Walking the Line.....Day 2

A short walk around the town of Peterhead to locate a curry restaurant was successful, the food was tasty, the service friendly and the prices very affordable! The town centre itself was more or less deserted but there was a strong cold wind blowing, significantly colder than the weather inland.

{Peterhead, the Blue Toon}

{A statue depicting Peterhead's past connection to the fishing industry}

On our drive from Auchnagatt to Peterhead we had passed close by the F & B Way alongside the road and after Mintlaw heading towards the coast the area became less rural and more urban, often with housing hiding the walkway from view. As we decided to stay the night at Aden Country Park which is near Mintlaw I determined to walk west towards Maud and then turn north to Strichen for the next day's walking, thus avoiding a walk towards Peterhead.

The day would be divided into two. The van would be left initially at Maud, where there is an old station building and a carpark, and then after having lunch there, John would drive on to Strichen where we would find a wild camping spot for the night.

The warden at the campsite at Aden was very friendly and the facilities excellent. We started the day with a lovely hot shower. The railway line comes close to the Park so it was easy for me to cross the road and get straight onto the path.

{Morning walk to Maud Station}

Wandering westward along the old line was very pleasant, passing by Deer Abbey, and I easily reached the van in Maud. There was a small shop nearby so I went and stocked up on cold drinks and a few chocolate bars for our lunch. John had passed me heading east but it wasn't long before he joined me for a picnic lunch in the old station car-park. Sadly, the small railway museum now housed in the station buildings, was only open at weekends.

{Maud Station buildings}

The weather was improving all the time and I set off in bright sunshine towards Strichen. There was plenty of activity in the fields I passed by, where the big harvest machines were working hard. I spotted several pairs of buzzards hunting and many smaller birds feeding on seed heads and insects along the way. The path was well looked after and I passed quite a number of old huts, obviously at one time used by railway workers. All but one were in various stages of decay, some badly wrecked inside with graffiti and full of rubbish.

{Railway hut - in good repair}

{Inside - a working fireplace}

Approaching Strichen to find the van, the White Horse on Mormond Hill attracted my attention but I would have to be nearer for a good photo. I met up with John (he'd cycled past me twice earlier) and we walked up to look at the Stone Circle. I'm going to write another post about that little side-trip later.........

We couldn't find a good place to park as planned near Mormond Hill, so we headed down to New Aberdour beach. Although it was a bit windy overnight, the bay was beautiful and made a great stop-over after a good day's walking. It would be a lovely place for a wild camp in a tent too.

{New Aberdour beach in the evening sun}