Thursday 27th July 2023

Planning the Day

My time in Grantown on Spey had come to an end and the next stop on my itinerary for the week was in Upper Largo, a small village not far from the most famous of all golf courses – St Andrews

After a final breakfast at Grant Arms Hotel, I checked out and set off along the route googled the evening before (in blue on the map below).

Just to add some birding interest, I decided to divert from the route slightly so that I could pass through Montrose on the east coast. A scan through the Scottish Birding Spots app had shown an interesting tidal basin at Montrose which seemed to be worth a look.

The distance of 131 miles / 210 km was not that far but the narrow twisty roads meant progress was very slow and of course I made frequent stops at lay byes to scout around or just to look and listen, resulting in a total trip of some 7 hours.

The 3 and a quarter hours estimated by google was an indication of just how slow this route was going to be, even without stops and deviations.

Highland Tourist Route

Not long after setting off the signposts indicated that the road was part of the Highland Tourist Route and I could see why – the moors have a beauty of their own – covered in heath and heather and undulating to the point of grandeur. Rugged looking sheep dot the hillsides in places and being part of the Cairngorns the whole area is sparsely populated.

Ever on the lookout for birds, I stopped at a field where a few Lapwings were accompanying a small flock of sheep – or was it the other way round – in any event the lapwings and sheep seemed quite comfortable in each other’s presence.

The villages along the way look as if they haven’t changed for decades with neat stone houses often right up against the road and not much sign of life. And the main road is not necessarily reserved for vehicles….

Another stop and a short but steep walk up a hill took me to a viewpoint overlooking the Avon River and an expansive stretch of handsome countryside below

At this spot the signboard near the road gave some background of that most famous of Scottish products …

My first longer stop of the day was when I pulled off at a roadside parking area which led to a pleasant walk into a low valley, with birds active in the bushes and a couple of raptors overhead – one turned out to be a Kestrel while I could only ID the larger raptor as a Common Buzzard later, based on the photos taken of it flying at a great height and with grey backlight.

At the lower end of the valley stood a grey stone building which a signboard informed me was part of an old mine from the 1700’s.

Teatime meant I made a quck stop at a roadside cafe for a small slice of their carrot cake, which I enjoyed with my tea at an old bridge on an abandoned stretch of road next to the main road – a boulder placed to discourage vehicles from using the bridge became my rugged tea table for the occasion.

Thistles are common at the roadside and this one was particularly attractive

The diversion to Montrose gave me an opportunity to visit the Montrose Basin Wildlife Reserve and have lunch while viewing the many waders on the sandbanks formed at low tide – just a pity visibility was not great due to the diffused light caused by cloud cover and a general haziness in the air. The distance of the viewing windows from the water also made it not worthwhile to attempt any photography.

Nevertheless there was a good variety of species that I could ID with the help of the scopes provided for visitors and the assistance of the pleasant young lady in charge.  During the hour spent at the visitor centre’s viewing windows I was able to add several species to my growing trip list…

• Waders such as Greenshank, Redshank and Eurasian Curlew
• Eurasian Oystercatchers
• A familiar looking Grey Heron
• Common Tern – a chart on the wall showed its migration route, ending in South Africa
• ”Ordinary species such as Eurasian Collared Dove and Stock Dove
• Bonus species in the form of Eurasian Tree Sparrow and Eurasian Magpie

There was still a couple of hours driving to do so I didn’t dawdle and continued along roads that seemed to get increasingly narrower, other than a stretch that took me through busy Dundee. There were still plenty of sights worth stopping for but that was sometimes impossible where roads are narrow and busy with no verge or lay bye handy to pull off

At last I got to Monturpie Guesthouse and checked in, then walked to the village for a decent meal of prawn cocktail and fish and chips at the local hotel where most customers were regulars judging by the many who had brought their dogs with them – all well behaved so it felt quite normal.

On the walk down  to the village I spotted a Yellowhammer which was a lifer for me – I had no camera available so include the illustration from Collins just to show how striking this little bird is

And that was a nice way to round out an interesting day of travel along the back roads of the Highlands