Discover

East Grampian Coast

See Springwatch’s Urban Dolphins for your self

Walk the coast without the car

Dark secrets at Cove

Meet the Jumplings

EDITORIAL

Finding boundaries A mild day at the end of winter and a family walk was just

the thing.

Having driven over the River North Esk many times I

have often looked over at the old railway bridge but never

actually taken to time to explore it properly. Starting at a

small car park a mile to the south we followed the route of

the old railway line until the path splits and follows the

road before the magnificent bridge is reached.

Built in 1863 by Blyth and Blyth as part of the Montrose

Bervie branch railway linking farms and fishing communi-

ties along the coast. It was never busy and even at its

peak only three trains a day would cover the 13mile route

in 45minutes. It closed in 1966.

It now crosses one of the best fishing beats on the River

North Esk and fishermen can often be seen below whilst

a rather more successful fisher can be heard claiming its

territory. The Dipper is a strange bird looking like it should

be in the garden, but instead finds food at the bottom of

very fast flowing rivers, walking in-between the boulders

catching insects and small fish.

From the bridge the river passes the ultra-modern new

fishing hut before passing a bird hide and entering the

North Sea. From here the East Grampian coast can be

seen heading north.

The East Grampian coast is packed full of places to ex-

plore as well as some of the best wildlife sites in Scot-

land. This guide aims to give a personnel view of some of

the highlights that I have discovered and wish to share.

In addition EGCPs tourism intern, Suzanne Kovacs, was

set the challenge of finding some enjoyable walks without

needing a car. p13 and 14. Whilst expert local naturalist

Nick Picozzi explored the butterflies you can see and en-

joy on a summers visit.p4.

Stonehaven’s Tolbooth Museum is a place well worth a

visit as explained by Andrew Newton.

Rob Plumber and the boat builders of Catterline give their

account of the creation of a St Annes Skiff that will soon

be entered into the many coastal rowing events that have

started around Scotland. I hear rumour that they may

soon have some local competition.

I hope you enjoy guide this guide and are inspired to get

out and make the most of our coast.

Ian Hay—Project Manager EGCP

WILD

St Cyrus National Nature Reserve

One of the best views in the East of Scotland comes as a

big surprise. Park sensibly near St Cyrus church and fol-

low the small road signposted Beech Road. The view

comes at the end of a short road and is truly spectacular.

The long sweep of sandy beaches including Montrose

and Ferryden Lighthouse can be seen to the south before

the headland juts out to the sea.

Looking down, St Cyrus NNR and its history can be seen

from here. Directly below the remnants of the salmon net-

ting industry, which ended here only 7 years, ago can be

seen with sheds and drying poles set out. A close look on

the beach reveals the old anchor points used to attach

the nets.

Beneath the cliff an area of sandy grasslands holds every

species of Grasshopper in Scotland whilst a myriad of

flowers such as Lady’s Bedstraw, Rest Harrow and Maid-

enspink can be seen in the spring and summer. In au-

tumn this is a great place to look for Fungi with a wide

range of species visible in the dunes, if you struggle

knowing your Death Cap, from your Chanterelle Scottish

Natural Heritage (SNH) run fungal forays in the autumn.

Cover Images - Top Left— Footdee Playpark. Centre Common Blue, Fowlesheugh. Right Meadow Pipit on Gorse, Ythan.

Main -Mother and Calf Dolphin Aberdeen Bay. All photos © Ian Hay www.creativewildlife unless otherwise stated

St Cyrus from above

Bridge over the North Esk

3

Just to the south is the SNH visitor centre and the main

entrance to the Reserve. As the cliff path is, at the time of

writing, closed, you must retrace your steps back to the

St Cyrus village and head south on the A 92 until, the a

road junction immediately before the road crosses the

North Esk. Follow this road until you reach the visitor

centre and its car park.

The visitor centre was originally build as a life boat sta-

tion in the late 19th century. A quick look around will con-

firm this is a little odd as it is half a mile from the sea sep-

arated by a line of high sand dunes. The reason for this

will become apparent later.

The visitor centre contains a wealth of information about

the Reserve including a guide to the Tyrie Trail, a 1 mile

walk around the lower part of the Reserve.

Leaving the visitor centre the first major feature you come

to is the Ghurkha Bridge. This is a raised boardwalk

crossing an area of wet ground to reach the dues. Half

way across the bridge stop and look back at the visitors

centre. 150 years ago this would have been a very differ-

ent looking place as you would have been standing in the

middle of a broad estuary with the waters of the North

Esk flowing beneath you.

The location of the life boat station now makes sense

with easy access to the sea. Fishing boats would have

resting by these sheltered waters as they had done for at

least 600 years. All this changed on a stormy night in

1879 when heavy rain and snowmelt turned the North

Esk into a ranging torrent that punched a new route to

the sea close to where it is today. However sand moving

from the south due to wave action is gradually moving

the route of the river north again.

The course of the old river is now an area of salt marsh

that is still flooded on occasion.

Passed the Gurkha bridge is the magnificent dune sys-

tem followed by the beach. Whilst the Tyrie trail only

goes as far as the Kirkyard if you have time carry on to

the end of the beach where a waterfall hides between the

rocks and some of the best rockpools in the area can be

found.

The high volcanic cliffs that tower above the beach were

created by erosion from the sea that once broke at their

base. These cliffs are home to Fulmars and if you are

lucky you may even see the Peregrines that nest here.

Peregrine falcons are the world’s fastest birds and spe-

cialise in hunting other birds in flight. A good tip for see-

ing them is to go online and search for a recording of

their call. Once you know what to listen for they are much

easier to see, especially when young birds have left the

nest site but still want food from mum and dad.

Between the cliffs and the dunes is an important area of

grassland, home to a wide range of plants and insects

that are not normally found this far north but benefit from

the shelter of the cliffs and the warm south easterly as-

pect of the bay

The Tyrie Trail leaflet can be picked up on site or down-

loaded from the www.discovereastgrampiancoast.com.

PLACES

Gourdon and Johnshaven

The fishing communities of Gourdon and Johnshaven are perfect places to sample fresh fish, including lobster and crab. You can enjoy it at fine restaurants, the fish and chip restaurant, the pub or buy from the fish shop for

cooking at home.

The coastal path which runs between Gourdon and Johnshaven is bicycle, walker and wheelchair friendly.

Gourdon in Winter

St Cyrus Solitude

4

PLACES

Inverbervie. Lost harbours, Tall ships

and John Bull!!!!

