the woods we see many old rotting tree stumps and cut sections of tree trunks on the ground. These moss-covered chunks of wood provide food and shelter for all manner of creatures as they slowly decay. They are an important feature in the overall life of the wood.

The path passes a field with clumps of common rush lit up by the low sunlight. Here traces of the first frost of the year can still be seen, and a few sheep graze peacefully in the background.

Many of the deciduous leaves have fallen from the trees in the recent strong winds. But some still cling on, glowing brightly in the low sunlight like these beech leaves.

More colour is provided by the glossy green leaves and bright red berries on a holly bush.

Soon we pass a memorial stone dedicated to the conservationist Derek Ratcliffe, who loved these woods.

Anyone who loves seeing birds of prey soaring in the skies above owes a huge debt of gratitude to Derek Ratcliffe. One of his many achievements was highlighting the link between pesticides and eggshell thickness in birds of prey, particularly peregrine falcons.

Ratcliffe noted in the late 1950s that most peregrine nests contained a high proportion of broken eggs, and that the population was plummeting. Extensive research led to the realization that eggshells were becoming thinner due to the presence of high levels of pesticides concentrated in the foodchain - research which ultimately led to the banning of DDT and dieldrin.

The nature of the woods soon changes. Grassland is replaced by heath, and the deciduous woodland is replaced by Scots pines. The ground becomes boggy, but sections of boardwalk make for easy walking.

We reach a more open area - Little Bampton Common. A convenient bench provides a perfect spot for a flask of coffee and a home baked banana and chia seed muffin.

We watch a male pheasant strutting through the heather, and a distant roe deer moving cautiously through the pine trees. Such a perfect day to be outside in this lovely place.

All is peaceful and calm - until a flock of greylag geese flies noisily overhead. I think how strange it is that I find the sounds of traffic and crowds and general human activity so jarring and stressful, and yet the sound of these noisy geese doesn’t bother me at all.

Like the calls of curlews, lapwings and oystercatchers, it is a sound I have been familiar with all my life. A sound that reassures me that I am in a good place - a place where I can relax and feel I belong.

All too soon our trail leads us back to our outward path. The route around Finglandrigg Wood may only be about 3 km but it passes through diverse landscapes, and it is worth spending time noticing the abundant nature that exists here. It is an ideal place to slow down for an hour or so, and just enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

You can read more about Finglandrigg Wood here.

This post is free for everyone to read. If you enjoy my posts and would like to support my writing please consider a free or paid subscription.

If you don’t want to commit to a paid subscription but would still like to support my writing and photography you could always Buy Me A Coffee. Your support is so very much appreciated and makes the effort of writing and editing the photos worthwhile!

Buy Me A Coffee

You can see more of my photographs at Photo4Me, where you can also buy prints in various formats.

Paid subscribers can access a growing collection of photos that can be downloaded free.