@pfooti · 2026-06-20 · travel

June 19th: More Braemar

June 19th rained quite a bit. We got some good walking in between two bits of rain. This is a thing about modern technology: you can just kind of look and see custom weather maps and projections on the hand-held device you keep in your pocket that’s attached to the global information network.

The sky was pretty dramatic the whole time.

Of course, the hand-held device also shows you directions where you’re going (there are so many roads in Scotland, I probably don’t go more than 5 miles without having to turn on to the next road, so having a satellite navigation system is great), but then it tries to navigate you to the back entrance to the campground or stone circle or garden and you end up in a weird alley doing a U-turn. That’s happened a lot lately, we’re going to get better at ignoring The Device for the last mile or two of any leg and just follow the signs.

Same castle from yesterday, but now in the distance seen over the Clunie Water. Every time I see it, I say “Go away or I shall taunt you a second time.”

We drove a bit out of Braemar, parked the van, and walked along the River Dee to the Clunie Water and then back into town. Good enough to say: I wish I was better at tramping around, but we all get old slowly and then all at once. Aches and pains in my legs and feet, from just two miles of flat walking (although it was rocky and rough enough that I had to pay close attention to where I was putting my feet). Old age: gets us all eventually. I mean, I’m not decrepit yet, but still.

One thing I did during this hike was: as we sat to rest on the stone wall overlooking the River Dee, I took my phone out and scrolled through my rss feed. I originally had it out to take a photo, but then once the photo was taken, it stayed out. I started scrolling. I’d gotten distracted somehow. Chrissy said, “what are you doing?” and, embarrassed, I said “checking my email” when in fact I was reading about some silly video game news item. I put the phone back in my pocket, resolving to ignore the temptations of The Device, and to also come clean about that particular interaction at a future time. That time is now.

Somebody here had a really bad day. Somebody else had a good one.

We walked along the water for a while, got back to town, then stopped in at the chip shop where I had a cheeseburger and Chrissy had fish & chips. I was going to have fish and chips, but the folks we sat next to in the one picnic table that was out of the rain had ordered cheeseburgers, so I figured they were on to something and followed suit. It was only later that I realized they had a battered and fried sausage on the menu, which I really should have gotten. The burger was pretty good though.

Scotland is just full of cool paths and not at all terrifying bridges.

After the chip shop, we went to a couple of arts and crafts stores, plus a gallery. I saw a collage by Colin Brown (artist, gallery) that I liked a lot, one of his flower pieces. A bit more than I wanted to spend, but art always is. I have a backlog of art I’d like to eventually be able to afford, so I’ll add him to the list. I also tried on a Harris Tweed jacket (with elbow patches, natch) and I guess I will need to get whatever jacket I end up getting (or maybe a cloak!) more custom. The 48 was a little tight across my shoulders, and if I’m being especially honest here: didn’t keep up with the rotundity in my middle. The 50 was better around the middle, but made me look a bit of a football player with shoulder pads. I probably need a 49 across the shoulders and maybe just some custom shaping around the belly. Or a cloak.

We came out of the bridge, turned a corner and there was this. I have no idea what it is, other than “big and made of metal” and I would like to keep it that way.

After the art walk, we got back into the van and headed up the road a bit. Once again The Device tried to navigate us to the back entry to the thing we were going to, which was the Tomnaverie stone circle. Three point turn and go, and we finally arrive. The stone circle was on top of a hill; views all around. These things are all over Scotland. I’m always struck by this continuity and discontinuity. There have been people here (grazing sheep if nothing else) since the stone circle was built, but we don’t now know who built it or why. There was a time when it was known, and a time now that it is not. The frisson comes from considering the moment of change- did someone choose to not pass on the knowledge? Did everyone die, and then new people move in? Did someone just not listen to old Grandma’s stories enough? Probably all three.

A true panorama, so print this out, tape it into a cylinder, and put your head inside it to truly experience.

Dinner was a cabbage and sausage skillet. I may be pandering to my eastern European heritage here, but cabbage, butter, sausage and onions are pretty good all by themselves. Toss in some spices, herbs, and a little mustard or vinegar and you’ve got yourself a dinner.

Today’s Jeff is an oystercatcher on the Clunie Water. There are a lot of oystercatchers around, which makes me think a lot about: you don’t normally “catch” oysters. They’re not really all that good at evading. Also, there’s no oysters around here. Most of the time, Jeff was digging around in the meadow soil, but he spent some time gazing into the river as well. Probably wondering where the oysters are.

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