2023 – Tracy Goes Outside

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Exploring Portsoy

15th Mar 202316th Mar 2023 tracygoesoutside

This is a great walk exploring round the sights of Portsoy! Nothing too taxing just a stroll round seeing some of the sights!

Distance: 2 1/4 miles Time: 1hr Terrain: Mix of grass path, pavement and tarred road Access: Arrive by car and head for the The Sail Loft, AB45 2RQ there is parking spaces between the Sail loft and the beach area. There are regular no 35 Stagecoach buses that drop off in the Main Street.

Route: Leaving the car park head towards the bridge and take the road on the left towards the graveyard. At the graveyard you will see a path that skirts round the edge of the graveyard to the side of the burn. Walk along the grass path till you reach the bridge. Head to the right here and keep going.

At the next fork take the path to the right and you will come to a great view of the Sail loft, beach and the opening of St Combs well. Keep going till you get to the silver gate where you can go and check out the well!

St Combs well is said to be first built in the 7th Century. The well 2ft diameter, and still flowing, is now covered by a stone cupola with an arched entrance. It was restored in 1893.

Back on the path head down the steps and back towards the caravan park. Follow the road along past the front of the caravan park. Keep going past the Salmon bothy till you reach the new harbour. Take a left at the harbour along to the old harbour and the dolphin sculpture.

Once you have explored the harbour area walk up North High Street till you get to the square and then along South High Street till you get to Main Street. From here cross over and head for the sign post for Loch of Soy.

Once through the carpark take the path round the Loch keeping your eyes pealed for paddling ducks and swans. Don’t forget to check out the wooden building beside the Loch that used to be the old railway station building now used as the Scout Hut.

Once round the Loch go back out the carpark and take a wander along the Main Street checking out some of the lovely shops or have some Portsoy Ice-cream. You will come to the signs for the Caravan park follow the signs and return to the start.

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Den, Dunnyduff woods and the Falls of Tarnash

26th Feb 20235th Mar 2023 tracygoesoutside

The route takes you through the Den woods, the Falls of Tarnash then on to Dunnyduff woods with a great viewpoint of Keith.

Distance: 3.5 miles Time: 1.5-2 hours Level: Easy with some elevation Terrain: Some pavement walking at start and finish and well-trodden wood paths. Be careful, as round the falls can be slippery when wet. Access: Arrive by car or public transport. Good train and bus links between Aberdeen and Inverness.Parking available at Reidhaven Square, Keith AB55 5AB

Route: The walk starts in Reidhaven Square where you head down toward the building in the middle (what used to be the public toilets/bus shelter)then take a right when you get on to Moss Street.Walk along to the end and at the last house carefully cross the road – it can be busy.

Forest track with trees at each side — Track through Den woods

Walk round the right of Dusty’s customs shop and you will see Old Den Road to the right lined with trees. Start walking along there till you pass the last house (Innesfree) and up to the left you will see the path on the left to take you in to the Den woods.

Follow this path right through the woods for about ¾ mile. Please note if you have a dog and they are off the lead there is a section that is close to the road.

Small waterfall with small burn — Falls of Tarnash

You will come to a signpost to the right for Falls of Tarnash and Dunnyduff woods. Take this path going over the wee steen bridge and keep going and you will soon come to the Falls. Make sure you explore a bit round here and take plenty of photos on a nice day as it’s a lovely spot for a picnic and even a paddle.

Wood track with handrail in the woods — On the way to Dunnyduff

Get back on to the path and there is a sign post up to the left to Dunnyduff woods. There is a wee bit of elevation here but nothing too taxing.

Follow the path which does zig zag a little and keep in the path where you will come to a wee bridge with a handrail. Go straight on here and there is another wee bridge with a handrail: just keep going over the wee bridge following the well-made path. You will come to a bit of clearing where there is a great viewpoint of Keith and Newmill to the left.

View area with bench trees at each side. — Viewing area

The path continues and you will eventually come to steps to descend till you reach a forestry track take a left here. You will come through the carpark and on to the minor road.

Here you can take a left and follow the minor road back or just across the road from the carpark there is an opening and a path that runs alongside the Burn of Drum. This path can be very overgrown in the summer but it’s a great place to see wildlife such as red squirrel and birds as well as lots of wildflowers. I also spotted a buzzard along here too.

