Tuesday 3rd to 7th September 2024
A wee holiday in Aberdeen.
Last year we had two visits to Aberdeen – in April for me to have a radical prostatectomy at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and then in November for me to have a PSMA PET Scan. I don’t know why I said that as they are procedures Anne could not have! Aberdeen really seemed a nice place so we decided to have a wee non-medical holiday! We stayed in the same Travelodge we had stayed in back in November at Bucksburn.
Cousin Mary, if you read this a huge apology for not visiting you. We did all our travelling by bus so it would make it more difficult to find you. We just meet up occasionally over the years and when we do the years roll back (even though we are nearly 70). My mum said you were my best friend back in Golspie days.
Before going on I should just give a health update. I had to have a minor cancer removed from the corner of my eye on the 23rd August in the Lawson Memorial Hospital in Golspie, my place of birth. I also had a biopsy taken from the middle of my forehead which has come back from pathology as positive for cancer. It should be removed on the 7th October when I have a hernia repaired. I am falling apart. The last time I was in the Lawson for treatment was probably 1965 when I had to have stitches after cutting myself with a knife when trying to open a golf ball at Mary & Christine’s!
This has been put together from my diary. Anne took all the photos.
Tuesday 3rd September 2024
Travelodge, Bucksburn, Aberdeen
Up 6.35. Showered and packed. Went down to Alness and parked behind the dentist. Banked the church collection which I’d forgotten to do yesterday after coming back from Raigmore.
We caught the 9.26 No. 25 bus to Inverness which was a few minutes late. We went to Asher’s Cafe at the bus station. David Topping was there and we were able to find out about Linda. She has cancer in the adrenal gland and kidney. Her surgery to remove both organs will take place in Glasgow. We pray on for them.
As we had time to kill we went for a wee walk round the centre of Inverness and down to the river. We called at ‘Home Bargains’ to buy crisps and then went to the toilet in the ‘Victorian Market’.
We had meant to get the 11.00 No. 10 bus but the timetable has changed since my last download and there was no No. 10 until 11.30. It was delayed 10 minutes or so due to a driver mix up. Then we found the door alarm had jammed on which was aggravating, just a constant beeping noise. What a shame as we had a good seat on a most comfortable bus. We ate our lunch on the bus at Elgin while an engineer worked on the alarm. He was not able to repair it and the replacement woman driver refused to drive the bus with a faulty alarm. We had to change to a more primitive, less comfortable coach and were now running half an hour late. We then made our way along the A96 to Aberdeen.
I wrongly judged the stop we should have we got off at. We came off 1 stop too early. It started to rain as we began walking. We got to our Travelodge at Bucksburn and were assigned room 17 which is at the back and quiet. We settled in and had a snack – our ‘Home Bargain’ crisps. We also took a good rest.
After 5.00 we headed to McDonalds for our tea. I had a burger and chips and a McFlurry. Anne had a wrap instead of a burger. After that we went for a good walk which took us round the P & J Live.
The rain came on and we got a bit wet. We then got supplies at LIDL. It is fantastic that McDonalds and LIDL are beside our Travelodge. We had a nice restful evening.
| Air pressure | 1014.0 mb |
| Walked | 3.5 miles |
| Steps | 16266 |
Wednesday 4th September 2024
Travelodge, Bucksburn, Aberdeen
Up 7.05 after a poor sleep. Someone above was moving about at 4.00am. Had breakfast and then shaved and showered. After a wee rest we left here about 8.45 and went for a massive walk.
We headed towards the River Don following a cycle route into town. It was a wonderful walk especially when we came to St Machar’s Cathedral, the Church of Scotland. We went in and had a wander round. I gave a donation by card. Going on, old Aberdeen and the university were amazing. We then walked as far as the harbour and went to the Maritime Museum. It was very good. Again I gave a card donation. We came back to the Gallowgate and had our lunch picnic outside Marischal College, a stunning building. We sat by the illuminated fountains. It was quite cold and there were showers to start with.
We went a bit along Union Street and then up to Rosemount looking in at some charity shops. We followed the A96 back to our hotel. We stopped at a ‘Home Bargains’ at Berryden on the way to get 1 or 2 things. We found a seat at Auchmill on the Nature Walk and had another picnic. We reached our Travelodge at maybe 3.30 and had a good and well earned rest.
It was back to McDonalds for tea. I had a wrap for a change. After that, we went to the bus stop to check on buses for tomorrow. Booked a hair appointment for Anne. Now we are resting.
| Air pressure | 1026.7 mb |
| Walked | 12.6 miles |
| Steps | 31261 |
Thursday 5th September 2024
Travelodge, Bucksburn, Aberdeen
Got up at 6.45 and shaved and showered after breakfast. We left about 9.00 and got a No. 727 bus at about 9.15 down to Union Square, the bus station. We had time so we explored. We got cakes at Greggs and used the public loo. We got the 10.05 No. X7 bus which goes to Dundee but we only took it to Montrose. The bus was packed and we were really fortunate to get a seat together but jammed in right at the back. Once we cleared Aberdeen ate our picnic. Mine was a delicious chocolate eclair from Greggs. A lot of people got off at Stonehaven and the bus was calmer.
