Day 34: Collieston, Peterhead and Fraserburgh

I am spending three days in an extraordinary house with some fascinating people.

Old Slain Castle is exactly that - the ruin of the original Slain castle in the shadow of which has been built an A frame house

You reach it via a precarious unmade up road full of deep potholes and in places on the edge of the cliff.

It sits on top of a promontory sticking out into the North Sea and has wonderful sea views on three sides. On the rocks in front there are seagulls, cormorants and a puffin colony.

Until very recently my hosts Rebecca and Vishnu were living in New Mexico, and they made the news when the luggage they brought back to Scotland with them were 17 rescue dogs. 11 dogs are still here though only Princess lives in the house. I like dogs. Just as well!

The castle was blown up in 1594 by James VI as punishment for the owner The Earl of Erroll plotting against him.

The rocky  beaches round here were used by smugglers in the past who in the late 1700's landed an estimated 8,000 gallons of Dutch gin a month on these beaches. You'd need a lot of tonic with that.

When I arrived Vishnu greeted me with a large glass of Scottish wine. Not any old wine, Scottish Wild Elderberry wine. Sadly I managed to repay his generosity by knocking it over. The glass shattered and red wine splashed all over his hearth rug. He was so nice about it too.

This morning it rained hard and the sea pounded the rocks whilst the seagulls screeched, as they do, and the cormorants surfed the thermals.

This is a magical place even in the rain. It was like being on board a large wooden ship but thankfully without the risk of sea sickness.

Once it played itself out, the sun reappeared and I went to look at Peterhead and Fraserburgh.

There was a red and white lighthouse at Boddam on the outskirts, not dissimilar to ours at Beachy Head.

It was on as rocky island and could be approached via a metal bridge.

To the south of Peterhead is a big powerstation.

To the left are wind turbines and just outside St.Fergus is a massive gas terminal.

One couldn't get too close to it because of security but it looks as big as a small city. It' s all about power and energy and seems to have leached all the energy from the town itself. Did someone warn them I was coming?

If it had been 5 pm on a Sunday afternoon I might have understood it but it was Friday lunchtime and the place was deserted.

Where was everyone? I half expected there to be a massive shopping centre on the edge of town to compensate but if one were there, I didn't see it.

It was a similar story in Fraserburgh. Like Peterhead, there was a harbour with small fishing boats

but here fishing is done on an industrial scale

So where is all the money?

There was Iceland, William Hill and Nickel and Dime but no high end anything. Yet bizarrely, Gloria was, far and away, the oldest car in the square. There were above average top of the range monster cars: BMW, Mitsubishi Shogans and several almost new Range Rovers.

What is going on in some of these towns?
Is it lost jobs with all the economic problems that brings?

Is it about missed opportunities?
Laziness?
 Or sheer poor management?

Fraserburgh refers to itself as ' The Light of Scotland'
presumably because it hosts a lighthouse museum, but if Fraserburgh is really the light of Scotland, then Scotland is in deep trouble.

In The Kingdom of Fife there was a reward scheme and towns were recognised as being beautiful or for its being in bloom. They could display these awards -  silver, gold,  silver gilt. There was a definite sense of pride and competition. There were flowers everywhere. Maybe Aberdeenshire needs to implement something similar. Soon.

I ended the day at Cruden Bay. It's the next little bay to the one I am living in. It pretty and sandy.

I wanted to glimpse the castle that was built to replace this one. New Slains - its now a ruin too.

In its day it was a Gothic castle and like Whitby Abbey, it claims that the idea for Dracula originated there. However I can't quite see this tiny hamlet holding a massive annual punk\ steampunk event every Hallowe'en.

I bought Vishnu two new wine glasses to replace the one I broke. He has just presented me with another Scottish Country Wine - Oakleaf.

Now I need to concentrate. Cheers!