Inverbervie is a small town with a split personality. Take

its name, formally it is the Royal Burgh of Inverbervie, but

to its friends it is simply known as Bervie. It is a town that

was rooted in the sea but now looks to the land.

Inverbervie was already a well-established fishing town

when in 1391 a boat containing King David II and Queen

Johanna landed to escape from a dreadful storm. They

were given shelter and treated so well that the status of

Royal Burgh was awarded.

The harbour flourished for over 500 hundred years. How-

ever, during the 1800s this came to an end when a shin-

gle ridge blocked the entrance, This forced the fishing

industry to move a mile south to Gourdon. The battle with

this shingle remains as the River Bervie is a small salmon

and sea trout river. In order to allow the fish to progress

upstream, the shingle is removed for a period each year.

With the loss of fishing, Inverbervie looked to the land for

its living becoming a centre for textiles. It will always be

associated with one of the fastest and most famous sail-

ing ships of all time, the Cutty Sark. Hercules Linton, the

designer of the ship, was born in the town hence the

presence of Nannie, the scantily clad witch from Tam

O’Shanter, the full size replica of the ship’s figurehead

stands at the end of the Jubilee Bridge.

Another character of note was John Arbuthnot, who as

well as being a physician and scholar of note he invented

the stubborn character ‘John Bull’ who together with his

Bulldog is the very symbol of Britishness. This is a sur-

prise given he was also a prominent Tory (another name

for a Jacobite in the 1700s.)

Bervie Beach, close to the Leisure Centre is a great place

to watch the sun go down. In the summer at high tide this

is a good spot to fish for mackerel which cooked on a

BBQ on one of the stands that are provided on site, must

give the freshest fish possible.

WILD

Butterflies of the coast

by N. Picozzi There are a few places where it is especially worth keep-

ing a look-out for them. I enjoy a walk on the path across

the dunes at the Sands of Forvie NNR to the remains of

the old village and the now-demolished salmon fishers’

bothy. Small Heath, Red Admiral, and Green-veined

White may be seen here and in the dune slacks, with a

bit of luck, the now rather uncommon Grayling. It is easy

enough to identify as when it lands the wings are held

tightly together over the back and tilted to one side which

makes them rather difficult to spot. They favour the yel-

low flowers of ragwort as do the day-flying Antler moth

and the very colourful 6-spot Burnet moth.

Girdleness can be very interesting for migrant butterflies

such as Red Admiral and Painted Lady, and one year,

two Swallowtails were seen by a surprised and very fortu-

nate birder. There was an unresolved debate as to their

origin. I have watched Red Admiral and Painted Lady

come in from the sea, clearly migrants and land to feed

as soon as they found a suitable nectaring plant. Their

flight is very economical with alternate flaps and glides

that makes best use of the up-currents of air over the

waves. The Painted Lady occasionally arrives in Britain

in huge numbers from North Africa taking more than one

generation to do so as they cross Europe.

Britain’s smallest butterfly, the very delicate Small Blue

has been recorded here in the past, but although there

are small patches of the larval food plant, Kidney Vetch,

there have been no confirmed reports in recent years.

They were also previously known at Cove and may be

still be present occasionally at St Cyrus. The cliff path at

Muchalls is another possibility and I have seen Northern

Brown Argus there.

Finding butterflies is very dependent on the weather and

the time of year, mainly mid-late summer. A reasonable

range of the admittedly rather small number of species

present this far north always adds to the enjoyment of a

day walking our coastal paths.

BBQ at Inverbervie Bay

Common Blue

N. Picozzi

5

As well as hosting a wonderful view, great seafood and a rich history, Catterline is also the first East Grampian community to join the growing Coastal Rowing move-ment. Here is the story so far based on Extracts from Coltterline Online Boat Builders Diary. 30 Jan 2010—Full Speed Ahead for Catterline Rowers The first meeting of the provisionally entitled "Catterline Rowing Club" was held at the Creel Inn last Sunday, from the seven people attending, plus offers of support from several others who could not be there on the night, it was clear that there is enough interest to make the project viable. Consequently, it was agreed to go ahead and build a boat! The plan is to start building the boat in Autumn, which would hopefully mean that it could be launched in spring 2011. 23 Sept 2010 -Boat Kit Arrives The Catterline Coastal Rowing Club took delivery of the kit to build the St Ayles Skiff last week. The kit, which currently looks more like something you'd get from IKEA than anything recognisably boat shaped, was collected by Rob Plummer and Peter Hales last Fri-day. 11 Sept 2011-Boat Building Begins... sort of Catterline Coastal Rowing Club started boat building on Sunday - 11th September 2011. Boat building might be slightly misleading, but much im-portant discussion on the project took place. Some bits of wood were cut for the support frame. Most effort went into putting up a board on the well, which now has the boat plans pinned on it. This exercise served to prove the requirement to measure three times and cut once rather than measure once and cut three times! All the parts of the kit are now labelled and the components of the sup-port frame were cut. It was agreed to meet on Sunday afternoons at 2ish and on Friday mornings at 10. Next Tasks:

Build support frame.

Cut out frames, moulds and clamps from plywood

sheets

Prepare frames Make a decision on type of wood for hog, keel and stems

and acquire if necessary.

5 Dec 2011 Hot Spanish Lassies So what has been going on in the boatshed, with a title like that, you ask. Well, the wood burning stove went red, not in embarrass-ment, but due to the amount of heat it was throwing out. Off cuts of plywood burn well. The Spanish lassies refers to a number of Spanish windlasses that are used to the attach the second garboard (Plank #1) to the hog. These traditional techniques proved the best way to

