The Mute Swans have bred yet again on the small island in the middle of the River Nairn. This year they have managed to hatch 6 cygnets after last years bumper year of 9 cygnets hatched (only 8 survived). Have a look at the post for May 13th 2009. Sadly only 4 of the cygnets have survived so far this year. Click here for the full story.
You can watch this story unfold if you are staying in either Caravan 109 or 196 at Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park. It is only a 10 minute walk!
We decided to go out for an evening drink and bite to eat so headed for the Golf View Hotel. This is a 20 minute walk from Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park but it is a well worth while walk as the path goes all the way along the sea front. There were lots of birds out to sea with plenty of beautiful Long Tailed Ducks playing around.
We had a drink in the bar and then had a bite to eat in their Brasserie. The menu is simple but pleasant, and not too expensive. The 2 girls looking after us were very pleasant and efficient. We had a plate of Pasta and a nice Beef Casserole with Dumplings. Nothing pretentious but very tasty.
The Hotel has a nice terrace which is pleasant for an early evening drink in the Summer months so you might include this is your list of things to do when staying in one of the caravans.
Also today were 6 Brent Geese - the first arrival of the Winter. They were bobbing around on the choppy water. There were plenty of the usual suspects - Redshank, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Cormorant and lots of Bar Tailed Godwits. There were also about 50 Common Gulls on Ministers Pool.
There has been a definite change in the birds to be seen around Nairn, in particular the waders on the beach. There are good numbers of Redshanks, as well as lots of Bar Tailed Godwits. At the end of last week good numbers of Knot had reappeared, as well as plenty of Whimbrel flying overhead.
There is a sizeable flock of Greylag Geese on the mudflats by the Culbin Forest and the numbers of Sanwich Terns and Swallows are dwindling by the day. They will soon be on their way back south for the Winter. Another Summer visitor, a Wheatear, was perched on our car on Saturday at Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park.
There is a Common Seal showing itself well up the River Nairn at the moment and last Friday there was another Dolphin off the Nairn Harbour breakwater. It had caught a Salmon and was playing with it - tossing it high in the air and then diving down underwater with it. Fantastic!
Last Thursday the North East of Scotland had about 36 hours of non stop rain which flooded a large part of the area and cut off places such as Elgin. Not great if you were on holiday in Caravan 109 but the aftermath of these storms is quite interesting.
The River Nairn last Friday was swollen to overflowing and there was all sorts of debris floating down it. There were whole trees, tree stumps and various other stuff. The water by the breakwater was a bubbling cauldron of brown soup like liquid and it was almost like being in the middle of the Gulf of Corryvreckan (whirlpool south of Oban). A lot of this debris was deposited on the beach and Nairn beach is now a driftwood collectors paradise.
The swollen river has also seen the return of the Winter resident female Goosander as well as a Common Seal that has been seen several times up near the Merryton Bridge (footbridge over the River Nairn).
On Saturday 15th August, it was Nairn's Highland Games. For the second year running the weather was fantastic and large crowds turned out to see the sport's events, Highland dancing, massed Pipe Bands and the 25th Nairn half marathon.
As always there was a big funfair on the Links (big grassy area linking the town to the sea) with a mixture of white knuckle rides and gentle 'teacup' roundabouts. It seemed busier than last year!!
It is always the second weekend in August so if you want to plan this in your 2010 holiday, then Caravan 109 is only a 15 minute walk from the Links.
The weather in Nairn is fantastic this weekend and so we took a walk to the Links Tearoom which is right next to the West Beach at the far side of the 'Links', a grassy area by the sand dunes which hosts a bandstand and a cricket pitch.
It is like going back in time and reminds us of a seaside tearoom that we would have gone to when we were kids. It is great and sells ice cream, tea and coffee, sandwiches, teacakes, burgers and lots more. You can sit inside or out and if you sit outside there is always a dog (owned by a local) that brings you its stick and nudges you until you throw it for him. Everything is really reasonable and is served to you by a really friendly team of ladies and girls!! It is only a 20 minute walk from Caravan 109.
On Thursday I took a walk up to Calm, the Helath and Beauty Clinic in Nairn. It is only about a 15 minute walk from Caravan 109 on Lochloy Holiday Park and gave me the opportunity to check out the Swans on the River Nairn and their cygnets. Sadly there were only eight little ones which meant that one of them had been lost. We discovered yesterday that it had been killed by one of the marauding Carrion Crows.
The girls in Calm were their usual happy and lively selves and I was booked in for a Full Dermalogica Men's Facial (Dermalogica is the range of products used). Claire looked after me as usual and after an hour I felt hugely relaxed and with a glowing complexion. They offer a full range of products and treatments for both men and women.
They are based opposite the Bus Station on Leopold Street and can be contacted on 01667 451876. If you are on holiday in Nairn they are well worth a visit.
Two days ago the pair of Mute Swans that have been nesting on an island in the River Nairn, hatched nine cygnets. The parents kept a very close eye on them for the first 24 hours and then yesterday they all moved into a quiet lagoon right next to the footpath up into Nairn. They are only a 10 minute walk from Caravan 109 and Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park.
