Stonehaven to the Highlands on foot.
This is night No 49/2018 staying in my caravan. It's my second night at Queen Elizabeth Park C&MC Site in Stonehaven.
When I took the dogs for a bedtime 'empty' last night, spotted a motorhome with a nice classic Yamaha bike.
Got up around 0600 and took the dogs along the completely empty beach. It was a bit grey, but dry with no wind.
Got a picture through the gate of the open air pool. An alarm was going off, and it was still going off when I passed later in the day. Must have cheesed of the nearby caravans.
It's a good tidy site. The toilet block is a very clean modern affair.
I've read about the Highland Boundary Fault which runs north of Stonehaven, and following a teachers guide online, I wanted a closer look.
This fault line is the geological and physical land boundary between the craggy, mountainous highlands, and the gentler rolling south of Scotland. It runs from here, down through Loch Lomond and out to Bute (?). I read it's still being debated and understood, but it's believed to be one tectonic plate forced over another. Prime earthquake stuff.
Incredibly, at this spot in 2003, an amateur geologist discovered the oldest known breathing land animal in the world. A fossilised millipede called a Pneumodesmus Newmani!
I followed a great cliff top coastal path to Craigeven Bay where the fault is clearly visible. It runs diagonally across this picture, the slanted bedrock showing the line.
A real interesting mix of rock in the shattered line of the fault.
Some really interesting outcrops. I have included a geological spaniel for scale.
It must have regular movements as the whole bay was scattered with landslips. Not good news for the golf course above.
Not a bad haul of balls in the deserted bay. I found another, and I presented them to a delighted woman golfer when I climbed back up and out of the bay.
The path back along the cliffs is excellent. The village of Cowie has some nice street names.
After lunch, I parked up at the Harbour for a walk south along the cliffs.
Nice wee winding streets behind the harbour buildings.
Good views as I reached the land slipped road above.
Crossed the road and followed a track to the War Memorial. A distinct landmark in this area.
It was quite busy. One of the 'Rabbies' tour buses complete with the kilted driver/beggar was in the harbour and this walk is obviously on one of their itineraries.
Left the mob and continued along the coast to get a nice picture of Dunnottar Castle. I've never seen it from this side, very nice place.
On the return back down to the harbour, it struck me how 'Stromnessesque' this place must have been back in the day. It is still a lovely preserved harbour area.
Reads like you're enjoying your trip to The Mearns. Was hoping for a mention somewhere of Grassick Gibbon but you were perhaps too busy looking for cheap crisps, free golf balls and poor wee bus tourists making their contribution to the local economy to notice such literary references which surely must exist. Sunset Song mentions Stonehaven (under its pseudonym) several times so I would hope they return the respect. Going local, as you are, reminded me of the advice of a Radio 4 travel program several years ago: to book into a hotel in your own town and look at it through the eyes of a visitor every five years or so, and; to deliberately buy very outdated (say 2030 years old) travel guides and use those to test what has and has not changed. I loved that idea but never did it (I think I was too busy cutting my wee brother's grass as he was out disco dancing) although Alan did it for Barcelona and loved the experience.
ReplyDeleteThat should have read ... "say 20-30 years old" and not ..."2030 years old"!! Now that would need a geological dog to read it.
DeleteIt's all part of the experience! And by the way, you've never even cut your own grass, never mind mine, for the last 15yrs!
DeleteGreat day dad , feel like I’m there I can picture exactly where you are in your photos!x
ReplyDelete