clamp the second garboard to the hog. For the first gar-board we used 35 clamps to bond the garboard to the hog. However attaching the second garboard was not so easy as the first garboard was now in the way and the clamps could not fit around it and on to the hog. Hence some ingenuity was required, with wood off cuts used to apply pressure to the garboard, with ropes from each end tied to the frame. Then the rope was twisted to tighten and pull the wood off cuts down on to the garboard. 22 Jan 2012 It's Starting To Look Like a Boat... “Wow it’s starting to look like a boat.”, Brendan Hall, Cat-terline boat builder 4 March 2012"She Has Lovely Curves" Almost exactly six months after the project started, the Catterline St Ayles skiff was gently rolled over on Sun-day. On a glorious sunny day, a crowd of nearly forty people watched or participated in the turning of the hull. The hull was lifted upwards, coming cleanly away from the bed frame. It was then moved sideways and lowered whilst others picked up the bed frame and took it out of the boat shed. The hull was then slowly turned and then gently lowered onto its chocks. With a few gentle taps, the hull frames that had attached themselves to the hull were removed, leaving the hull to be viewed. There were nods of approval from those familiar with Iain Oughtred’s designs. Others expressed surprise at the size of the boat and comments such as “She has lovely curves” came from others. Then tea and cake were served and the moment was enjoyed. 27 May 2012 - Painting Midweek, there had been work on shaping the gunwales and fitting the kabes on the port side. We are starting to get close to the painting stage (6 coats on both sides). The are some more kabes to prepare, finish the cox’s seat and there is quite a bit of work on the floor boards still to do. The cumulative hours spent working on the boat has now passed 700 hours with effort from 30 people and of course, P6/7 of Catterline Primary School. June 3, 2013 - The Spirit of Catterline At last! After finishing off some final details, Spirit of Cat-terline is now ready to be launched! Massive thanks to all of everyone who has worked on the boat, whether for one or a hundred hours, and also those who have supported the project. Without you all, we would have never got so far.

If you and your village are up to the challenge more infor-

mation is available at www.scottishcoastalrowing.org

Catterline Boat Builders Diary

by

6

WILD

Fowlsheugh—meet the Jumplings Fowlsheugh, is the second largest city in the North East

of Scotland, it is a crowded place with 130,000 high-rise

inhabitants. It has dramas that would make any soap

opera seem tame, from thievery to murder and some se-

riously dysfunctional families. Never heard of it? That is

because the city dwellers are birds..

Late evening and the ferry sails into the late summer sun,

fulmars skirt across the waves and a sound catches the

ear. It is three squawks then a gap, then another three

squawks, this repeats about 20 times. Over the next

hour this noise can be heard coming from all over the

sea. To understand what is making the sound and what it

means we must return to the coast, Fowlsheugh in late

winter to be exact.

March and a spell of good weather brings a myriad of sea

birds. Puffins take the penthouse flats and des-res rabbit

holes at the very top of the cliff. At the base Shags make

a very dodgy home just above the waves. In between is a

sheer cliff with terrifying drops and tiny ledges, home of

the Guillemots..

The cliff seems a strange place to make your home.

However it is safe from a great range of animals that

would love a tasty egg or chick for lunch, although this

safety needs some special adaptations. Firstly having

eggs that are safe from predators is not much good if

they keep rolling into the sea - the solution, eggs that are

pointed, that way if they start to roll they just go around in

a tight circle.

Once hatched the young Guillemot has to learn fast, obvi-

ously staying still and away from the edge is a must. The

predator free world has its limitations, a baby Guillemot is

a perfect sized meal for a hungry Gull, but mum and dad

have two things that are useful in defence, a sharp beak

and lots of friends – Guillemot’s like to live together with

10s of thousands crammed on the cliffs at Fowlsheugh

providing a mass of pecking beaks.

With a good supply of fish the chicks will soon grow, in

fact Guillemots are important to make sure that all the

local seabirds get a meal. Just off the coast a small shoal

of fish have been spotted, they are too deep for most of

the gull and Kittiwakes to reach, however the Guillemots

don’t dive into the water, they swim powerfully under the

shoal, possibly reaching a depth of 150metres, forcing

the fish closer to the surface making it easier for all the

birds, but bad news for the fish!!

As the weeks pass the chicks grow until the day comes to

leave the nest. The hints to leave come fast, firstly mum

leaves forever, never to be seen again. Dad still feeds

the chick, but it has to be said even he is being a bit odd.

One day instead of bringing food to you he lands on the

water at the base of the cliff and calls Eventually hunger

forces the chick to join him, with flap of its wings take off

and ……… plummeting into the sea below, hence the

name Jumpling, (young puffins are called Pufflings).

Guillemots are tough birds and it makes sense to leave

the nest early, you can now swim with dad to where the

fish are and save your single parent from a long commute

however the world is still a scary place so best stay close

to Dad.

Late summer and you are swimming far out to sea when

a huge boat appears in the evening sun.

‘Where is he?…….Dad…….Dad…. there you are Dad’

‘Yes son’

‘Dad….Dad…..Dad’

‘Yes son’

‘Dad…Dad…..Dad’

Some say Gulliemots evolved their great underwater

swimming ability to find food, as the father of a four year

old I say it was to get some peace and quiet!!!

To reach Fowlesheugh follow the A92 until you see a

sign for Crawton. Follow this tiny road until you reach the

RSPB car park. From here follow the marked footpath

north. .

Guilliemot– Father and Son

7

FEATURE

East Grampian Seafood Seafood is one of the greatest stars of the East Grampi-

an coast. We have the largest white fish and shellfish

port in Europe as well as tasty crab and lobster landed at

nearly every small harbour.

There is a problem with local celebrities, they tend to for-

get were they came from, famous Glaswegian Billy Con-

nolly spends most of his time in LA , celerity Liverpudlian

Cillia Black lives near London along with the remaining

Beatles. Indeed our seafood is just the same staring in

some of the best sushi bars in Japan, high-class restau-

rants in Paris and the fish markets of Spain but it would

be good to keep more at home for us to enjoy..

Ok so this is a bit simplistic however the fact is Scotland

export 85%+ of our seafood and import 60% of what

Scotland actually eat. In order to understand this and

eventually try to change this mismatch EGCP is working

with others on a seafood trail and promoting seafood

champions.

Seafood champions will be restaurants, fishmongers,

cafes, hotels and fishermen that sell good quality local

seafood. Whilst the full list of champions is still being

worked on here are a few ideas of places to try;-

Restaurants

Classic venues such as The Creel Inn at Catterline, the

Tollbooth at Stonehaven and The Silver Darling in Aber-

deen are well known seafood specialists. A new special-

ist is café at the National Lighthouse Museum in Fraser-

burgh which will be opening as a seafood Resteraunt on

certain evenings

Hotels

The Tufted Duck at St Coombs near Fraserburgh, the

Buchan Braes at Boddam and many hotels in Aberdeen

all serve great local seafood to residents and non- resi-

dents

Fishmongers

Cooking your own fish can be quick, simple and very

tasty, obviously it can also be slow and fiddly and need

real skill, that is the beauty of choosing the recipe that is

good for you. Please try our local langoustine, mackerel

and squid in the summer and for the more adventurous

skate cheeks are an alternative to scallops.

