I carried on the track, opening and closing gates, and came to Balliefurth Farm, where I'd encountered the pigs a couple of days ago. No pigs, but a fine looking cow that I stopped to take a photo of. As I was getting ready, the cow lowed, possibly asking me to get its best side! After taking my leave I continued along the track, starting to get a little nervous about the time as there was no sign of my planned turn off yet. The station I was heading for was a terminus, so I had bags of time to play with, but I wanted to get a video of the train entering the station if possible. Eventually I came to my turn, and headed right onto a farm track that soon brought me out on Station Road. I was feeling chuffed with myself, as it was literally a couple of minutes to the station and I had ten in hand, when I heard the sound of an incoming steam train and saw in the distance the 11:21 arrival at Broomhill steaming in a good eight minutes early! There was nothing for it but to head to the station, and onto the platform where the train had pulled up a few hundred yards past. I watched (and videoed) as the locomotive uncoupled and came back down the track to reattach itself to what would now be the head of the train as it headed back to Aviemore.
After taking another couple of videos of the train departing, I too left the station, heading back along Station Road and over Broomhill Bridge, which was opened on November 27th 1894 by The Right Honourable The Countess Dowager of Seafield. I could feel the wind blowing now, quite strongly and seemingly from a southerly direction, and it felt a lot colder than recently. Fortunately at the end of Station Road in Nethy Bridge I turned northwards onto the B970 towards Grantown On Spey, with the wind now at my back. I passed the Nethybridge Hotel, where chairs with white lace trim were being taken into a well mown field opposite. If they were for a wedding I hoped the bride had her coat, and the wedding was to happen before the rain came. Further along the road I stopped to take a photo of the lovely Abernethy Old Kirk, the earliest record of which is in a Latin document from 1187-1203, although the present building dates from 1767. It is a Commonwealth War Graves site with 11 burials there.
In the field opposite there was a woman tending to an allotment, and I thought she had a radio on, but it turned out she was talking to a friend on the phone, quite loudly! Next door to the Kirk is Castle Roy, and I reacquainted myself with Murdo who had moved from a field by the car park to just by the castle walls, where he was contentedly grazing. From here it wasn't long before I was descending to re-cross the A95, and I stopped underneath the Old Spey Bridge to take a couple of photographs. Up close the stonework is impressive, even though it has weathered, and the bridge must have looked a fantastic sight when it was newly constructed. Shortly after, I diverted off into Anagach Woods and, rather than head straight back to Grantown On Spey, I turned right into the woods and followed some great forest track towards Cromdale. The tracks varied in surface, and criss-crossed making it difficult to work out where I was, or should, going. However, thanks to some expert navigation(!) I found myself at the bridge over the Spey at Cromdale.
I'd driven over this the previous day, and it is signposted as a Weak Bridge, with only room for one way traffic. It's an interesting metal girder bridge though, and on the opposite side of the bank to me was a pretty church, belonging to the Church of Scotland. Being at river level there was a bit of climbing to do to get to the B9102 which pointed to Grantown On Spey in a mile and a half. It was starting to spit now, and I followed the road back into town and back to my hotel, just in time to avoid the rain. Another very good day, now for a bit of rest and relaxation.
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