13 August 2015 - Nothing like fish and chips on the beach overlooking the North Sea!

Tim and I had a brief morning walk to our local post box – which I hope does get emptied. We don’t know whether mail sent reaches the addressee unless we hear that it has done so.  It was a sensational blue sky morning.  It was looking good for our proposed afternoon on the beach.

School was a struggle with Luke but he finally put pen to paper and did some work.  Tim and Annika were buoyed along by some lovely feedback from their teachers.  A bit of encouragement goes a long way!

Great sign!

 We then set off for Aberdeen to explore a bit more.  The Tom Tom, which now speaks to us in a lovely Irish accent, took us through many little back roads and through cute villages all the way to the Park and Ride parking area just outside Aberdeen city.  It was lovely drifting through the countryside, especially as Karl is the driver and I can enjoy!!

 

Marischal Hall - mid 18th architecture

 Walking along King Street to the City Centre we were nearly blown away!  We followed the grand  spires in the distance to discover they belonged to the Marischal Hall,  part of the University of Aberdeen and also now used by the City Council.  Out the front of this magnificent Kemnay granite Victorian hall, which really rivals the House of Parliament in London and has been recently restored and cleaned, was Robert the Bruce.

Robert the Bruce

Afternoon tea - McVities Hobnobs!!

Having seen the sign to the Tourist Information office we thought we’d pop in and see what they had to offer.  The helpful staff suggested a visit to the Tollbooth Museum, free and very close by, so off we trotted.

Showing off the local Kemnay Granite after its restoration is recent years.

The Tollbooth, where the taxes and tolls were collected is next to the Town Hall where it has stood since 17^th Century.  The Wardhouse, which is now the museum, built between 1616 and 1629 served as a prison for those awaiting trial and punishment.  It was an airless, dark and 4 storey tower with 86 spiral steps and 6 rooms, complete with manacles, chains and locks used to restrain the prisoners over time.  The prisoners included witches, debtors, Quakers and Jacobites.  There were some miraculous escapes which the guides seem to think were facilitated by money changing hands.

The dark interior of the Tollbooth Museum

The town drum used by the Town Crier

Heavy lock

Heavy chain

Original iron door from 17th Century

Narrow door ways lead to airless cells.... gives me the creeps.

These places were made for short people

The top of the Market Cross which tumbled in 2009 - it was the site w here the city news was given.

 

This cross has seen many things

Tribute to the Gordon Highlanders

The Market Cross

The Castle Square

Gold mail box to celebrate an Olympian's home town

Ah, the second gold mail box so far - the other was in Stratford upon Avon

 From there we walked back to Footdee, the dear little fishing village near the beach, then along the sand of Aberdeen Bay.  The wind was whipping my hair everywhere and the kids were joyfully playing and cavorting about.  Luke filled his trouser pockets with so many rocks that he had to hold his trousers up to keep them from falling down!  The Atlantic Gulls and other birds were enjoying the water’s edge as the tide ebbed and we saw some magnificent jelly fish again.

Jellyfish - wouldn't want to swim with one of these!

It might be a scavenger but it was very cute!

 The anticipated fish and chips for dinner was not disappointing. The haddock melted in our mouths and the chips were just perfect:  crisp and not greasy – I should hope so for 5.50 pounds EACH – which by Aussie standards is rather pricey.  I was not sure what the girl had said to me when I was ordering: “Battered” sounded like “Buttered” and it was going to cost more than “Breaded” so we went for the cheaper breaded versions which were delicious.  We had bought some “Irn Bru”, a famous Scottish soft drink which contains a bit of iron (and caffeine, I found out) and tastes like Creamy Soda as a ONE OFF treat.  It tasted nice as far as soft drinks go, but as I am not generally a fan of such drinks my judgement may be poor.  It was fun to try it though!

Haddock and chips on Aberdeen Beach, looking to the North Sea

The seagulls were keen to join in!

Irn Bru!

Anything can be gym equipment!

Muscles on his muscles!

Wild and woolly!

Rock hopper..

Rock thrower...in the distance...

Gulls!

Hand stand 1

Hand stand 2

Enjoying the fresh air and beautiful surrounds.

Shadowy characters.

 We continued all the way along the beach to the River Don and from there we walked back to our car.

The River Don

 Not long after we got back, I saw a man at the window!  It turned out to be a local, Charles, our neighbour, who came to deliver a card from Jenny who we’d met at church the other day.  She has invited us for coffee tomorrow so that was nice.  She only lives a few kms from here.