Favourite places in the north east?

[Moose]

I like the photo of Loch Muick. Reminds me of a day exactly like that one that I was there. Was really hungover and the icy wind in my face was a perfect cure. Lovely place too.

[henry b]

Burghead

aye, but where's burghead?

Burghead was featured this morning on "The Country File".. bbc ,,Showing the burning of the Clavie on the 11th of this month ,,, they have their New Year on that day.

[framheim]

Banchory and the areas around it

that reminds me, i would probably include falls of feugh on my list too. love going there to watch the salmon jump!

[Guest treader.]

Burn O Vat

Dunnotar Castle

If we're extending it to Scotland then pretty much the entire highlands and western isles are great too.

[Alan Cynic]

that reminds me, i would probably include falls of feugh on my list too. love going there to watch the salmon jump!

We were there today.....the Feugh was wild!

[Cloud]

don't be a dick, bennachie is certainly worth getting out of bed for. it's a fine hill/small mountain and certainly a good days walk.

where's that photo anyhoo? better not be fucking poland.

The hut is in Poland, but just to the left of it is the Czech Republic. It's in the Karkonosze Mountains, part of the Sudetenland (yes, the same area that the Germans were kicked out of!).

also i'm not just looking for places to go, i want to hear peoples reasons why these are your favourite places and what makes them special. yea i'm compiling a list but aside from generating discussion i want to go to these places with an understanding of what to try and capture about them.

so to take cloud's example here about loch muick, why is that one of your favourite places in the north east, what does it make you think of and what memories come back when you think of it? this should be particularly relevant to you now that you as an expat surely. Loch muick reminds me of a fine winters walk with my friends and discovering that it is indeed one of the windiest places in scotland.

Lovely photography

Okay, you would like a list...I'll come back to this, I've only got a few minutes, but this is what and why.

1) Ballater. Just the town itself. My mother was born there, and it's just such a lovely little village. If you could, I'd recommend climbing up the Craigendarroch and take photographs overlooking the town - as you know what you're doing, you should manage to get some absolutely wonderful photographs from there. I'd also recommend trying underneath the bridge over the Dee - it's quite shallow there, and you might be able to really capture the speed of the water at that point.

The other part I'd recommend trying is the square area. There's always so much life around there, especially if you can capture the life of the tourists. It's hard to explain if you don't know the town, but there's some wonderful old buildings in the area near Chalmers there - near the barracks and fire station, I believe?

Something else that is ignored, yet it's notable is the bridge over the railway in the main street. The railway line was never extended beyond Ballater - so you could perhaps investigate the reserved line beyond there? I'm really not sure if they built on the reserved line - although I believe there's traces of the line beyond Ballater.

I'd also recommend climbing the 'other' hill in Ballater - the path is quite interesting on the way up there. And of course, don't forget Lochnagar!

I'll add more later...you've inspired me to think of places that I like to visit

[Guest]

The hut is in Poland, but just to the left of it is the Czech Republic. It's in the Karkonosze Mountains, part of the Sudetenland (yes, the same area that the Germans were kicked out of!).

Whereabouts is that in the North-East?

[framheim]

The hut is in Poland, but just to the left of it is the Czech Republic. It's in the Karkonosze Mountains, part of the Sudetenland (yes, the same area that the Germans were kicked out of!).

Lovely photography

Okay, you would like a list...I'll come back to this, I've only got a few minutes, but this is what and why.

1) Ballater. Just the town itself. My mother was born there, and it's just such a lovely little village. If you could, I'd recommend climbing up the Craigendarroch and take photographs overlooking the town - as you know what you're doing, you should manage to get some absolutely wonderful photographs from there. I'd also recommend trying underneath the bridge over the Dee - it's quite shallow there, and you might be able to really capture the speed of the water at that point.

The other part I'd recommend trying is the square area. There's always so much life around there, especially if you can capture the life of the tourists. It's hard to explain if you don't know the town, but there's some wonderful old buildings in the area near Chalmers there - near the barracks and fire station, I believe?

Something else that is ignored, yet it's notable is the bridge over the railway in the main street. The railway line was never extended beyond Ballater - so you could perhaps investigate the reserved line beyond there? I'm really not sure if they built on the reserved line - although I believe there's traces of the line beyond Ballater.

I'd also recommend climbing the 'other' hill in Ballater - the path is quite interesting on the way up there. And of course, don't forget Lochnagar!

I'll add more later...you've inspired me to think of places that I like to visit

Cool, thanks for that. I've climbed one of the hills in Ballater when I was a kid but I don't know which one. I know the town quite well though having stopped there many times and spent a week there with the school many years ago. I shall add Ballater to the list

No point posting suggestions for poland though.