We got into Montrose about 11.30 and walked down to the Museum and then down to the River South Esk.
We crossed the bridge at the estuary and went for a walk to Ferrydon to a viaduct. We came back and had our lunch picnic looking over the estuary to Montrose. It was really lovely. We came back into Montrose and had a look at some charity shops. We came down to the park which was mobbed with school children released for lunch and went to the museum. At the end of the visit we used their loo and headed back to the Main street.
We caught the 2.18 No. X7 bus back to Aberdeen. It was slightly late getting in and we just missed the 3.45 bus No. 727 bus. I could actually see it ready to go out as we came in. We got the 4.00 No. 727 bus instead, an electric bus. This got us to Bucksburn about 4.30. That was a really good adventure.
We rested and then as usual went to McDonalds for our tea. I went for a double bacon cheeseburger. Delicious. People are very critical of McDonalds. I love it. They provide enjoyable food that doesn’t hit your pocket too hard. We then went to LIDL for more supplies. Then came back here for a nice relaxing evening.
Today I started using the Stagecoach App on my phone to plan journeys and it is fantastic. Prior to this I would download timetables but they get out of date.
| Air pressure | 1027.5 mb |
| Walked | 3.87 miles |
| Steps | 14723 |
Friday 6th September 2024
Travelodge, Bucksburn, Aberdeen
Up 6.45. After a haar to start with it turned out a stunning, sunny, hot day. Anne went to a local hairdresser at 9.00. She was back before 10.00. I was very lazy.
We caught a No. 727 bus into town to the Mounthooley Roundabout.
We walked down Kings Crescent, Spital and High Street into Aberdeen Old Town. We went past St Machar’s Cathedral and behind it went into Seaton Park. It is worth a visit. The flower beds on Cathedral Walk are utterly stunning and we sat there for a while. We then followed the River Don round to Brig o’ Balgownie which was lovely. It is a 13th-century bridge spanning the River Don in Old Aberdeen. One of the guides at St Machar’s on Wednesday had advised we visit it. He said it was the oldest remaining bridge in Scotland. We crossed it and followed the other bank to Brig O’ Don, the newer bridge. We crossed back over the Don and followed the Don to Monmouth by the Esplanade. When we reached the beach we stopped for our lunch picnic. The day was getting lovely and I had to take my jacket and fleece off. Then we followed the Esplanade and Beach Boulevard to the harbour. We went round to Union Square Bus Station. We used the toilet and then caught a 727 bus back to Bucksburn. Again I got us off a stop too early as I’m stupid.
When we got back to our hotel we took a good rest. We then did the walk we did on Tuesday evening to the P&J Live and behind it sat on seat to watch planes fly over us taking off from the airport. Not many.
We then came back by Greenburn and Bankhead to McDonald’s. We both had a double bacon cheeseburger and chips. I had Iron Bru and a McFlurry. We then went to LIDL to get cakes for the bus journey tomorrow. Came back to the hotel and had a nice restful evening.
| Air pressure | 1019.4 mb |
| Walked | 6.9 and 2.8 = 9.7 miles |
| Steps | 23992 |
Saturday 7th September 2024
Contullich Cottage
Up at 6.30. Very foggy with haar and cool. We got washed dressed and packed. We caught the No. 10 bus at 8.26 and headed towards home. It is a long journey and the bus was busy but we got a good seat after Inverurie. There was a gentleman on the bus who appeared to be under the influence of some substance and he was very rude to the driver. He attempted smoking at one point. He had the brass neck to ask the driver to put the radio on. After Nairn he got very agitated and came forward sitting near me. He made rude comments to the driver about his performance. When we went round by Auldearn he was not happy claiming the driver had taken a wrong route. This is part on the No. 10’s route! Eventually when he criticised the driver’s speed I took his arm gently and told him he was being awfully rude to the driver and the driver was doing really well. Well at that point I was accused of assault. A kind lady behind told him not to be ridiculous and to be polite. It was good when he got off the bus. We got into Inverness at about 12.25 and dismounted at Falcon Square. We went to Ashers on Union Street for some lunch. I had a Scotch pie and a piece of millionaire shortbread. After a wee look at some shops we caught the No. 25X bus at 1.20 back over. This was mobbed by cruise liner tourists getting back to their boat in Invergordon. I had to stand the whole way over. It is a disgrace that a larger bus or an extra bus is not put on when a liner comes into Invergordon. The locals suffer.
So that was not the best end to what had been a lovely holiday. I don’t want to go on a bus for a while!