Crathes Castle - Aberdeenshire
Crathes is a local castle for us and we visit the grounds almost every weekend by walking up there from the house. It is a nice 3 mile walk via the old deeside railway line which is now a footpath. You can see the entire walk from our house and more of the woodland around the castle in this hike from our website.
The first set of pics shows a winter wander around the grounds in February 2010. Click any of the smaller images below for larger pics.
this ice formation is caused by water splashing upward onto the branches and then freezing as it drips off them, making large ice 'bells' in the process.
This tree is hanging from a wall in a dedicated garden behind the castle, the root system covers the wall before reaching down to the soil for sustenance, it is a huge tree and surprises me every time we go and it's still standing.
when our friend Brenda came over from America we took her to Crathes and did the inside wander too, no flash use inside but I did sneak a few shots out of the windows at the top.
Springtime brings a different view of the place as you would expect and things begin to green green up, this shot is without doubt my best of the castle, and may find a place on the wall of our Canadian home.
again in autumn the castle and its grounds change to greet the seasons and the woodland walks here are at their best during this time, though you do have to watch for the autumn storms.
if the showers do come along you can always make for the cafe, gift shop or garden centre at the castle and browse until it passes