SETTINGS TO INSPIRE
The Losers Club and DI Hunter Deed series mainly take place in the North East of Scotland. It's a beautiful part of the world, and even though I love living near Newcastle Upon Tyne, my heart sings every time I drive over the Tyrebagger outside Aberdeen and catch that first glimpse of Bennachie (the setting for The Juniper Key). Aberdeenshire will always be home home, and it inspires my stories. I hope you'll love this selection of photos and videos I took on my adventures. The videos were taken on my phone for social media, so they're a little rough and ready.
Bennachie taken from Easter Aquhorthies stone circle. Bennachie (pronounced Ben-ah-hee) is a range of hills about fifteen miles west of Aberdeen, although the one pictured here, Mither Tap, is what the locals refer to when they talk about Bennachie. The range is popular with walkers and has a variety of routes, from the easy stroll to the hardened hike. At the top of Mither Tap is a Pictish fort.
From 1800 through to the 1930s, Mither Tap was home to a group of squatters known as the Colony. Their original intent (to live for free on common land) was thwarted by the surrounding landowners.
The new series, DI Hunter Deed, begins with an abandoned car and the discovery of a body at Easter Aquhorthies stone circle near Inverurie. In 2023, I wandered up there for a recce. On the way, I had a macaroni pie from JG Ross, the big bakers mentioned in Juniper Key. Flick through the gallery for a selection of my snaps.
A recumbant stone circle near Inverurie
If your eyesight's good enough, you might be able to tell that it's thousands of years old.
Who ate all the pies? That would be me nom nom nom nom nom
A recumbant stone circle near Inverurie
Villages and towns along the Moray Firth coast inspired my vision of Port Vik harbour. Seatown in Cullen is the harbour area of Port Vik, where Penny and Eileen live in my imagination. The rest of Port Vik is an expanded version of Aberchirder, the village where I grew up. The harbours at Portknockie and Portsoy are the harbour at Port Vik. Here are some pictures and a video of Cullen, Portsoy and Portknockie.
Very quaint little area on the edge of Cullen. Cullen's claim to fame is Cullen Skink, which is like a fish soup
Peaky Blinders was filmed at Portsoy Harbour. It's a lovely little town if you like antiquing and scones.
Findlater Castle, built into a rocky outcrop between Cullen and Portsoy, steeped in history and feuds.
Very quaint little area on the edge of Cullen. Cullen's claim to fame is Cullen Skink, which is like a fish soup
And finally, we're in Aberchirder (or Foggieloan as everyone but the Ordinance Survey people calls it). The hut, which was called the green huttie when I was a teenager and was the site of much snogging, is up a hill at the edge of the village. Although it's no longer green, and it's looking a wee bit sorry for itself these days, the green huttie was the inspiration for the hut in the grounds of Vik Castle in Sleighed. It's up a hill on the edge of the village. The Hill, as it's known locally, was where I envisioned Jim giving Penny a piggyback when she first went to his house in Losers Club. It was also the location of the final showdown. I once saw a ghost there...Ooh, I shouldn't have said anything. That'll come back to haunt me.
I'll leave you with a video of The Hill and a picture of Mum and Dad's bench atop it. RIP, Mum and Dad. I don't know what you'd have made of all this writing malarkey, but you'd have kept me grounded and made sure my heid didn't get ower big to fit through the door.
