Nether Kirkyard, St Cyrus

My friend L. and I went for a walk today round the National Nature Reserve at St Cyrus, a small village in Aberdeenshire, although it is only 5 miles from Melrose in Angus!  

The weather forecast was for sunshine all afternoon, but 10 minutes into the walk dark clouds loomed overhead and we were caught in a hail storm! Fortunately we had the right gear on, so we didn't let it stop us and the rain eventually stopped and the sun did come out again.

The walk was new to both of us and we loved the varied landscape, with cliffs on one side and reed beds on the other which led down to the sea.  The brochure we picked up at the Visitor Centre gave a wealth of information about the interesting history of the area, so we were looking out for this churchyard en route.

The site is said to date back to 1242 and there are certainly some very old gravestones here, many damaged beyond repair by the wind and weather.  It was certainly a very beautiful location.

It's somewhere we'll return to in various seasons, as there are treats like peregrine falcons and fulmars nesting in the cliffs and beautiful wildflowers in the spring.  A lovely walk, in spite of the soaking:-)