Thoughts On Autumn

Autumn: it creeps up on you and everything changes.

You can still remember summer: long days, glasses of crisp white wine, picking at a supper of fresh crab and buttered bread – but, now, that would no longer satisfy.

The weather has changed and so has your palette.

What you desire is deeper and darker – mushroom risotto specked with bitter rosemary, mashed potatoes and thick brisket stew, apple crumble and hot custard – foods which make you feel warm, comforted and complete.

You’ve thought about your favourite winter coat.

You want to take all your days slowly, to travel near and never far, to walk and wander, and lose yourself in a blanket of crisp leaves and conkers.

There are some special places to do that here:

Aden Country Park

The best of Aden is found off the beaten track. Walk the perimeter of the park, and you’ll find Hareshowe Farm – a 1950s farm cottage and steading – and the remains of the old Formartine and Buchan railway line, which stretches through 53 miles of green countryside. The route is relatively flat and entirely off-road, and is great for a day of walking, picnicking and exploring. The park itself is perfect if you just want to mosey through leafy woodland, and is dog and cycle friendly too. We hear there’s lovely coffee and fancy pieces to be had at the café – it’s our sister venture and we vouch for the cheese scones!

Kinnaird Head and the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses

There’s something very grounding about climbing to the top of a lighthouse: standing at the platform railing, feeling the wind in your hair and looking out to sea. You think of all the people who have done this before you, all who have stood and admired this view, and all those who guaranteed light when there was nothing at all to see. There’s over 200 spiral steps up to the lantern at Kinnaird Head and it’s worth the climb. Staff at the museum provide a comprehensive tour, and will explain its unique history as Scotland’s first lighthouse.

We also recommend taking a wander along the coastal path from the lighthouse into Broadsea: old fisher Fraserburgh, once the heart of the town. It’s packed with quaint cottages, and on the coast, the air is pure. You can taste the salt from the sea on your tongue, and feel the water’s fury in your lungs. The cold is bracing but reviving. If you’re hungry after all that climbing and walking, Fraserburgh is famed for fish, and we recommend Findlays Chipper in the town’s Broad Street for a haddock supper.

Duff House & Grounds

Hunting for conkers is a dying art, still the crop at Duff House is plentiful. A walk through the woodlands, eyes ferreting, will fill a morning. You will pass the Duff ice house – used to stash winter ice to freeze food throughout the seasons – and can walk as far as the Bridge of Alvah. An hour on the path, climbing up through trees, will take you there.

The bridge towers over the River Deveron. Here you can pause, take in the rolling countryside and luscious farmland, and enjoy tea from a flask certain that there will be very little disruption. It’s quiet and still. The only noise will be the water bubbling below. Turn back and there’s the house itself for the afternoon. The stately home was used as a prisoner of war camp during the second world war, and has a rich history, and now houses art from the National Galleries of Scotland collection.

Pitmedden Gardens

Apples: the quintessential taste of Autumn, and a fruit Pitmedden has in abundance. There are over 200 apple trees and 30,000 bedding plants to be seen in the walled gardens, plus extensive pathed grounds to be explored. After the October apple harvest, the garden closes until spring, and an army of volunteers work through the winter to weed and sow next year’s blooms – but the grounds and walks remain accessible.

Just beyond Pitmedden, you can find the village of Udny, and The Coffee Apothecary: one of the region’s much-loved coffee spots. Speciality coffee, care and attention to detail have earned the owners much praise in recent years. It’s treat-yourself coffee, it’s city-coffee in the heart of the countryside, it’s coffee that says you’ve walked far, and deserve to be warm.

Haddo House and Country Park

The grounds at Haddo are wide, green and plentiful – and suited to a day’s ambling. As you walk, you can glimpse squirrels in the trees, and pause to watch birds fluttering at the lake’s edge. During this season, the park shows nature at its very best – quiet, beautiful, shifting, moving. The house itself is elegant and opulent. There’s much antiques and curios to be seen inside, and staff can share with you all the stately home’s hidden tales during their daily tours.

A short drive from Haddo will take you to Formartines – a good eatery with an emphasis on local, seasonal food. The building is 100% zero carbon and this green thinking extends throughout the business. The on-site deli sells a variety of preserves, oil, meat and cheeses from the region – perfect edible souvenirs.

When the sun begins to set, you will know that it is time to go. Time to journey back through Buchan – towards Saplinbrae.

You unlace your boots, and find fresh socks, and think about the rich stout, smoked fish and game you will consume later.

There will be a red armchair and roaring fire waiting for you when you return – and later still, a warm bed.

That night you will sleep soundly, deeply – quite snug.

You understand now the lesson of this landscape, and this season: a good life is composed of many small, ever-shifting joys.