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| Biodiversity in the Abernethy Forest |
It should have been the May Bank holiday weekend but that had been diverted to the Queen's Platinum Jubilee holiday at the end of the week. We had a wedding party in Aviemore for our niece who had become a mother and got married during the Covid lockdown. There had been no guests apart from immediate family so this was the much-delayed wedding party and ceilidh for friends an family.
We travelled up to Aviemore in the morning, the A9 was surprisingly quiet despite it being the English school holiday week. After a brief stop in Aviemore, we visited the RSPB site at Loch Garten in the Abernethy National Nature Reserve. It is years since we have been here and whilst it has become a busy tourist destination, it is well done and we decided to visit the visitor centre that has webcams focused on the nearby nests of Osprey and this year White Tailed Eagles.
The highlight was a wonderful talk by one of the rangers, Sonya, who exuded detailed knowledge, passion and indubitable commitment to restoring the biodiversity that made the Abernethy Forest such a unique place. After all the miserable outpourings in recent weeks from our febrile government, the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis, it was uplifting to hear someone who was genuine, on top of the facts, modest and immensely positive.
We returned to the wedding party in the fine Community Hall in Boat of Garten. It was good to see so many young people and children enjoying themselves without the formalities of a normal wedding. The food and drink were whatever you took along and the Ceilidh Band when they turned up after recovering from the previous late-night session provided the chance for everyone to mix their drinks and dance. We made an exit at 9pm for the drive down an empty A9 whilst listening to Real Madrid sneak another victory over Liverpool in the European Championship Final.
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| Loch Garten |
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| Brother and Sister remembering childhood holidays |
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| Into the depths of the Abernethy Forest |
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| Watching Mum and Dad dance |
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