Another nice sleep in for us.... this country lifestyle is growing on us! We had some coffee and did some planning for the day.
We had a morning rollie and then after showers, went over to the cottage to see Doris. She was very happy to see us and we got reacquainted quickly. Roger had a nice tea all set up and we enjoyed great conversations of family and goings on. She was keen to learn of our family activities and plans for the future. We looked over some old photos that Doris had brought out that included Thelma. A lovely touch.
Roger gave us a tour of the cottage (all 5 bedrooms!) and of course, beautifully appointed with antiques.
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| Kelly, Doris, Roger & Vicki. |
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| Thelma on the left with her dad Peter, Doris's brother Alex and kids Valeria and Billie |
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| We always loved this clock when we came in 1994.. she still has it! |
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| Parisian Clock |
I had a quick walk around the property and took a few pictures before we left for Portessie.
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| The cottage is nestled onto an est. 3/4 acre parcel of land in the village. |
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| Lovely spot for Doris. |
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| Nice big rooms with lots of windows. |
Next up was a trip down the A96 & A98 and away to Portessie, the town where Kelly's mom Thelma lived in her early years. The house she lived in was updated but still there.
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| No 9 Rannas Place |
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| The stairs she played on in her youth. |
We wandered the area looking for the old train station location from the late 50's & early 60's. It was from this spot that Thelma and her mother Dorothy & father Peter had picked up and left family for new adventures in Canada. It was bitter sweet as the family members waved goodbye to each other as the train pulled out... not to be heard from for months, unsure of their plight. Eventually mail would arrive with news of a safe passage. I did a quick google search for images and found this one.
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| This is a picture of the station well after it closed. You can see the brick platform in the forefront. |
With this in mind, Roger suggested this spot would be ideal for any kind of special remembrance. We hiked up the hill and with some assistance from a local lady, found the pathway that was once the train tracks. We followed the path until we came across the brick wall that was the edge of the station platform. Comparing photos, we determined that we had indeed found the correct location of the old train station & platform.
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| The old platform. |
It was nice to be in that very spot that Thelma had waved goodbye back in 1957... she said hello again... she was home.
We wandered back down the stairway and had one last pic outside the old residence.
Next up was a winding drive eastward through Findochty and into Portknockie where we went to see the Bow Fiddle Rock, aptly named due to it's shape. It was quite spectacular.
Kelly said it was time for a dram so off we went to find a distillery. A quick google search and we found the Dallas Dhu Distillery just south of Forres. This worked out well as it took us back towards Auldearn.... unfortunately the place was locked up tight with no obvious entrance. Not to be deterred, we found the Benromach Distilery close by and headed over to it. They were about to close but Kelly managed to order a dram for herself (I was driving so abstained).
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| It was still open!! |
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| Kelly toasted her mother's memory. Job done! |
A quick stop at Tesco for some supplies and we headed back to the Manse. It was family mayhem as Vicki was off to choir practice, Euan's Salsa dance was cancelled so we had a good chat with him on his travel plans with Amy to Australia. Roger came home and kindly went to the local chipper and picked up fish dinners for us all. Very good but huge portions!
We then looked over some old photos of family along with a picture book of the reconstruction of the mill building. Lots of work went into that project!!
Steps - 6100
Weather 17ºc with a spit of rain & mixed clouds. Warm when the sun came out!
