We did a few things on day three, but it started out with another picture-perfect morning:
Troup Head and Gannets
Our hike over Troup Head started among the barley fields and eventually led to a cliffside trail, where said cliff was home to a huge gannet colony. We could see them flying out over the water, and every so often we could get a view of the cliffs themselves, covered in birds.
We made two more stops on the drive home to check out some historic ruins: the stone circle on top of Aikey Brae, and the ruins of Deer Abbey.
Aikey Brae Standing Stones
This was a short drive from the Troup Head trailhead, and a short walk from our parking spot brought us to a sort of mini-Stonehenge where we ate our lunch — the site was built maybe 4000 years ago, and used for a few centuries in some way connected with lunar observations before falling into disuse. It was kind of neat, but I was disappointed to not get any vibes off the place.
Deer Abbey
Deer Abbey is the name of a monastery founded in the 12th century. It was converted into a manor home in the 16th century, eventually fell into ruin and is now a historic site. We stopped here on the drive home for a quick walk around.
Our Hike To Crovie
We did this hike later in the day, starting from Gardenstown.
Crovie is the next fishing town over, less than a mile to the east of Gardenstown along the beach. There used to be a road atop a seawall between the towns, but that washed away maybe 75 years ago, leaving a footpath accessible at low tide. There is also a footpath along the cliff, from the upper village at Gardenstown to the road into Crovie just outside of town, we walked this path to Crovie and took the beach path home. (I think this is one of Donna’s daily hikes when she’s there.)
