Banchory
Moving to Banchory in winter may not have been the best idea, on the edge of the Cairngorm National Park and its associated mountains winter was always going to be fun.
In 2010 you could dig, dig, and dig some more at the snow......all that happened is more came as soon as you stopped, best just to leave it where it lands and go in and watch the football.
Lets skip forward to some better weather, we used to take a walk into town regularly by tracking down the main road and then returning via the river to make a circuit, free drinking water en-route from this '4 trough' fountain.
It is a nice walk into town on a day like today, this park is full of kids with sledges in winter, charging up and down the small hill as if it were the Alps. The hill in the distance on the left side is 'Scolty' and has a tower on the top that you can climb providing great panoramas of the area.
Being situated on the main route to Balmoral Castle means lots of tourists visit the area, the upside of this is a good supply of cafes, shops and restaurants, the Chinese (sited in the main car park) is excellent and has the best 'hot and sour soup' in the world.
There is also a good supply of pubs and hotels.
Scot Skinner Square is located behind the main row of shops and hosts a monthly farmers market, there is also an excellent library adjacent to the square.
No self respecting tourist town would be without ice cream shops and Banchory is no exception, and should you wish to buy anything bearing tartan, thistles or other such Scottish tourist stuff there are plenty of gift shops willing to service your needs.
To get back home we would usually take the river circuit, starting from the town centre car park we would head out across the playing field
After about a mile or so there is a small set of steps that lead down to the river
it's always quiet down here, I'm not sure if anyone knows this little walkway exists
The walkway is a lovely area with herons, leaping salmon and other such riverside wildlife in copious quantities
From the riverside pathway we would rejoin the Deeside Way (a disused railway that is now a footpath) this leads all the way back to our house
it is a beautiful walk along here cutting in and out of the trees and back to the riverside
We will miss the river Dee when we move, it is a beautiful place to walk
At the old railway bridge we cut up the bank and through the woods back to our house.