Shortbread, Sandend and the Skink

We started the day with a "shortbread trip" to Huntly, where the Deans of Huntly opened their visitor center in 2007. It was interesting to follow the process of shortbread baking and packaging and of course we bought some to take home. We also took a walk to Huntly Castle, where Jón Páll Sigmarsson won the international strongman competition Pure Strength in 1987. The road and grounds to Castle Hotel are beautiful and we especially admired the little cottage near the gate.
In the afternoon we explored Sandend (in the photo) and it's award winning beach and dunes and then we decided to go and see Findlater Castle and one of the old dovecots nearby (there are a few in this area).
We were a bit tired after all this so we drove back to Cullen and sat in the sun with a delicious ice cream from the local award winning ice cream shop.
When we had restored a bit of energy and soaked up some of the last sunrays of the day, we decided to use the good map of local walks around Cullen and enjoy a nice stroll through the woods, using the Crannoch Wood Walk, before having dinner. The instructions were not as good as we had hoped and we got lost somewhere in the woodland area, but a helpful man from Portknockie, and his dog, helped us find the right path again.
The perfect end to this perfect day was a bowl of Cullen Skink at a local restaurant. Delish!