Merry Christmas Everyone

Wherever you are in the World

Merry Christmas

Der Brandenburger Tor

Fröhliches Weihnachten zu Ihnen Thomas und auch zu Ihrer Familie Solveig, Julius und Jonathon

Banff Harbour - Marina (more pics)

click to enlarge

I took a walk along to the Harbour yesterday and even in the winter it looks inviting. It really is a nice place to pass away a few hours surrounded by a lump of history that just stirs the memory. I've added a few more pictures, these were taken at the beginning of last year. The Quayside must have been a hive of activity in the old days, but now the scene is one of tranquility where old and new seem to have blended quite well. Be handy if there were to be a little quayside pub, wonder if there was one years ago - hard to believe there wasn't something here to cater for the thirsts of fishermen and the seamen from the cargo vessels. The webcam is a good feature for it allows my distant family to see the place from time to time and also they can tell what the weather's like because when it's windy the camera wobbles a bit!

Banff Harbour - Marina

(click picture to enlarge)

The harbour is now a marina. It's coversion from the former to the latter has certainly given 'life' to the area. What was once a busy fishing port changed much over the years and there was a danger of the site becoming something of a dead area. The build up of silt made it a poor mooring for leisure craft - then what happens - along come Aberdeenshire Council with investment and promise - Good for them, they not only gave a promise to the town, they actually delivered it.

The site is a pleasure to visit. I do understand there are complaints of silting but many harbours/marinas suffer this - it seems it's just a matter of having an appropriate maintenance programme - after all the forces of nature are somewhat unpredictable.

On a nice sunny day there can be no better pastime than watching the craft, yachts and working boats, going about their business. There's something nice and relaxing watching people messing about with boats.

Yes I have to say - "Well done Aberdeenshire Council and the Banff and Buchan Area Committee for investing in the future of Banff"