A walk by the river

Had a lovely stroll along by the river today, only a 10/15 minute walk from my house. The river was very low, due to the dry spell we have had and looked like a mill pond in places. However, don't be fooled as there are very strong undercurrents and I would not recommend going into the river for a paddle or swim. By 1860 there were 11 water powered mills on the river turning flax into linen, they are now long gone, in ruins or being developed.

The 'Knockie' Path

One of the lovely things about Blairgowrie is that apart from it being convenient for going to many different places is that within 5 minutes you can be walking in beautiful open countryside in total peace and quiet. A lovely walk I went today was to the 'Knockie', part of the Blairgowrie Path Network up above the town where you get spectacular views, unfortunately today there was low mist which hadn't cleared so I didn't see much! I shall endeavour to get pictures of the view another time. From my upstairs lounge window and one of my bedrooms you can see the hill I went over.

I had a telephone call this morning to inform me that I had come 2nd in the Blair in Bloom Accommodation Providers category for my garden, which was good news. There will be a prize-giving in the Autumn.

Inspector calls

Had an inspector call round on one of their surprise visits this afternoon from the Michelin guide, which we are lucky enough to have been included in for a few years now, so it all seemed to go well.

Have had a glorious week of weather and the containers in the front garden are blooming away beautifully and the hydrangea at the front door is looking great. In a moment of madness I decided to enter a category in the 'Blair in Bloom' garden competition, and they called round yesterday when I was out as there was a note through the door to say my garden had been judged, I knew I should have done some weeding at the weekend!! So we shall have to wait and see what the results are.

Raspberry Picking

As it was a reasonably nice day I decided to go raspberry picking, they are extremely popular for Breakfast, and it makes for quite a relaxing and peaceful hour or so. There is a good 'pick your own' farm just outside Coupar Angus. I keep meaning to grow some in my garden, but never seem to get around to it!, it's on my long list of things to do.

Cleaven Dyke

Cleaven Dyke is a Neolithic Cursus, ceremonial earthwork, that runs for over 2km and dates to around 3,500BC.

There is a maze of lovely peaceful walks through the woodland where it is located, which can be accessed just over a 5 minute drive away off the A93 on the way to Perth or alternatively drive on to the pretty village of Meikleour where there is a lovely hotel where you can have a meal or a drink. There is a path leading to the woods between the hotel and their car park.

Round Britain Rally 2008

Two of my guests staying this evening arrived this afternoon on the most beautiful Honda Goldwing motorbike, I am green with envy. After talking to them I found out they were doing parts of what is called Round Britain Rally, where you get points for each landmark you visit and take a picture of your motorbike next to it, the landmark they were visiting whilst here was Cargill's Leap.

http://www.roundbritainrally.co.uk/

They very kindly let me take a picture.

Peaches and Mushrooms again!!

What a gorgeous day today, sunny and hot, so I spent quite a bit of time in the garden. I planted a peach tree earlier in the year in and it is doing well and has fruit on it, we will have to wait and see if they are any good. Had another successful mushroom foray the other day, couldn't believe how many there were and how obvious, as quite often you have to really search under moss and undergrowth.

I won't bore you with any more mushroom tales this year!!