Tales From The Highlands

Day 8 - Going Further North

  It was our last morning and time to pack the car and leave the farm :( The fun though had not quite ended as one of the mischievous Sheep that inhabit the farm decided that the grass was indeed greener on the other side and tried jumping the fence into our garden.Unfortunately she was not exactly Sheep Smith the British High jumper and didn't quite get it right.The left rear leg had caught the top wires which had wrapped themselves around her foot and trapped her hanging there.I went out to see if we could get her free.It took both Majella and myself all our strength to pull the taut wires apart and around her ankle then push her leg through.When released the wires sprung back in place cutting Majella's finger on the way.The Sheep looked at us and then just carried on eating lol
  Sheep rescue

  We sadly then left the farm but instead of turning South and going home we turned right and headed North.We were in Fort Augustus by 10am and saw Loch Ness for the first time in 2 years.

  No time for Monster hunting as we continued up to Loch Tarff where Greylags swam on the loch and a pair of Stonechats were in the heather.
  Male Stonechat

  The area of heather increased on the hills so we stopped to look to see if there were any Grouse around.If you look very closely in the photo there is a Red Grouse just the other side of the fence.(photo by Majella Fox)

  From where I was I got some better shots :)

  The next scheduled stop was at The Falls Of Foyer.There were a few steps to go down to the viewpoint but it was worth the pain lol.

  After the walk back up we got freshly baked warm scones from the cafe :) We continued up til we reached a loch we love to visit.Our last visit though was back in May 2014 when we saw a Cuckoo and Slavonian Grebes.No Cuckoos this time as we are a few weeks early but a pair of Grebes didn't disappoint.

  Also seen at the loch were Little Grebes, Teal, Long-tailed Tits, Treecreepers and this Toad.

  We finally arrived on The Black Isle to the sight of two stunning Red Kites, one which flew directly over our car.Hopefully friends, Dolphins and more birds to come over the next few days.

Thanks for reading.
Back tomorrow ;)