Direct from the boat

For lovers of crab and lobster the best way to get them is

direct from the boats, simply ask a dealer who is off load-

ing the catch and some may be willing to sell direct. Ex-

pect to pay about £7 for a live lobster and between about

£2 and £3.50 for a brown crab.

If your preference is to buy ready cooked Lobster and

Crab ask your fishmonger. However do ask where it

came from. Most lobster in the supermarket is flown in

from North America whilst just down the road local lob-

sters are being transported live to Europe.

Seafood shacks by the harbour

One of the nicest meals I had was a pint glass full of lan-

goustine tails (Fraserburgh being the No 1 port for this)

served with a chunky piece of brown bread and some

Marie Rose Sauce, it was served outside overlooking a

harbour and it was so good it was worthy of a photog-

raphy. Sadly this was on the west coast of Scotland, so

this is a challenge to our local business community. We

have the market for good rustic seafood. Why not have a

go? Money is there to be made.

Are you a seafood hero? If not, do you know one?

Please let us know.

The Partnerships Seafood reports can be found at

www.egcp.org.uk.

8

FEATURE

Hiding the Crown Jewels

Following what is known as the English Civil War, alt-

hough Scotland had a major part to play, Oliver Cromwell

took over as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and

Ireland plunging the country into a period of harsh dicta-

torship.

One of his decisions was to destroy all the symbols of

power which included melting the English Crown Jewels

and selling the gold and gem stones. He then turned his

attention to the symbols of Royal power in Scotland, the

Honours. Fortunately they were kept in the famously im-

penetrable fortress of Dunnotter Castle. An army was

dispatched to seize them and a siege ensued.

It was obvious that the castle could not hold out, so the

Jewels were smuggled away by Mrs Granger the wife of

the local minister, and buried within the confines of Kineff

church. They were kept well, being dug up every three

months to clean and dry them. However the Sword was a

bit too big so had to be broken into two.

The Honour stayed hidden until the Restoration brought

King Charles II to the throne. The crown is still used to

represent the Scottish crown each year at the state open-

ing of the Scottish Parliament. The Sceptre and the

sword remain in Edinburgh castle as they are too fragile

to be used.

PLACES

Dunnotter Castle Set on a stunning outcrop Dunnotter castle is a must visit

location whatever the weather or time of the year. The

castle has plenty to entertain all the family from a grizzly

history to jaw dropping views and a connection to ‘Brave’,

the popular children’s film.

According to a recent poll Dunnotter was put forward as

Scotland candidate for the 8th Wonder of the World.

PLACES

Stonehaven

A fun seaside town with lots to do, Stonehaven is a great

place to be on a summer’s day.

Looking at the picturesque harbour today, it is hard to believe that a 17th century captain described it as a ‘stinking hive, only for pirates and picaroons’. With a good beach, it is a nice place to have a truly spectacular ice cream from Betty’s, or to look out from one of the seaside cafes. The harbour’s colourful history includes landings from both sides during the Jacobite rebellion. A coastal boardwalk from the town can take you north to the village of Cowie, where you can see the greens used to dry fishing nets. You can continue beyond the end of the road to the High-land Boundary Fault where the fossil of the world’s oldest air breathing creature was found and where, geologically, the highlands meet the lowlands. Stonehaven Outdoor pool is well worth a visit in summer

alongside the excellent play park

FEATURE

NEOS – Discovering an Artistic Side

Running in early September the North East Open studio s

is a celebration of the area artistic side with over 300 art-

ists taking part annually it offers visitors the chance to

meet the artists and view their work.

There is also was a strong coast theme with Peterhead,

Stonehaven and Inverbervie all hosting a number of

events and exhibitions of local artists.

Stonehaven from

Above

9

FEATURE

The Tollbooth Museum

By Andrew Newton Nestling on the Old Pier at Stonehaven’s harbour is the

town’s oldest building which was erected in the late 16th

century as a store for materials when the nearby Dunnot-

tar Castle was being constructed.

In 1600 an Act of Parliament gave the building greater

prominence as the Act established the building as a Tol-

booth, i.e. the seat of local government and tax gather-

ing. A further change came in 1624 when administration

was restricted to the upper floor whilst the ground floor

became the local prison. These were dark days. The

Black Book of Kincardineshire records many of the crimi-

nal trials held at the Tolbooth during the 17th and 18th

centuries. For example – George Ker was found guilty of

stealing a peck and a half of pease and was sentenced to

be scourged through the town and banished from thesh-

ire; James Elmsly was found guilty of stealing 3 milking

cows and was duly hung on the nearby Gallow Hill; John

Reid was convicted of stealing linen left out for bleaching

and his punishment was many fold. He was branded on

the right shoulder blade, tied to a condemned man, or-

dered to watch the hanging, bury the corpse and finally

receive a kicking from the executioner! Dark days indeed

The Tolbooth continued to function as the courthouse

and prison until new local government buildings were

established in1767, the old building then reverted to a

store, used by local fishermen and merchants. But the

years took their toll and by 1914 it was sadly dilapidated

and underused. Matters were made worse in 1944 when

a German mine floated into the harbour, exploded and

seriously damaged the roof. Fortunately the local council

had the foresight to restore the Tolbooth and in 1963 the

Queen Mother re-opened the renovated building. In 1972

the ground floor opened as a museum but in 2010 the

financial recession hit Aberdeenshire Council and it de-

cided to close eight local museums, the Tolbooth being

one of them. The local community launched a vigorous

campaign to re-open the museum and since May 2011

the museum has operated under community manage-

ment and staffed by volunteers. It is now the second

most popular museum/heritage centre in the Council’s

portfolio.

The museum is packed with displays that showcase the

building’s turbulent past and Stonehaven’s rich history

with something for every interest. You can watch a video

about the famous Fireballs ceremony which occurs in the

harbour area on Hogmanay; let the children play the di-

nosaur quiz; examine the model of the Earth’s oldest air

breathing animal ever found; reminisce over past domes-

tic life, or study the local geology. You can even arrange

to have your children locked into the replica jail cell alt-

hough we insist that you take them with you when you

leave the museum!

The museum frequently conducts educational tours for

local schools and is also available for private hire. Re-

cently a night was dedicated to paranormal investigations

(read the results on our website).

The museum also has a small gift shop where souvenirs

can be bought as a reminder of your visit to Stonehaven.

The Tolbooth museum is a hidden gem which, in the last

2 years, has been ’discovered’ by over 30,000 visitors.

