Delgatie castle - great place for a creative writing day!

Last week I ventured into deepest Aberdeenshire.
One of the things that I enjoy about being asked on author visits is that I get the chance to see new places, meet lots of new people and generally the experience is a good one - although there have been times... less said about them the better!

Thankfully this was a great experience.  I was asked to visit               Delgatie Castle which is near Turriff in Aberdeenshire.
The wonderfully enthusiastic local librarians had organised a writing day.  I was working with fellow tutor, author and poet Kenneth Stevens.

The snow, evident here, had cleared a bit before we got there but at least one of the small ponds in the garden was still frozen over when we arrived.  The sun shone and as I was running the workshops in one of the beautiful stone-clad castle rooms,  sunlight was streaming in the windows most of the day.

The ladies who run the kitchen in the castle had provided beautiful homemade scones to accompany the morning coffee and tea, and a delightful lunch, too, which were served in the Laird's Kitchen in the castle. This provided a chance to chat before and after the workshops.


The writers were all keen, some experienced and some beginners, but it was a great day and I hope they enjoyed it all as much as I did.

Sometimes staying away can be a bit of a hit or miss but again this was proving to be a good one.  I was staying in the area for a few days and stayed in the small but very comfortable
Redgarth Hotel which is situated on the hill above Oldmeldrum.  My room looked over to the snow-covered hills, the view skimming the rooftops of Oldmeldrm. It was delightful and the continental breakfast served in my room in the mornings was just perfect.
I had a visit to Meldrum Academy the following day to speak to some S5/6 students who had volunteered to come along for a creative writing workshop. They worked hard but we had some laughs and I am sure there will be some very good writing produced from these young writers in the future, they were a credit to the school and their teachers.