Holiday 2023 - Dalbeattie, near Dumfries, Scotland
Each year we choose a different place in the UK to stay while on vacation. In the past we have visited various places such as the Lake District, the Peaks, New Forest, Norfolk Broads, Isle of Mull, South Wales etc. We even visited the Scottish Highlands and the Cairngorms last year, and enjoyed it so much that this year we chose to return to Scotland, this time to the Lowlands, in Dumfries and Galloway.
Part 1 - Arrival and exploring Dalbeattie Forest - 9th June
Well how about this for a first impression!
A Pair of Deer statues, awaited us when we arrived to this fabulous little Lodge. This was to be our 'base' for the week while we checked out all the fascinating wildlife and beautiful landscapes that could be seen here in the Scottish Lowlands
On Friday, we had spent a relatively short 5 hour car journey driving along some boring motorways to get here
I say relatively, in the past we've done 10+ hours to get to some places
The journey was easy enough, not many roadworks or delays and soon we arrived at this lovely little Lodge.
And it was just as impressive inside too... made out of Wood (pine?) and with a simple and cosy interior, its probably one of the best places we've stayed in
we've stayed in a lot over the last 10 years!
And check out this 'scottish' welcome basket:
Shortbread, Irn-Bru AND Tunnocks Teacakes? Thats a winner right there!
Besides sampling the local 'cuisine' is all part of the holiday experience! 😉
View of the kitchen - simple and basic, but had everything we needed
Bathroom which looked very nice, even though I didn't use it, I preferred the shower downstairs. If you zoom into the pic you'll see an idiot who tried to take a photo without appearing in the mirror, and failed miserably in the process!
Bedroom. Again it was simple but perfect for what we needed. It was slightly too soft, but if its a choice between a bit too soft and rock hard, I'll take soft!
The view out the front was nice...
But the biew out the back was much more interesting!
The trees here are the edges of Dalbeattie Town Forrest, which means not only are there some nice and pretty walks literally on our door step, but this will be an excellent location to put out a moth trap later this week
in fact, I think I'll put one out later tonight
After a bit of time spent unpacking the car with all our junk, we headed straight outside to explore
Down the long driveway we went...
admiring the view as we went...
We were heading down to the main car park and entrance to the Forest, and as it was so close we walked. It was a surprisingly busy road though, so after having to stand on the grass verge many times to avoid traffic, we eventually made it
note to self: we need to find a different path back to the Lodge later
A selection of 3 trails were availalbe on the map, all way marked which meant we could relax and stroll though the woodland.
We picked the Birch trail as it was the shortest one (it was already 7pm by this point, and didn't plan to get lost in the dark on our first night here.
In the map above in the bottom right corner you can see the words 'Little Richorn' that's where we stayed, and that's how close we were to this little nature reserve
It was beautiful in the evening sunlight as we wandered around in a small loop, before heading back to the car park
A golden hedgehog?
We found this while in the car park. Apparently several of these were dotted about the Dalbeattie area, but we didn't find any more. Nor did we find out the significance or meaning behind them... so it was just an excuse for a random photo lol
Song Thrush!
A bit far off (and I totally had the wrong lens on the camera) but if you zoom into the picture, the 'upside down heart shaped spots' on its front are unmistakable
Time to head back, and consulting an Ordenance Survey Map I ascrtained that there was a path that went through the woods which passed by our lodge... at least we could avoid the road on the way back.
Just after we left the trees and were walking down a connecting path to the lodge, my partner found this feather.
Its hard to make out but near the base of the feather is a tinge of orange, and then a flash of blue further up, it is unmistable a feather of an Eurasian Jay.
A striking member of the Corvid (as in Crows) family, I have been desperate to get a photo of a Jay for ages, but they are generally found in woodland, and are super shy and skittish.
Would I finally get a chance to see one this week? I was going to keep all my fingers crossed just in case!
A suitable place to end, and to sum up what I hope to get from this week. I want to see lots of sunshine (we are on holiday after all!) I want to see some amazing wildlife, and I want to get some awesome pictures
so this Great Tit with a grub in it's mouth ready to feed chicks, lit with the evening sunshine providing some rim lighting (the white outline) is perfect.
And as the sun is setting, that reminds me, its time to get the moth trap out and see what exciting new species I can find here so please join me next time to see what exciting moths I can find!
While in my care, all individuals are looked after, and after Photographs have been taken, they are all released safely outside.
All names confirmed and checked via Wikispieces
Further Research from UK Moths and NatureSpot
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