Treat yourself, your friends and family by paying us a

visit; we will be delighted to see you.

Entry is free and during April to September the muse-

um is open 1.30 to 4.30 every day except Tuesday.

During the winter it opens on Saturdays and Sundays

only.

Check us out on www.stonehaventolbooth.co.uk

PLACES

Muchalls

Interestingly, this village is effectively New Muchalls, as

the original village was a located ¾ of a mile to the south.

Once a prosperous fishing community, two fishing disas-

ters in a short period of time led to the abandonment of

old Muchalls and the fishing boats moving south to

Stonehaven.

Charles Dickens visited Muchalls in the mid-nineteenth

century and described the village as ‘a remarkably beau-

tiful place’. We hope you will agree.

Things to see and do

Take a walk down to Dunnyfell cave and the waterfall it is

a steep up and down but worth the effort

Tollbooth Musium A Newton

10

A still, clear Summer day with a flat calm sea, everything

looks peaceful….. and then they arrive.

First to be seen is a massive male, 4 meters in length, he

is just about the perfect hunter, speed and power com-

bine with senses that we can only imagine and an intelli-

gent brain much larger than our own.

Soon the rest of the pod come charging into view, fe-

males, youngsters and even the near white new-born ba-

bies are racing towards the hunt. The surface of the water

is alive with 20 Dolphins. A large male leaps 3 meters into

the air, a second slaps the surface of the water then eve-

rything goes quite. The stillness is back, but not for long

as a mighty tail sweeps through the water in a stunning

display of power, then a second eruption as a large salm-

on is thrown far into the air.

The rest of the pod is also on the hunt with other victims

being caught unseen. At last the frenzy is over, fun time!

In a display of grace, dolphin after dolphin leaps high into

the air or simply raise their heads above the surface to

have a look around at the land. The new-borns seem to

be having most fun leaping repeatedly whilst being con-

stantly shadowed by a watchful mum

This display is not a one off when a group of nomadic

creatures appears and disappears, this drama is possibly

happening as you read this article and in a place you may

not expect, less than 10 miles from Aberdeen Airport, on-

ly 2 miles from the city centre at the entrance to Aberdeen

Harbour.

Among its many energy related accolades Aberdeen can

claim to be the best city in Europe for watching whales

and dolphin, as well as the near daily sightings of Bottle-

nose Dolphins at the harbour, with a bit of luck, time and

a calm sea, Risso’s Dolphin, White Beaked Dolphin,

Minkie Whale and Harbour Porpoise can be seen. During

2011 we also hosted a couple of giants with Humpbacked

Whales being present between Aberdeen and the picture

perfect village of Collieston for at least 7 months.

Bottlenose Dolphin are by far the easiest to see, simply

drive to the Torry Battery. It is possible also to walk or

cycle from the city centre or take a taxi. Once at the bat-

tery, a defensive fort that was placed to protect the city

during the time of Napoleon, look between the North and

South breakwaters, the dolphins may also be as far up

river at the Harbour’s gleaming new control tower.

This is also the best view of the city with the magnificent

bay sweeping north and the colour and industry of the

harbour giving way to the city and the distant mountains.

This is wildlife watching for all, you do not need any

equipment, even if you have little time, many locals

sneak to the Torry Battery to have a quick sandwich lunch

whilst watching this true wildlife drama. You can even see

Dolphins from the train on your way south from the city as

it passes along the coast towards stonehaven.

For the more dedicated Aberdeen Harbour Cruses are

running boat trips to see this and our other wonderful

wildlife that is at home in Aberdeen Bay.

Aberdeen—A wild City

11

12

WILD Cove – strange goings on a warm summer night 11pm and the road that descends steeply to Cove har-bour lights up with the glare of car headlamps. A few minutes later and another couple of vehicles join the noc-turnal procession. Soon 20 people are gathered with the ringleader setting up a series of nets along the harbour wall. Then a strange but wonderful sound fills the air, positively spooky. Like a gang of wreckers this group are setting a trap for unsuspecting seagoers. However, this is not for murder-ous criminal profit. This is science. Storm and Leach’s Petrels are strange birds. Very similar in appearance and size to a House Martins they spend most of their life out at sea apparently walking on water picking tiny food morsels from the surface. Being specialist seagoers they are poorly prepared for the dangers faced close to land with Gulls being a major threat. To deal with this they only come to land at night

breeding on remote islands. To attract them to land and into the nets they are played the sound of; another petrel in the mood for love. As soon as a bird flies into the net it is caught, measured and ringed. This provides valuable data on these secre-tive birds that are almost impossible to track in any other way. On my first visit to a ringing session I was given the hon-our of releasing the first bird. Cupping the small ball of feathers in my hand I reaches out and slowly opened my hand, seeing its chance to escape the Storm Petral, well, walked up to the top of my outstretched fingers and sat, quite happily. Silhouetted in the moon light it curiously looked around and spent a bit of time sorting its feathers. What it was thinking I will never know, maybe it was curi-ous after what can only be described as an alien abduc-tion, what I did know is that after what seemed like an age my arm was getting tired so I slowly started shaking

it to remind the bird that I was not a tree. Eventually it took the hint and flew into the night.

FEATURE

Bus Walk 1

Cove to Aberdeen

by Suzanne Kovacs

During 2013 we set our Intern the challenge of finding

some great walk that could be done via public transport.

After this long and harsh winter the weather forecast pre-

dicted one whole sunny day. I decided to make the most

of this opportunity to discover the coastal path between

Cove to Aberdeen. I had heard about it for a long time

and always was curious to try it. This walk is called the

Aberdeen Coastal Path and it is part of the North Sea

Trail, a long walk along the coast from Norway to Swe-

den, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, England and final-

ly Scotland.

If the big international walk will need to wait longer holi-

days, some smaller parts can be easily enjoyed in the

area for some two hours or longer. This walk from Cove

up to Aberdeen, for example, lasted for me only two

hours and a half that morning for about 6miles/9,6km.

Storm Petral

A bird in the hand

13

At about 8.30am on Guild Street, Aberdeen, I took the

bus (First, number 3 in direction of Cove). 20 minutes

later I was in Cove, a small sloping village with, visible

over the roofs, the sea which was so blue that day under

the sun.

I went down to the small harbour. It is situated in a small

and picturesque bay surrounded by rugged cliffs. The

boats have nice blue, red or white colours, beneath them

the traps for crabs and lobsters are piled up next to the

posts connected to each other with ropes once used to

dry the fishing nets.

