It turns out we haven't completely dealt with jetlag yet. I woke at 7am to discover Linda had been awake for three hours already. I sent her back to bed to sleep and we started our day proper when she woke an hour and a half later.

The first task was to top up our grocery supplies and we decided that this was a good opportunity for Linda to have her first drive of our rental car. Neither of us are particularly impressed with either the drivability or comfort of the car so we won't be rushing out to buy a Mercedes Benz when we get home.

One advantage of Linda driving was that I got the opportunity to look for dolphins as we passed the Aberdeen harbour mouth and, sure enough, I was lucky enough to spot one. We've seen them a few times now but I haven't mentioned them because we keep thinking that next time we'll stop and take a photo. We haven't yet but hopefully there will be a photo opportunity before we leave Aberdeen.

After making our lunch we set out on the hour and a quarter 80km drive to Balmoral. Unlike yesterday, today was very cold - 12 degrees as we left Aberdeen - with low clouds and drizzle. The weather improved a bit as we were driving and continued to improve throughout our time at Balmoral.

The drive was scenic with Linda helpfully pointing out all the things I wasn't allowed to look for while driving. I understand that included cows, lambs (of various ages and face colours), waterfalls, and even a squirrel.

The number of cars, campervans and buses in the carpark at Balmoral suggested that the place would be packed but because the grounds are so large it never felt crowded. We made our way to the castle itself with the first view being quite impressive.

We spent some time admiring the front of the castle from the lawn before finding a park bench to enjoy our picnic lunch.

After we had eaten our lunch, we visited the Ballroom where there was a display of some of the King's watercolour paintings - ones he painted himself not ones he owns. It turns out he is a more than adequate painter; I would be very happy to display the paintings if they had been my work.

Further strolling took us to the castle Gift Shop and Cafe. The gift shop was a bit disappointing although Linda did find a few little trinkets to weigh down our suitcases on our homeward journey.

Walking to the exit of the grounds we had one more encounter with nature in the form of a red-breasted Robin. I include the photo here not because it has any redeeming qualities - it doesn't - but because Linda was delighted to see the Robin and happy that I got a photo.

We had mostly followed the A93 on our way to Balmoral; heading back to Aberdeen we stuck to the B roads to the south of the River Dee instead. This turned out to be even more scenic. As we got closer to Aberdeen, the weather deteriorated again and by the time we were driving past the harbour entrance we were ensconced in mist and any passing dolphins were completely hidden.

Catherine, Adam and Andy came over for dinner; a very nice chilli con carne that Linda managed to whip up despite the lack of appropriate ingredients and utensils.

After our visitors left, we settled in for an early night. Tomorrow is reason for the trip - Mum and Margaret's 80th birthday.