Blair in Bloom Litter Pick

This morning Blair in Bloom had organised a litter pick as part of the 2011 National Spring Clean organised by Keep Scotland Tidy. Everyone involved met down at the riverside car park and were issued with bags, litter picker uppers etc then went off to various parts of the town. We stayed and picked litter along the riverside paths. We couldn't have asked for better weather and it was lovely to see so many people out for a morning walk. It is a lovely spot down by the River Ericht and the water is very low at the moment. We have had absolutely beautiful warm weather the past two weekends, hope it stays for Easter.

Moncreiffe Hill

On the same road to Elcho Castle there is a parking area where you can access the walks at Moncreiffe Hill which is managed by the 'Woodland Trust Scotland'. You can also park at another entrance which is accessed by following the Rhynd signs just before Bridge of Earn, we went off just after Perth also following Rhynd signs, but that was because we were going to the castle. I may be confusing you! The place we parked looks quite new with lots of new planting, footpaths etc. I need to go back anyway because it was so wet at the time that we only had a wee wander up to the 'New Fort'. There are yellow, blue and red waymarked walks and it is a real wildlife paradise with many viewpoints. The children also picked up a super treasure trail map.

Elcho Castle

Continuing on the 'Castle Bagging' theme, we went to Elcho Castle just outside of Perth today, another Historic Scotland property. Typical April weather today sunshine and showers, pleasantly warm though. It is very impressive both inside and out and you get great views over the River Tay. It is a great place to take children as they have 'costumes' for them to dress up in as well as quizzes to do. Elcho Castle is a 16th century tower house and is one of the best preserved in Scotland.

Burleigh Castle

Had a quick stop at Burleigh Castle, just outside of Milnathort the next town along from Kinross. It was built around 1500 and is a roofless but complete ruin of a Tower House. This castle is also maintained by Historic Scotland. If you like to visit a lot of castles it is probably worth becoming a member.

Loch Levens Larder

We drove around to the other side of the loch to have some lunch at Loch Levens Larder. It is a lovely building with views out over the loch. The restaurant was busy and we had a very reasonably priced lunch then had a look around the shop and deli, lots of nice produce but I resisted buying anything.

Loch Leven Heritage Trail

We followed part of the Loch Leven Heritage Trail which takes you past the beautiful and historic Kinross house. There are lots of walks which are all suitable for bikes, prams, wheelchairs etc. The whole trail is over 12km if you were really keen! but you can access different areas from all around the Loch. Kinross House was put on the market last year or the year before, but I don't know if it has sold, there was talk of it becoming a hotel. The gardens at Kinross House are/were open to the public, but I didn't see any sign to indicate they were open at present, I shall have to find out.

LochLeven Castle

LochLeven Castle is run and maintained by Historic Scotland. We had a lovely boat trip across, but the wind was starting to get quite fierce which made the loch quite choppy and the 'skipper' warned us that he might not be able to get along side the jetty for us to disembark, but he did thankfully. Lochleven Castle is probably best known as the place where Mary Queen of Scots was held prisoner for a year before she escaped in 1568, but the whole history of the castle is fascinating. I have a guide book available for guests. We all had a great time exploring the ruins and had an exciting boat trip back as we got quite wet!

Loch Leven Kinross

We went on a trip down to Kinross today, only 40 minutes away. As the children are on holiday I thought it may be fun to go to Loch Leven and get the boat across to the Castle. It is well signposted as to how to get to the pier and we had a wander around as we waited for the boat. Loch Leven is a national nature reserve and further round the loch is the RSPB centre called Vane Farm where you can go and view the bird life from the hides. There are ducks, geese, swans, herons, great crested grebes, ospreys and if your lucky you may see a sea eagle. More than 20,000 birds are supposed to overwinter on the Loch.

Cittaslow Perth

I am pleased to say I was recently accepted as a Cittaslow Perth business supporter and yesterday evening myself and other businesses were invited to Perth to the council offices to receive our certificates from the Provost. Cittaslow is all about taking the time to enjoy life and protecting your environment, conserving your town, getting out and about in your town, buying and thinking local, being part of your community and welcoming visitors.

Cittaslow is a network of over 100 towns in 15 countries that have adopted the goals and principles to improve the quality of life. Cittaslow grew out of the Slow Food movement.

The Lady Returns

The Ospreys are back along at Loch of Lowes after their warm winter in Africa. I have been waiting and watching the webcams and following people on twitter to see and hear about the Ospreys return. Yesterday an Osprey landed in the nest but then went away before returning again in the evening. This morning it was confirmed as being the regular female 'Lady', she is also known as 'Marge'. What is more remarkable is that this is her 21st consecutive visit for the breeding season and she is aged at about 26 years old. Last year she was seriously ill in her nest and everyone thought she wouldn't survive but she rallied round and successfully raised two chicks with her partner. Because of her traumatic time last year she probably wasn't expected to return this year, but the grand girl has surprised everyone again, she must overwinter in a magical place that gives her super powers!

Naturally I had to nip along this morning to see for myself and get some photos. The centre was quite quiet when I arrived but soon filled up with people including TV crews and professional photographers in to report the story. The STV crew filmed me and another lady, who is also from Blairgowrie, taking photos and they did a small interview with us!, should have brushed my hair and put a better top on. We were all treated to a spectacular fly past of 2 Ospreys coming in and lady taking off to chase them away.

*Just saw my 'starring' role on the tv - cringes!*

Peter Pan on Ice

This afternoon my Mum treated us to Peter Pan on Ice at Perth Concert Hall. I have walked past the concert hall many times but this was the first time inside. They have lots of events through the year, full details here. Today's spectacular was performed by a hugely talented group of Russian Ice Stars, pretty amazing what they could accomplice on an iced stage. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. Perth Concert Hall is easy to find in Perth with nearby parking in the multi-storey and it is only 25 minutes away by car or you could easily take the regular bus services into Perth.

A walk at Stanley

Looking at these pictures you wouldn't believe we had quite a bit of snow yesterday, but I promise these were taken today. On the way back from Gloagburn I stopped at the Thistlebrig car park on the south side of Stanley. This car park is very popular with canoeists as the path takes you down to the River Tay and the reason is it is a superb stretch for whitewater even in the height of the summer. There is access further up the river at Burnmouth or at the Kinclaven bridge for the canoeists to start their descent. It was a bit muddy today but a nice stroll all the same.