Whatever way you decide to go you will come to a bridge to go over and you head up the road till you come to a junction. Take a right here on to Edindiach Road heading back in to Keith. The road turns to the left on to Balloch Road and you will see the square ahead and the end of the walk.

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What is in my bucket for 2023…..

29th Dec 202230th Dec 2022 tracygoesoutside

This is definitely not a list of New years resolutions that are usually totally unrealistic and you end up feeling even worse cause you have failed to achieve anything. So I have decided that a 2023 bucket list would be a great idea to motivate me and what ever I don’t manage I can roll over 2024 or just simply write off.

This may sound totally selfish but I am starting with myself. Precovid I looked after my skin, I ate sensibly, I went to the gym a few times a week. Covid hit and it all turned into a disaster although I did walk I took more photos then started blogging everything else took a backseat. We are heading to Iceland at the end of March which gives me the perfect target to get myself into a routine and get me fitter again. I have compiled a list of realistic looking after me tasks! Some of it is loosely based on the soft 75 challenge that some of you have maybe seen on social media.

Look after my skin by using the tonics, creams and serums that I own and not just treat them like ornaments by dusting them. This takes like 2 mins a day so no excuse.
Walk at least 10k steps a day, this used to be so easy but due to changing jobs the only walking that happens is walking the dogs or doing housework. So I just need to make more of an effort if it’s walking to the shop rather than taking the car and staying out longer when I do go out.
Use my 2 gym memberships at least 4 times a week so it is worth having both. At least one of the sessions should be swimming.
Try to eat healthier by cutting back on sugary snacks and cakes. I don’t want to start calorie counting so I will trial a few weeks so see how much progress I get purely by cutting back.
Drink 2 Litres of water or squash a day. This is easy to achieve once I get into the habit.

Where do I want to go in 2023?? We have already booked to go to Iceland but there are plenty of places in Scotland I want to visit too. Some of these places will depend if I achieve some of the first list, some are really easy just places I have not got round to and some I need to speak nicely to Mr C see if he will take me!

Since I bought my ebike I have always wanted to do the Burma Road trail in Aviemore but just never got round to it so I plan to do this in the Spring. The Burma Road loop is a 42km trail that rises high above Aveimore with views of the Cairngorm national park.
I don’t often visit Aberdeen but for so long I have wanted to visit the Winter gardens at Duthie park I thought it was too far to walk from the train station but it turns out it is less than a 3 mile round trip so no excuse really.
I would really like to return to Harris and Lewis this year hopefully in the summer holidays but I would like to do some research before hand so we make most of our trip.
Not sure if I can achieve this one but I will try – Get closer to completing all the sub 2000 hills in Aberdeenshire, Cairngorms and Moray. I have 21 left of 43 that there are so if I get to 30 I will be doing pretty good.

How do I want to use my brain??? Not only do I want to sort out my fitness I want to use my brain more rather than mindless scrolling I’m wasting so much time on things that have little or no stimulation to my brain or my mental health.

I would like to read more which I have already started, I don’t expect miracles as I don’t always have but if I can read a book a month I will be happy. That is only around 15/20 pages a day so can be easily achieved. I will definitely share my reads on my social media and will be looking for recommendations.
I would like to write more and expand my website, at least 1 post a month sounds like a good plan but i would like more but best not to put too much pressure on myself.

Lastly money which we can’t do much without it. Like most of us I try my best to keep my eyes on my pennies and spend sensibly but sometimes I go rogue and splurge on things I don’t need.

How much clothes do I actually need??? Not as much as I have anyway, my plan is to only buy items I need, if I do try my best to shop small businesses online or local. Failing that shop second hand on Vinted, Marketplace, Ebay or charity shops.
Make the effort to use the items I have spent my hard earned money on like my Ebike, Camera, 360 Camera and Paddleboard.
Be more mindful when food shopping so food items don’t go to waste.
Don’t be tempted to buy random stuff on Amazon just cause it looked good on a Tiktok does not mean to say it is good!!!
Lastly make sure I am using all my subscriptions like gym memberships, Netflix etc

This is all going to be a work in progress and I add to it as the year goes on, my plan is to update quarterly so my next bucket list instalment will be before I go to Iceland at the end of March. I really hope I have achieved something. I hope this may inspire others to do the same or even give you some ideas or motivation.

By the way I still have not bought a diary and no one gave me one for Christmas but I did get some rather nice notes books that I am sure help along the way!