Nethy Bridge revisited

The last week of the wettest April for a century was spent walking the rainbow trail in Nethy Bridge. The rain was heavy and frequent,  causing the levels of  the rivers and lakes to rise considerably, turning paths,  including the Speyside Way, to water courses and flooding the fields.

What sort of animal are you?

Rain clouds gathering over Abernethy Church on the first evening of our visit. The low lying fields opposite were loud with the plangent calls of curlews and lapwings. 

Loch Vaa. 

Situated about 3 miles north of Aviemore, this gem of a secluded loch is home to goldeneye for whom elevated nest boxes are provided. There is a rough but pleasant walk round the loch, through birch woods then pine forest. We were fortunate to see a pair of divers on the loch near the boat house, the light was poor but Grey Granite is almost certain that these were black throated divers. The tree which appears to be growing out of the water is in fact situated on a crannog, more of which is visible when the water level is less high.

We took full advantage of the copious supply of  logs in the wood shed to keep Station Cottage warm.

A favourite walk was through Dell Woods, part of the Abernethy National Nature reserve and a remnant of the ancient Caledonian forest.  Historically the pines in the wood provided timber used in the 18th century,  as water pipes in London and later as railway sleepers and pit props among other things. The timber was floated down the Nethy to the Speymouth and eventually shipped south. Rufus is examining the restored sluice gates which controlled water reaching the saw mill at Duack in use between 1860 and 1890

Sunlight on the pines, we occasionally saw glimpses of roe deer between the trees. There are many red squirrels in the wood and it was a delight to watch their extraordinary acrobatics in high in the pines. Cones stripped bare by their feeding may be found on the path but we also saw them stealing peanuts by opening the lid of a bird feeder near the dam. There are also large flocks of tits, including crested tits, and many finches in the wood.

 The Duack Burn runs through a section of the wood consisting of birches and pines and juniper. Much of the wood is now being allowed to regenerate naturally creating a mix of species.

This section of the path is known as Hammack's Road, a  good place to spot deer. On Friday morning we walked down the track as flakes of snow gently fell between the pines.

The River Nethy rose considerably and was transformed into a roaring, foaming torrent.

The bridge over the Nethy which gives Nethy Bridge its name. Dippers may be seen in the river.

Along the wooded banks of the Nethy there is a great variety of wild flowers. Wood sorrel, seen above, grows on the ground and in mossy clefts on the tree trunks. Wood anemones carpet the banks and the islands below the bridge where the river is braided. There are huge patches of leopards bane and sweet cicely ('We ca'ad it  myrrh') both of which began to flower during our stay. The  birch trees in particular are covered in thick greenish grey lichens, from a distance looking as if they have leaves out already. We noticed that the leaves are not as far out on Speyside as here on the Moray Firth. 

A spectacular form of arum lily at Inshriach Nursery.
We visited Inshriach to stock up on plants for the refurbishment of our alpine troughs and to indulge in the award winning Norwegian cakes on offer in the Potting shed Tearoom.