Moving On (The Sequel). Tarland.

I picked up the keys to my new place this morning. Its in the breathtakingly pretty and tranquil village of Tarland which sits in the Howe of Cromar near Ballater on the boundary of the Cairngorm National Park. I am now within spitting distance of my beloved Lochnagar and Morven and this, my flat land living friends, is the view as I drive to my new home (3 miles from the village).

Lochnagar from just outside Tarland

D'ya hate me? Do ya? :D

Although I will be able to roll out of bed on a weekend and toodle up Lochnagar (well ok, once I'm fit to again), enjoy the many mountainbike tracks through the forests surrounding the village, beast myself once again on the classic road cycling test peice that is Dinnet -The Queens View road and xc ski to the shops in winter, all will not be wild roses and trifle. Tarland is 30 miles from Aberdeen so its going to be a long drive to and from work and it is also one of those places that you hear about on the radio - when the first snows fall in Aberdeen, Tarland has already been cut off for six weeks. In fact Tarland probably only gets reunited with the rest of Scotland for two weeks in August. I might be exaggerating slightly. I will be stocking up with lemon meringue pie though, just in case. For some gorgeous photos of the area, check out James stream in Flickr

The house needs a fair bit of work to conform to the image of Home in my head that I've had for a while now. On the plus side its just had new windows and doors put in which is a boon. It has more cupboard space than you could ever possibly want and the view out the back and to the west is of trees and hills. Biggest job will be ripping the kitchen out as the current one is, er... well, yes. I will probably replace bathroom too but its ok at the moment. The garden is a fair size and will easily accomodate raised beds for veggies and a chicken run. It needs a fence putting round the entire perimeter though. Carpets are due to be fitted soon and all my lovely new white goods arrive sometime next week. I am, in the meantime, cooking on my MSR Dragonfly. Eee its like being a student again. I'll be posting photos of the houses' metamorphosis as it happens.

I have to admit to some trepidation about moving over the last few days - I've been flitting about so much since November I barely got time to breathe, but now - I think I might be in Tarland for a while.

Did I mention I'm right next to Lochnagar?

Good times :)

My new local

St Moluag's Church, Tarland

Tomnaverie - a 4000-year-old recumbent stone circle, Tarland