When I went up again to the village, I saw a bench which

looked down on to the harbour. Just behind that bench

was a small path going through the grass along the coast

line in the direction I knew I would find the Coastal Path.

As I am quite adventurous and always curious to see

things off the beaten track, I followed that small path be-

tween the coast and the fields, over a stream and a small

wall. Sometimes I went nearer to the edge of the cliffs to

see the shape of the cliffs and rocks which are often orig-

inal and even impressive. Here and there, I could see

caves at the bottom of the cliffs, or seabird colonies hav-

ing their refuge in the rocks.

After about 10min of walk on this small and totally natural

path, I arrived on the official Coastal Path. I recognised it

because it was wider and covered with gravels, which

makes the path easily accessible to people with walking

difficulties. This path led me from this point to Aberdeen.

Often there was a bench on the edge of the path, giving a

nice view over the sea and the cliffs.

Speaking about the cliffs, if you watch carefully, you can

see not just caves, rocks with original shape, or seabird

colonies, but also you can see the stratum of different

Ages in the cliffs. Sometimes they are particularly visible

because the stratums don’t have the same colour. Some-

times the birds installed their nests just at the level be-

tween two stratums; follow the line of relaxing birds and

you will perfectly see the shape of each stratum!

Birds are present a bit everywhere on the cliffs. Some-

times when I was approaching the edge of the cliffs for a

better view and I could hear their chirping growing louder

like a warning against me coming too close to their nests.

Sometimes seabird colonies were hiding between two

cliffs so close to each other that I could only detected

them thanks to their chirpings’ echo. Plenty of Kittiwakes

could be recognised, on the cliffs, singing “kitti-wake, kitti-

wake…”, while the Eider Ducks were swimming lazily on

the calm waves of the sea.

Did you know that birds were considered as a good eat-

ing alternative for fishermen in the past? Birds used to be

hunted for their flesh or men used to climb the cliffs to

take the eggs from the nests. These attempts were very

dangerous, especially when the cliffs were wet and slip-

pery.

After 2 hours walking I finally arrived in view of Nigg Bay

which felt like a slow return to the civilisation. Ahead, the

high buildings of Aberdeen were visible.

I was leaving behind the wild and rugged cliffs dropping

sheer into the sea, the many bays of all sizes, the thick

grass taking the shape of waves under the wind’s pres-

sure, seabirds chirping from their nets, from the air or

from the sea…

Nevertheless, the Nigg Bay was also an impressive view

with its wide beach made of white stones still visible at

some places under the clear blue water of the sea. On

one side of the bay was the Girdleness Light House while

on the south side were now two people enjoying the view

from the air, paragliding up the bay.

I followed the path to the Light House and then to Torry

Battery. I stopped there for a snack while watching the

harbour’s entrance where dolphins can usually be seen.

The sea was flat and quiet, an infinite blue under the sun.

If I sometimes had the impression of seeing a dorsal fin

coming out of a wave, maybe it was only the wave play-

ing with the sunlight. Anyway, the view on the sea, the

harbour and the boats, the beach and the city of Aber-

deen, altogether really were gorgeous. It’s not without

regret I went back to the city.

Tip: between Cove and Aberdeen, the path gives two

options; following the coast or going to Doonies Rare

Breeds Farm. It is a big farm of 134 acres, open to visi-

tors. There can be seen rare and endangered farm ani-

mals’ species, like the Eriskay Ponies. You can buy in the

farm’s shop steaks, bacon, beef, sausages and much

more delicious farm food!

Aberdeen’s wild side

14

PLACES

Newburgh – clippers, seals and sticky

toffee pudding wars Laying near the mouth of the Ythan Estraury has a long

history as a port serving the nearby town of Ellon and

beyond. The towns wharf now has long been closed, and

is now been developed into a set of town houses and

apartment whos distinct design has resulted in a number

of awards. The towns nautical past still can be seen in

the names of some of the grand houses including Shang-

hai house, Santa Cruz and Sydney House highlighted the

ports of call that had made the fortune.

Sticky toffee pudding is another source of local pride as

the Udny Arms Hotel is reputed to be the home of this

ever so sweet dish, however locals in Yorkshire and

Cumbria also make the claim. What is certain is that the

dessert is always a popular choice.

Newburgh is also the gateway to the Ythan Estuary one

of the most beautiful places in Scotland with stunning

wildlife at any time of the year. At the end of Beach Rd is

a small carpark where paths lead up onto the dunes or to

the estuary itself. If you head to the estuary you can see

around 400 seals haul themselves out on the north side

of the estuary. During the spring you may also pick out

Elvis the King Eider who has been in the area for the last

few years.

FEATURE

Bus walk 2 - Forvie NNR The bus number 63 was there at

8.20am on stance 11 at the Union

Square bus station in Aberdeen, just

like the website

www.travelinescotland.com told me the day before. I

boarded the bus and took a return ticket to Newburgh,

the closest town to the south entrance Waterside into

Forvie NNR. Another entrance can be found in the north

of the reserve, near Collieston, but the south entrance

has recently been refurbished, so worth a try.

When the bus arrived in Newburgh, I asked the driver

what would be the closer stop to Forvie, because the Wa-

terside entrance is just north of Newburgh, across the

bridge. He told me he could stop just in front of the en-

trance. That’s what he did, and he told me I could also

wait at the same point for the bus back to Aberdeen.

Only two cars were in Waterside’s car park that morning.

A board at the entrance of the reserve showed me the

map of the reserve, the different walks, smaller or bigger,

the different habitats, beach, dunes or moor, the places

where to find picnic tables, ruins or point of views. Only

one area in the south of the reserve is closed because of

the terns nesting.

These little birds are rare and they chose Forvie as

breeding place. Terns strangely make their nests on the

ground and not in the trees. Nests are hidden in the high

grass and are still vulnerable because of foxes and other

predators. Terns need to avoid movements and noise to

be able to breed, that’s why an area of the reserve is

closed to the public to protect the terns from April to Au-

gust.

Christmas in Newburgh

Marking the way—S. Kovacs

15

FurI started my walk in Forvie. The first area the path

was going to is the Duck nesting area. At the entrance to

that area was a carved wood bench showing ducks.

