The highs and lows of Aboyne

NINE days ago the residents of Aboyne were sunbathing in bikinis and swimming trunks in sweltering heat as the Aberdeenshire village smashed the previous record for the hottest March day in Scotland.

The temperature in the village soared to an unprecedented 23.6C as Royal Deeside basked in an early summer heatwave driven by high pressure sweeping up warm air from North Africa in its wake.

But yesterday it was all change, and a return to winter woollies, anoraks, scarves and gloves, as a bitterly cold Arctic blast brought a 21-degree drop in temperature and more than six inches of overnight snow.

Wilson Clark, owner of the Boat Inn in Aboyne, said: “What a difference from last week.

“This time last week, we were all basking in the sunshine and today we are having to shovel the snow off our paths.”

FRANK URQUHART