[Dayeth]

Burn O Vat

Good call

[geo1903]

Pittodrie.

[framheim]

Burn o Vat is an amazing place. I found it hard to do it justice last time i was there though. It's quite a tricky thing to photograph.

[MattJimF]

Burn o Vat is an amazing place. I found it hard to do it justice last time i was there though. It's quite a tricky thing to photograph.

Have you tried going up the trail so your on top of it looking down?

Braemar is is a good place to go, especially if you go the arena where they hold the gathering, would be pretty good having photos of the place empty, and during the gathering.

The run from Strathdon to Ballater is good, plus there are a few places to stop and get good photos.

Also coming down the Cockbridge to Tomintoul road at night, when you get to the lecht and look across to see the hotel/castle all lit up at night, especially when there's snow.

Aden country park in Mintlaw with the ruins.

The top of Hazelhead golf course, where you can see the whole city spread out in front of you, also if you go up to the Crematorium as you go in, there is a small trail at the house on the right that takes you through to the main road, you can get good views of the north of the city from there.

The woods at the tyrebagger are pretty cool, and they have put various sculptures up to make things interesting.

[Murrr]

The hut is in Poland, but just to the left of it is the Czech Republic. It's in the Karkonosze Mountains, part of the Sudetenland (yes, the same area that the Germans were kicked out of!).

Lovely photography

Okay, you would like a list...I'll come back to this, I've only got a few minutes, but this is what and why.

1) Ballater. Just the town itself. My mother was born there, and it's just such a lovely little village. If you could, I'd recommend climbing up the Craigendarroch and take photographs overlooking the town - as you know what you're doing, you should manage to get some absolutely wonderful photographs from there. I'd also recommend trying underneath the bridge over the Dee - it's quite shallow there, and you might be able to really capture the speed of the water at that point.

The other part I'd recommend trying is the square area. There's always so much life around there, especially if you can capture the life of the tourists. It's hard to explain if you don't know the town, but there's some wonderful old buildings in the area near Chalmers there - near the barracks and fire station, I believe?

Something else that is ignored, yet it's notable is the bridge over the railway in the main street. The railway line was never extended beyond Ballater - so you could perhaps investigate the reserved line beyond there? I'm really not sure if they built on the reserved line - although I believe there's traces of the line beyond Ballater.

I'd also recommend climbing the 'other' hill in Ballater - the path is quite interesting on the way up there. And of course, don't forget Lochnagar!

I'll add more later...you've inspired me to think of places that I like to visit

The barracks and the fire station are on opposite ends of the village, but I'll stop being pedant and agree that it is a cracking wee village.

I lived there for about 14-15 years and at the time I didn't really like it. Not really a lot to do when you're a fifteen year old kid with the attention span of a goldfish, but I do kind of miss living in such a nice little place since I've moved away. Somehow, Westhill doesn't quite have the same charm about it...

The Craigendarroch is a nice, easy walk and it's got some nice views of the village, definitely worth a look along with the hill across the bridge on the other side of town (I can't recall the name of it). In fact, there are a couple of decent walking paths along the other hill too and a pond about halfway up that used to be very nice, although the last time I visited it it looked a little overgrown.

And the Burn O Vat is awesome; a beautiful place indeed. I went there on a warm, sunny afternoon with my girlfriend last summer and I forgot how stunning it was. Couple of nice walks around the hills/loch there, too. It's probably my favourite place in the North East, although truth be told I haven't exactly seen all there is to see around this part of the world.

Goodness, I feel like a right old mannie now .

[Sam 45]

You can find some really nice spots along the River Dee from Cults all the way up to Braemar direction. Spent many a sunny days down by the river. Also, the 9th hole at Newmachar golf course.

[Larsen B]

I think all the places I can think of off the top of my head have been mentioned already. Other places are too personal to myself and closely related to specific memories. They would probably seem very insignificant to everyone else.

I'd maybe say the Glenfiddich Distillery because I remember taking various foreign visitors there and specifically remember picnics on the picnic tables (conventional I know), being scared of the video at the start of the tour and hating the smell in the mash room.

[Cloud]

Cool, thanks for that. I've climbed one of the hills in Ballater when I was a kid but I don't know which one. I know the town quite well though having stopped there many times and spent a week there with the school many years ago. I shall add Ballater to the list

I'll admit it, I'm a bit hopeless with the 'personal experience' part - if I mention somewhere, it's stuck in my mind for some reason and I'll do my best to give reasons why...

