Wednesday was a completely different sort of day. Firstly, we got up incredibly early to leave for Kessock Bridge where we hoped to see otters. This is what we saw, in my case from the relative comfort of the bus:
Canada geese
No otters. We felt we had earned the breakfast we returned to.
For the rest of the morning we listened to a couple of talks, on the wildcat project, and moths, each fascinating. The braver souls – it was still raining, though not as hard – went out into the grounds to indulge in a bit of pond-dipping. I’m afraid I chickened out, being very ill-equipped for bad weather.
The afternoon was free to spend exploring where we were living for the week rather more than we’d been able to hitherto. (Some joined a small group going a very long way, for a very small chance of seeing a ring ouzel or two. Sadly they had as much luck as we had had in the morning over otters.)
I did indeed spend a lot of time outside exploring Aigas – it had stopped raining by now, and here is a selection of the pictures I took then and at other times during the week, both indoors and outdoors.
My room
That’s the entrance to an old ice house seen though one window
My lodge
Ruth showing us where we’re going that day
First meal
The sitting room
The dining room, shortly to be laid out for a buffet lunch
A hundred-year-old wasp’s nest
Our hostess is a very talented lady
The library and overflow dining room
The gallery above the dining hall
The sitting room
The Magnus House
From the Tower Hide
No chance of seeing the wild cats!
As well as feeding us splendidly, Lady Lister-Kaye is entirely responsible for the garden
It had started raining again before I was safely back in the house.
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