1 September 2015 - Day of the Gannets at Troup Head

Well, as the weather is cold and drookit, on and off, and Annika has a bad cold and Luke is also succumbing to the virus and Tim feels he has too much school work to do, Ben Nevis was crossed off our list.  Had conditions been perfect, we probably would have considered a trip to Fort William anyway but Karl and I were the only enthusiastic ones!  Perhaps another time….

Toothless bread eater...before he vomited in the car!

Luke was keen to make bread, so I thought it was a good opportunity to wind down our stocks before we move on, so we made some delicious bread for lunch.

Karl, Annika, Luke and I set off to Troup Head near Fraserburgh on the shoulder of Scotland to explore the cliffs there.  Luke really wasn’t feeling well and ended up vomiting twice, which may be part of the current virus.  Hoping he hasn’t shared it!!  Tim, whilst he would have loved to come, really feels stressed by the amount of school work, the fact we were away for the weekend and will be travelling on Thursday and Friday.  I do understand his stress but I don’t want him to miss out on opportunities.

Walking through fields of oats

Looks cold!! It was!

The Shoulder of Scotland: at Troup Head

Anyway, up a narrow muddy road through a farm yard we followed one other vehicle who also pulled up at the RSPB carpark for the walk to the cliffs.  The driver of the other car was as surprised as we were that we’d ended up at the isolated wild cliffs at the same time!  He was a visitor from Edinburgh, attending an anthropology conference in Aberdeen, and keen to explore.

Huge colony of Gannets

The walk through the waist high oat fields was damp and wonderful.  I’d never walk through such long growth at home for fear of snakes!  The rain had stopped but everything was drookit.  We arrived at the cliffs to see a wonderful colony of gannets which is the only place in mainland Scotland to see them.   It was like being in a 3D David Attenborough documentary as these wonderful birds reeled above and around us with no obvious flapping of wings but rather catching the wind and gliding and swooping.  The adult birds are white with pale orange faces, the teenagers have black speckled wings and the babies are all grey and well camouflaged against the grey cliffs.  It was spectacular!!  We sat and just admired them for quite a while.

Diving and swooping and enjoying the wind!

A swarm of Gannets as far as the eye could see!

What a vantage point!

"Here's looking at you!"

Puffins, whales and porpoises have been seen at the same spot on the Troup Head cliffs but we only saw the magnificent gannets today.  It was worthwhile going and better than we’d anticipated.

So amazing!

Adult gannet

Looking towards Banff and Fraseburgh

All nestled in and on the cliffs.

So glad we brought our coats!

A rather unused track!!

The thistles know summer is over!

Our walk back, on a different path, was even wetter and even less trimmed than our path in.  The feel of cold water dripping down my legs and into my shoes was bearable but very chilly.  The car thermometer told us it was 12 C, and that was without the wind chill factor!  We are feeling VERY thankful for a warm cottage, dry clothes and a washing machine and dryer.