From there the path ran along the Ythan river, a bright

area of calm water surrounded by sand dunes. Around

there, many ducks and eiderducks were making the most

of the sunshine, laying on the beach. The path led me

then into the dunes. These dunes are made of sand but

there is still grass growing on there. The wind was blow-

ing in the beautiful white sand, making it wandering

around, giving to all sand dunes different shapes, while

making waves in the high grass.

I was going from one dune to the other one when, at the

top of one, I saw the beach at my feet. I went down to the

sea, which was calmly sending waves to the sandy

beach. Empty shellfish and well-conserved crab’s shell

could be found there. I took the most beautiful ones I

found and kept them in my bag as souvenir. I continued

walking along the beach, going slowly because it was so

beautiful and I wanted to make this moment last a long

time.

North of the beach were rugged cliffs, south was just the

long beach going to the Ythan Estuary and further. I

walked north until I found a little river curved into the

sand. I stopped there to make pictures while two women

walking with their dogs passed by and went back to the

dunes, following the track. I followed them.

The path was going to the remains of a church. On the

way there, many signs gave short, clear information

about the way people used to live in Forvie or how ar-

chaeologists found proofs of an ancient village in Forvie’s

dunes.

After the remains of the church, the path was going to a

bay called Hackley. It was formed of rugged cliffs, and

lots of seabirds had decided to use these cliffs as their

homes. Further north, I came to another bay which was a

beautiful, white and totally clean beach surrounded by

cliffs. It was a fantastic view and I was the only one with a

few ducks and seabirds to enjoy the place!

ther, the path continued along the cliffs, sometimes with

view over a sand beach, sometimes going through grass

lands, until I arrived at the north entrance of the National

Nature Reserve from where I could see the first houses

of Collieston. Instead of going to the village (which really

is worth a visit as well) I followed the path to the west,

along small dune Lochan, where could be found several

picnic tables.

Just beyond the Lochan, the path ran over a small hill to

go to Forvie’s visitor centre on the other side. It is a little

house where facilities can be used and an exhibition can

be found explaining the particularities of Forvie NNR, the

habitats, the species and all curiosities that can be found

on its grounds.

I then retraced my steps back to the start of the walk.

When I arrived at the south entrance of the Reserve, I

waited near the road and when the bus arrived, it

stopped to pick me up despite that there is no concrete

bus stop at this place yet. I was happy I avoided the rain

and I even browned a bit, I had my shells in my bag as a

souvenir and lots of beautiful pictures.

PLACES

Cruden Bay and Port Errol Cruden Bay is a charming seaside village with a beach

and a golf course. The Ladies Bridge at Port Errol Har-

bour leads directly to the beach. Cruden Bay Golf Club

has stunning views and welcomes visitors from around

the world.

The dramatic ruins of Slains Castle perched on a cliff top

nearby can be reached by a walk through the woods.

Rumoured to have inspired Bram Stoker’s Count Dracu-

la, this can be a spooky place.

To the North is the Bullars of Buchan, the best site in the

area to see Puffin

Tremuda bay

Bullars of Buchan from the Sea

16

FEATURE Buchan Ness—A family History

By Alexander, Marquis Aberdeen The 4th Earl of Aberdeen, George Gordon, enjoyed a very successful political career. He was Foreign Secretary during the 1820s and 1940s, Colonial Secretary (in the days when it was a very important position) in the 1830s and Prime Minister from 1852 – 1855. He was unfairly

criticised for his handling of the Crimean War as modern historians testify and it was an episode in his life which troubled him greatly up to his death, aged 80, in 1860. George’s main home in Scotland was Haddo House, lo-cated some 25 miles south west of Peterhead. However, in 1840, he built a cliff top retreat adjacent to the village of Boddam where he delighted to go for a few days at a time and, in his later life, for longer stays in the summer. Above the front was the latin inscription ‘Procul Negotis Beattus’ which translated means ‘Blessed are those who are far removed from business’. He was certainly far re-moved from the political life at Westminster but, also, from Haddo which he tended to fill with politicians, artist, actors and musicians along with his family when he stayed there. He found a sheltered spot in one of the ravines where he could create a terraced garden full of unusual plants. He enjoyed sitting out in the evening watching the herring fleets of those days setting sail or returning with their catch. The village, as one would expect of that period was very basic and on hot days would create a deeply unplesent odour. He set about carrying out many im-provements including a sewage system and modernising the roads and houses. The women of the village would spend many hours watching the departure of their husbands and sons and, for their accommodation, George, in a sheltered nook overlooking the harbour, erected a number of granite seats for them to do so in greater comfort. He also had erected, under glass and large barometer to assess weather conditions. The fishermen of Boddam paid great heed to this and, it is said, that on several occasions they stayed in harbour when neighbouring fleets did not, only to perish in dreadful storms.

n the late 1850s he spent more time there, particularly in the company of his favourite daughter-in-law, Mary Baillie from Mellerstain who was married to his eldest son who , sadly not not enjoy good health and had to spend long periods abroad for the warmer weather. His eldest grandson, who became the 6th earl in 1864, also visited and it was here that he gained his love of the sea as he watched the ships sail by. On his succession, he journeyed tp Canada where he obtained his masters Certificate only to be washged overboard and perish in a massive storm whilst on a trip to Australia. The Boddam Estate had been acquired by the Gordon family in the 1730s and was subsequently purchased by the Russell family from Aden outside Mintlaw. Subse-quently, Buchan Ness became a hotel but was destroyed be a major fire. The building is now in private ownership. The landward side of the house is restored as a private dwelling and the owner hopes in time to be able to continue with the resto-ration of the seaward side. The latin instruction is just visible above the door in the private garden. The clifftop garden created by George is now signposted Buchanness Lodge Marine garden, Boddam and due to step sides can only be viewed from the road.

PLACES Peterhead First settled by fishermen in 1593, Peterhead is the big-gest town in Aberdeenshire and is affectionately known as the ‘Blue Toon’. Today, it is the UK’s largest white and pelagic fishing port, landing over 90,000 tonnes of fish each year. The award winning beach at Peterhead has some of the cleanest bathing waters on this coast. Located next to the marina in Peterhead Bay, this is a great beach for a fami-ly day out in summer. The ‘Blue Toon’ hosts a number of events throughout the

year. The biggest of which is Peterhead Scottish week which usually runs in the third week of July.