Okay, second location is Collieston. The coastline is unbelievably rugged at that point, and the village itself seems to be stuck in a bit of a time warp. It reminds me of the fishing villages along the coast from Stonehaven, but from about 30 years ago. There's some very dramatic cliffs there, and it's 'off the beaten trail' as far as tourists go. I quite like it there, it seems to be in another world from even Newburgh at times, and it feels very 'cut off' from the surrounding district.

Third location I'd recommend is Tomintoul. It's allegedly the highest village in the UK, and is quite isolated - yet it looks and feels just like your average Aberdeenshire village. It's a strange place, and the bleakness of the drive there may give you some interesting scenes to photograph. It's not that far away, maybe 90 minutes from Aberdeen - yet it does feel like another world.

Final suggestion for now, although it's not North East would be to wait until you get a free summer's day and take the drive up to Skye - but don't do it the way that the tourists would via Drumnadrochit and Loch Ness. If you take the road from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, but go via Dingwall rather than Loch Ness - then you'll discover some of the most isolated countryside in Scotland. It essentially follows the Kyle Line, which is generally considered to be one of the most beautiful railway lines in the world. It's the kind of place where a village is signposted from 30 miles away, yet when you get there, it's got a post office that's open one day a week, two houses and very little else.

Linking in to this would be a suggestion to photograph Fort George, near Nairn. More about it Fort George Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland . Ardersier is also a very weird place, though I can't put my finger on why.

Incidentally, a suggestion that no-one has suggested - have you tried your hand at photographing planes? Have a look at Airlines for examples of some absolutely incredible photography.

Is one such example. I've no idea if Aberdeen Airport will be any good for taking such pictures, but it can't hurt to have a look!

[framheim]

we're actually going on holiday to skye this year.

i'm not really interested in photographing planes cloud but thanks for that. i just wanted to start a discussion about favourite places in the north-east and see if there was any good ones i couldn't think of.

collieston's good, it's a lovely wee harbour. had a lovely walk there a couple of years ago from forvie.

[Reuben]

Forvie Sands

Near Echt

Burn o Vat

Findhorn

Most of Deeside

[Guest treader.]

I once got a fucking MASSIVE cut in my stomach in Ythan. True story.

[Lemonade]

Hopeman takes some beating, especially on a sunny day, the harbour is so picturesque.

Also, it has a bad name but the beach and the piers/lighthouse at Fraserburgh are absolutely beautiful. The beach is about 5 miles long, totally unspoiled, all sand and dunes. Climb up the lighthouse on a sunny day and all you can see for miles around is calm, blue, sea, with sea birds and seals all around. It's so serene, until a junkie comes up and asks you for your camera.

These aren't my photos BTW, i've got some really nice shots of the beach area but they aren't online. I've got some crackers of the sunset at Hopeman as well. If anyone is ever in Hopeman go into th ewee craft shop at the harbour, you'll see a poem called "Hopeman" for sale which was written by my dad

[Hugh_Jazz]

Some of my favourites:

Tap o' Noth

Millstone Hill

Glentanar

Lochnagar

Loch Muick

Linn O' Dee

Forvie Sands

The Highland Boundary Fault at Stonehaven (I'm a geologist, it's allowed).

[Guest Hobo]

Hopeman takes some beating, especially on a sunny day, the harbour is so picturesque.

Also, it has a bad name but the beach and the piers/lighthouse at Fraserburgh are absolutely beautiful. The beach is about 5 miles long, totally unspoiled, all sand and dunes. Climb up the lighthouse on a sunny day and all you can see for miles around is calm, blue, sea, with sea birds and seals all around. It's so serene, until a junkie comes up and asks you for your camera.

These aren't my photos BTW, i've got some really nice shots of the beach area but they aren't online. I've got some crackers of the sunset at Hopeman as well. If anyone is ever in Hopeman go into th ewee craft shop at the harbour, you'll see a poem called "Hopeman" for sale which was written by my dad

Hopeman is awesome, go camping in the dead of winter, light fires on the beach with reeds to cook tins of beans only to find the tins become flexible and impossible to open until you let them cool

A mate and me were pissing about the harbour in february a few years back I suggested we both jump in for a laugh. queue the 123 count, 1 - 2 - i push him in, excellent. He did get me back by catching a rabbit and letting it run around the tent with me still weide asleep

[Guest treader.]

Portsoy.

[Guest Jake Wifebeater]

The hut is in Poland, but just to the left of it is the Czech Republic. It's in the Karkonosze Mountains, part of the Sudetenland (yes, the same area that the Germans were kicked out of!).

No way Clyde, you in Poland?

Lol, ig, bellybutton etc...

[calum]

Portknockie, Pennan, Finechty, The Bin Hill.