September 2025

1st September – A regular visitor to Stromness is the Dutch barquentine Thalassa. A classic tall ship, it offers a range of cruises from educational to sail training. I didn’t notice it until it was departing. The pic into the grey morn isn’t great.

2nd September – In 2021, I took a couple of buddleia cuttings from the GMB garden, and potted them up. This year they flowered for the first time and promptly lived up to the name “butterfly bush”.

8th September – On a clear evening we always get a good view of the full moon rising in the east. There is something special about moonlight on water.

9th September – I was pleased to see this little frog in the pond this morning. I hadn’t seen any for a couple of weeks and was getting concerned about the water quality.

11th September – A lovely day for a trip down to South Ron to see the Robinson’s and return a jumper, which Ralph left at ours.
Noticed this piece of dodgy parking in Burray. I think this skipper needs to resit his test!

15th September – Heading off to Aberdeen again.

We managed to get a cabin for this trip, which makes a huge difference. It was a very “bouncy” voyage but we did get some sleep.

The cabins are extremely compact and include en suite. This photo would probably look better if it was taken before we had slept in the beds! This small space would be a real squeeze for four adults!

17th September – Heading back north again. We wanted a leisurely run up to Scrabster and decided to break the journey at The Royal Hotel in Tain. Apparently it is 300 years old and they have managed to preserve the decor from 1780. Decent food and a great bar, though.

There’s an interesting bench in the reception. It’s amazing what you can create with a pen knife and 300 years of whittling.

18th September – The northeast has been battered by gale force winds today and we weren’t looking forward to the ferry trip from Scrabster to Stromness. As it turned out, by the time we sailed, the wind had subsided and it was a good crossing.

After a long journey, it is good to see Hoy, even if it is under some stormy looking clouds.

26th September – I assume this is some sort of training exercise. In the midst of this water show is the OIC tug “Odin of Scapa”, slowly coming in to Stromness. Presumably testing it’s fire hoses.

28th September – Setting off today for a return to Aberdeen. For a change, and the shortest crossing, we are taking the Pentalina from St. Margaret’s Hope. The catamaran is more stable in rough weather, so that’s an advantage too.

29th September – Things are never easy on the A9, we crawled along for a while behind this wind turbine blade, the police had a job on their hands, stopping traffic in both directions, as it meandered down the road, avoiding overhead cables.

We arrived at our hotel in Aberdeen, just in time to grab a table before the rush began! It looked like the Overlook Hotel in The Shining, we half expected to see two little girls standing in the corner.

30th September – H has moved into her room in ARI and is still suffering from Lone Diner Syndrome. Note the blue plastic chair at lower right, it had the pleasure of my bottom for around forty hours!