Away at 6am this morning headed for Peebles area to do some walking, wildlife watching and visits to local gardens. The first stop after driving through Peebles was Cadrona forest which has some nice walking trails and paths climbing up to good viewpoints. The weather was dry as we set off and eventually the sun came out as we headed uphill through the trees on the 'red route' which was a circular route of some 4 miles or so. the forest tracks were very wet and muddy but we managed to navigate our way to the highest point where a nice bench awaited overlooking some of the surrounding countryside. At this point the sun came out so we got our breakfast of porridge, rolls and coffee eaten under a sunny sky!! After relaxing in the sun for a bit after the breakfast we got on our way and headed onwards - in terms of wildlife this was not a great walk for spotting things as we only saw a buzzard, bullfinch and a butterfly - the 3 b's!!
We got back to the car mid-morning and by this time some showery rain came on as we drove along the road to Kailzie (the locals pronounce it "Kailie" - silent "z"!) gardens which has an osprey watch centre within the grounds. The centre is staffed with volunteers and we were given a warm welcome by a nice couple called Norma and Ian who were very helpful and informative about the ospreys and other local wildlife. As well as watching the osprey chicks on the nest we also looked on as many small birds came to the feeding table including siskins, robins and finches but the highlight was seeing a couple of nuthatches coming to feed - what beautiful little birds and the blue\azure colour on their breast is exquisite.
It was nice to be in the centre at this point as it was raining outside and everywhere looked a bit grey and dreich. After a good chat and discussion about the ospreys with Norma we headed off and our aim this time was Dawyck Botanic Gardens near Stobo, about 8 miles from Peebles.
We arrived, after driving through some lovely countryside, at Dawyck about 2pm to be greeted by sunshine and showers but it was mild so okay for a walk through this lovely tree garden which is part of the Royal Botanics. Now I am no tree expert but some of the specimens here are impressive including fir, spruce and larch and there were some trees dating back 300 years! There were also a lot of tree species from Japan [planted here so the climate in parts of Japan must be quite similar (very wet!!) as they seem to thrive here! Just think it has taken hundreds of years for this garden to evolve and mature and it really is a national treasure situated in a beautiful valley in a lovely part of Scotland! The gardens itself is lovingly tended and cared for and one of the features is the number of benches, many in memorium, spread throughout the garden in almost every corner and all in good condition. There are also some nice little bridges over the cascading stream which give nice viewpoints over the garden and from one of them we spotted a couple of red squirrels scurrying up trees! Another two were spotted later so 4 in all was pleasing after drawing a blank in Cadrona forest. The gardens are open until 6 so we made our way back to the very nice visitor centre\cafe and had a warming cup of tea as the rain fell steadily outside. The lady who served us said that she often saw hares in the garden from about 5.30pm - we hung about but no sign of them! All in all I would say this was a very pleasant experience and this is an excellent place to visit and comes highly recommended if you are in the area! Also spotted a buzzard and jay whilst in the garden so good for wildlife too!!
By this time it was about 6pm and the next stop was Stobo Castle health spa for a quick look around as it was just along the road. The weather had turned a bit grey and chilly by this point but we saw a nice pond in the grounds and there was a path around it so we got out for a brief walk but after spotting lots of jumping fish we thought it might be a good place to spot an osprey so we sheltered under a tree as the rain came down and waited..........after about 20 minutes an osprey duly flew over the pond and took a good look down at the water as if it was ready to swoop but it did not reappear and our hopes of it coming down for a fish were dashed!
However a pleasant surprise awaited as we stumbled across a secluded Japanese water garden right next to the pond!! Although some slippery stones had to be negotiated on the way down it was well worthwhile as the garden had some lovely trees, plants and shrubs and of course plenty of water running through it and lovely little bridges and stepping stones to negotiate the water channels. It was like being in paradise. A beautiful little tea house was on its own little island, only reached by stepping stones.
We'd had a full day out and would have loved to have stayed out longer but the weather had turned a bit more miserable and decided to head back home to Edinburgh.
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