Some observations made while walking about 75 miles through the north-east region
I started Hay’s Way in Aberdeenshire at Mar Lodge, in the Cairngorms, and headed east along the Deeside Way through Ballater, Aboyne and Banchory. Once I reached Stonehaven, I made my way down the east coast, then walked inland to Laurencekirk before dipping into Angus.
9. The Harbour Bar, Gourdon
Down on the harbour front in Gourdon, a small fishing village that sits between Inverbervie and Johnsaven, you can find the Harbour Bar. I first heard about the pub when I was sitting in a cafe in Stonehaven waiting for my phone to charge and a woman started asking me what I was up to. She recommended walking to Gourdon, and said the local pub functions as a post office after the village's one shut down. That's when I knew I wanted to visit it. Photo: Katharine Hay
This is Alex, one of the daffodil pickers on a farm I went to stay on near Laurencekirk. The season for daffodil picking in Aberdeenshire runs from roughly the beginning of March until the beginning of April. The flowers have to be picked before they are in bloom. Many of the pickers I met had travelled up the country picking in different areas. They tend to start in Cornwall when the flowers are ready to be picked in January, then move up to Lincolnshire, then onto Scotland as the weather changes. One of the pickers from Dykelands Farm told me it was 11p per bunch, which has ten stems in each. Experienced pickers can make hundreds of pounds a day. I stayed in a caravan on site, one of many parked behind the farm which provide free accommodation for the seasonal workers. There were just three of us in one caravan, but as the sun sets, most of the pickers tend to gather in one for a few drinks after a day of about eight hours working in the fields. Photo: Katharine Hay