
Lunch and a Wander in Ballater
The road west follows the River Dee closely now, with woodland and heather rising on either side. It’s about 35 minutes from Milton of Crathes to Ballater…

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey arrived in cinemas on 17 July, and a fair bit of the ancient Mediterranean in it is actually the north-east coast of Scotland. Findlater Castle stands in for Aeaea, the island home of the goddess Circe.
Findlater is a ruin on sea cliffs above the Moray Firth, and it does the job without much help. Sunnyside Beach nearby also features. Over in Moray, Culbin Forest and Culbin Sands were used for Odysseus and his crew coming ashore, which suits a place already known for lost settlements and shifting sand.
Matt Damon leads the cast. Aberdeenshire Council listed the locations on 20 July and expects film fans to come looking. Portsoy Harbour, on the same stretch of coast, has previous: Peaky Blinders and Whisky Galore! were both shot there.
A Hidden Scotland guideAberdeenshireCastle country, a quiet dramatic coastRead the guide
The road west follows the River Dee closely now, with woodland and heather rising on either side. It’s about 35 minutes from Milton of Crathes to Ballater…

The sixth oldest golf club in the world, founded in 1780, playing the classic Balgownie links among the dunes north of the Don at Bridge of Don.

A little coffee shack on the harbour at Pennan, open from April to October for tea, coffee and homemade cakes, cash only, supporting the village.

A family-run ice cream, dessert and sweetie shop on Stonehaven's beachfront, known for its quirky style, loaded toppings and ice cream made with local produce.

A Victorian lodge on the Glen Dye estate, with a cabin of its own on the bank of the River Dye.

A granite house among silver birches, a short walk from the gates of Balmoral.

A stone steading cottage for seven, with a games room of its own across the yard.

A stone house for seven in a restored Victorian barn, with a hot tub down a woodland path.
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The season's ringing total, announced on 4 August, includes more than 1,000 Sandwich terns, over 100 Arctic terns, and smaller numbers of common terns and black-headed gulls.

Allardice Castle at Inverbervie has gone on the market for offers over £950,000.

Falls by Orry Shand opened at Bridge of Feugh near Banchory on 15 July.