Swimming At The Beach, In Scotland

I felt that the above should be the title of this post, as it is highly likely that it doesn't happen very often. I should also add, in a vein of honesty, that at no point did real, full body immersion, swimming take place. However, there was wading, and sitting in the waves, and by the time we came home there was sand in all of the customary cracks and crevices of the children, hence, I claim the right to refer to it as 'swimming'. The wind was gusty, but it was warm. Mild may be more accurate - but the temperature over all was very warm and so we made the most of it while we could. This was made all the easier by the location of our new Hostel, which is right beside the harbour! A harbour that has sand, of all the novelties!!
We are in Cullen Harbour Hostel, in Cullen. Ever heard of Cullen Skink? Well that is from here. Last night we were in a guest house / hotel in Carnoustie. We had to separate into two rooms, which was fine, and breakfast was included, so we lingered over that for an hour, and at ten am I was not my usual hungry self. It meant that a lunch of carrot sticks and apples was all that was needed by us all. (and so as to dispel any air of puritanical achievement, there were crisps, shortbread and french fancies all enjoyed at later times in the day.) After our noodle dinner, we went for a stroll and found a truly excellent playground on the foreshore. I think that Shane and I laughed and enjoyed ourselves as much as the kids! Seriously cool, and took some convincing this morning that the rain and the drive ahead made it not a possible spot to re-visit.
We followed the coast up to Aberdeen and then headed inland, via Huntly, to get to Cullen. Huntly Castle was somewhere that my friend and I had stopped and looked at 13 years ago when we went on our four day fly-around-Scotland trip (no, we didn't really fly - we drove) Do you remember that, Sandi? I loved it at the time, and enjoyed it just as much today as the sun shone down in warmth, making the green hills, tall trees and rushing stream even more enchanting than I recalled. It is a great castle to visit, as there are more internal walls intact on the inside, than one often finds at such an old place. It was first built up in the 12th Century by the Lord of Fife. Later it was inhabited by the Gordon family for ever so long, until the mid 17th Century when cruel treatment and political unrest saw them leave the place forever. Walking around and reading the info available, one gets a pretty good idea of how such a place may have looked.
Another bonus was the discovery that our English Heritage Card, will be honored at all Historical Scotland sites.
After writing the last blog, it occurred to me that I can not do real justice to the people that we are seeing and the kindnesses that they are showing us. Each person has their own story in my life, and I can't possibly recount them all - nor do I know that they would actually want me to... so if you are mentioned here....please do NOT feel glossed over....the personal exchanges that pass between us all are the most special moments of all; scenery comes second.
G'bye the noo.