Decided to go anyway as it was a bank holiday weekend and I knew I'd regret it if I wasted the day. Set off in grey, cloudy weather but by the time I reached Huntly I could see the cloud breaking up further north. By the time I got to the Moray coast there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Wise decision.
I drove through Sandend and parked the car at the Sunnyside beach car park. There were 3 or 4 cars there even though it was evening so I decided to walk east from Findlater Castle to avoid any possible crowds. However, I couldn't find any flat grass and when Sandend came into view I turned around and headed west towards Sunnyside beach.
The path descended to the beach and I spotted one flat piece of short grass but kept going in case there was anything better further west. I passed 3 women walking in the opposite direction and had a chat about the deer I had seen on the cliff face. The grass was very long and bumpy so I turned round hoping the women had not pinched my spot. Luckily they had kept on walking towards Sandend so I dumped my rucksack and got the camera out.
The weather was beautiful and sunny and I wandered along the beach taking photos until it was time to erect the tent. I had decided not to take the bivy in case of midgies. It felt quite exposed to passers-by but I did not see another soul for the rest of the camp. The sunset was worth the walk and I hit the sack at the back of 11 pm.
The weather overnight was extremely calm and the wind was about 6 mph before I went to bed. The temperature fell to a minimum of 9 degrees so I was very cosy all night.
After a restless night I got up at 5 am to find I had just missed the sunrise. However, it was still very calm and the cloud was breaking up quickly. A quick cup of white tea and the tent was packed. A deer on the cliff face was less than happy with my presence and was barking at me for a few minutes.
I made a minor detour to look at the dovecot that was built in the late 16th century in order to provide the nearby Findlater Castle with fresh meat and fertiliser. The interior was amazing with over 700 stone nesting boxes.
I decided to stop at Portsoy harbour for some photos and was very glad I did. This was my first visit to Portsoy apart from Graham and Teresa's wedding - it was very quaint in the early morning sun. Surprisingly I did meet a couple of people even though it was only 6.30 am on a Sunday morning.
I was back home by about 8 am in time for a decent breakfast after unpacking the tent in the garage in order to air it. Then hours of photo editing ...
