Woollie Weekend

I thought my weekend was going to be quiet but it ended up quite busy.... it was glorious again on Saturday, so much so that I took off in the morning to have a run along the waterfront in Broughty Ferry and I ran for an hour, before taking a seat in the sunshine on the beach to read the newspaper. After lunch, I went to Tenstmuir Forest and Kinshaldy Beach again with friends. It is just the most amazing place, beautiful white sand, sand dunes and a forest, it doesn't happen like that very often.

It was a busy place on Saturday afternoon, kids swimming in the small pools of water left when the tide went out, people sitting in the shelter behind sand dunes soaking up the sun, others walking on the beach. We took off our shoes, to feel the sand under our feet and between our toes and walked to the point where the seals are bobbing about in the water or lounging on a sand bar, watching us watching them, before finding our own sheltered spot in the sun and snoozing for half an hour!

Then it was back to the city centre to meet other friends and spend the early evening at the German Beer Festival that has set up in City Square (you can see it here on the City's webcam) for a couple of weeks - some Krombacher beer and german sausages rounded off the day quite nicely! 

Sunday dawned early and I went with more friends to Glamis Castle for a picnic. It was the Queen Mother's, Elizabeth Bowes Lyon's childhood home. The castle is open to visitors and the grounds are also open. We took a picnic and managed to eat before the rain started. Undetered by a little moisture (even though there was a Mexican and a Costa Rican in our midst) we walked round the grounds for almost 2 hours, seeing beautiful flowers - both wild and planted, rhododendrons of many colours, fish and birds, the Italian Garden and the Pinetum. 

The grounds really are beautiful - particularly an enormous horse chestnut tree that was planted to commemorate the last battle on British soil, the Battle of Culloden, in 1746. The tree has spread with branches low to the ground and at this time of year covered in beautiful flowers. We took shelter from the rain and I found the perfect bed - babes in the woods or what???