WILD

Peterhead Harbour Wildllife

Opposite—Main Imange

Whilst Peterhead is famous as the premier white fish port in Europe many do not realise that is is also

a haven for wildlife

Insert -Top

Turnstones travel from Iceland to spend their win-ters in our minder climate. Picking up scraps from the quayside is a good way to get food for the hard times, In addition Peterhead is one of the best plac-

es in Britain to look for rare winter gulls

Insert Bottom

As well as being home to large number of eiders Peter-head is also home to the rare Long tailed Duck which

winters here is good numbers

17

18

Spring often comes late but with it a flurry of activity with terns and black headed gulls claiming the best breeding places in front of the viewing gallery. Again rarities can also turn up with Cranes being a real pos-sibility, in 2012 and 2013 they indeed managed to breed at a secret location locally.

Summer and it is time to head to the beach, follow-ing the signs to Rattray and walk in the dunes and out to the lighthouse will always be enjoyable and you may even see an ocean giant as sightings of Basking Shark are increasing in this area. Pick a calm day and look for what appears to a small black hump (the nose), a large triangular flag, (the dorsal fin) and a small triangular flag going crazy at the back, (the tail). From water level basking sharks are funny looking beasts and must account for many tales of sea monsters.

Winter can be cold and hard by our standards but for many of the birds that chose to winter here it is an oasis of warmth compared to home, Whooper Swans from the north of Scandinavia meet Pink Footed Geese from Iceland enjoying the generally ice free water, Short Eared Owl from Sweden hunt voles whilst White Tailed Eagle look for larger prey

By late September the Loch of Strathbeg can appear to be a small avian airport as up to 80,000 Pink Foot-ed geese arrive over a 2 week period. After the long haul arrival they soon settle into a daily routine head-ing out to feed at dawn and returning just after dusk. Be sure to book onto one of the RSPB Goosewatch events as this daily commute can be one of the great-est shows British wildlife has to offer.

Loch of Strathbeg A reserve for all seasons

19

PLACES Rattray Head Once a royal burgh, the town of Rattray has long disap-peared. What remains at Rattray Head today is a beauti-ful secluded beach, a lighthouse and lots of wildlife and plant life. History of settlement in the area dates back as far as the 15th century BC and in 1563, Mary Queen of Scots made the town a royal burgh. However, dangerous waters in this area have always made fishing difficult and when a sandstorm in 1720 sealed off the sea inlet required by Rattray’s inhabitants, the town was abandoned and its buildings left to crumble In 2012 a very strange bird made the dunes home. De-sert Wheatears do not even come to Britain in the sum-mer preferring the desert of Morocco and Asia. So why one turned up in the far Northeast of Scotland is hard to

explain. However, he obviously liked our sand dunes as he stayed for the whole of a very harsh winter lasting an incredible 117 days before departing south(I guess).

PLACES Cairnbulg Perhaps the most noticeable feature of Cairnbulg is the remains of the Sovereign, a Banff registered fishing boat that hit the rocks just north of the village in 2005 and has been there ever since The rocky beach close to the wreck is home to a tern col-ony in the summer. You can also see eider ducks and goldeneye ducks displaying offshore . Maggie’s Hoosie was home to Miss Maggie Duthie, a woman who made her living preparing fish for market. She was not fond of change and shunned comforts such as running water and electricity. Preserved since her death in 1950, Maggie’s Hoosie is open to visitors during the summer.

PLACES Fraserburgh Fraserburgh, or ‘the Broch’ as it is locally known, is situ-ated at the northern limits of the East Grampian coast-line. As well as being a busy fishing port which lands over 12,000 tonnes of shellfish each year, Fraserburgh is home to the oldest lighthouse in Scotland and the Muse-um of Scottish Lighthouses located at Kinnaird Head. Kinnaird Head also offers a spectacular viewpoint for scenery and wildlife. Dolphins and whales can often be spotted here, close to the deep waters of the near-by Southern Trench. Birds come very close to the shore in order to reduce the distance they need to travel. Immediately to the east of the town is one of the best beaches in Scotland: Fraserburgh Bay The waves here are popular with surfers and Fraserburgh featured as a host in the UK Pro Surf Tour 2010. Three miles east along the coast is Waters of Philorth Local Nature Reserve (LNR). This scenic area is lovely for a walk in the sand dunes. There are great views to Fraserburgh across the bay and the river is a great place to watch for kingfisher.

Fraserburgh Bay

Cairnbulg

20

Final word—How to find out more. I hope you have enjoyed this brief tour of the Coast. How-ever to show all the wonders the our coast has to offer would take a large book. For more information we have produced www.discovereastgrampiancoast.co.uk

This Website has a comprehensive guide to the area and links to further sources of information. The QR code for the site is displayed on the cover. For up to the minute information we are also on Twitter— @grampian_coast

As well as our work on Green Tourism EGCP is still heavily involved in the management of the coast and aid-ing the implementation of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

As part of this work we will be producing an e-newsletter focussing on coastal issues. If you wish to receive this please let me know I would also like to thank Aberdeenshire Council and Visit Aberdeen for funding both the Website and this Newslet-ter and our hosts at Marine Scotland. Lastly, this is the first issue that I have had to design my-self, hence the lateness. Until now this work has been done my Pat Carnegie of the James Hutton Institute who I would like to thank having now seen the amount of work it takes.

Ian Hay Project Manager—EGCP

Species Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Where Info

Bottlenose Dolphin Girdleness, Aberdeen P10/11

White Beaked Dolphins Aberdeen to Caterline P10/11

Risso’s Dolphin Bullars—various P10/11

Harbour Porpoise Coastal Headlands P10/11

Minkie Whales Coastal Headlands P10/11

Basking Shark Rattray Head P18

Seals Ythan P14/15

Guillemot/Razorbill Bullars, Fowlesheugh P6

Puffins Bullars, Fowlesheugh P6

Terns Ythan P14/15

Great/Arctic Skua Coastal Headlands

Iceland Gull Peterhead/Fraserburgh P16/17

Waders—Wintering Strathbeg, Ythan P18

Geese Strathbeg P18

Migrating Birds Coastal Headlands

Osprey Ythan

Waxwing Aberdeen

Butterflies Various P4

90% + 50% 20%

East Grampian Coastal Partnership, Room E32, Marine Scotland-Science, Victoria Rd, Torry, AB11 9DB. www.egcp.org.uk

All text by Ian Hay unless otherwise stated. ian.hay@egcp.org.uk Tel 01224 295308 Mob 07971 149117

Chance of a sighting in 1 hour in reasonable conditions

Wild Calendar

Logos—shire— visit Aberdeen—marine Scotland—Aberdeen harbour—Peterhead Port