I have had the misfortune to visit the Royal Infirmary a lot recently. As I was walking up the High Street I deviated via the Necropolis where these magnificent gates are one entrance to the graveyard.
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| Necropolis gates |
The Scottish government has introduced controversial legislation whereby most salmon caught have to be released but some rivers can keep some. Overall it has not gone down well. My local river is a category 3 which means no fish can be killed, should I be lucky enough to catch one.
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| Salmon fishing |
I went for a cycle to find out where I could access the start of my climb on Geal Charn Mor. I thought that I could get a track beside Loch Alvie, not to be but a nice picture of my MTB beside the loch. After taking the snap sadly I spotted a memorial plaque regarding 3 young men who had drowned, sad.
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| Loch Alvie |
Our lodge was called Eagle Lodge but it did not not have any appropriate fancy carvings like this one outside Bear Lodge. If it is one of these chainsaw carvings very impressive even if it does look a bit sad.
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| Yogi Bear |
I was on a joint MTB and hillwalking day. On the Burma Road track taking me to Geal Charn Mor, I was walking past a house on the land belonging to the Scripture Union. These home baking offerings were not to be passed up. The millionaires shortbread was the delicious sugar hit required after a 600 metre ascent. Hats off to the baker.
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| Home baking |
It might not be the brightest day, it might even be a dull and grey day but I'm happy. I'm in the Cairngorm national park where the MTB trails are to die for. This shot was taken at Loch an Eilein. Absolutely perfect early morning the only sound is the water lapping at the edge.
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| Loch an Eilein |
We had a superb day at the Scottish Wildlife Park at Kingussie. Far too many highlights but if you get the chance go. This grey owl looks magnificent and when it spread its wings, wow.
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| Grey Owl |
There was a nice surprise for my good lady when her sister, father & niece made a surprise appearance. Always a good reason for a nice slice of homemade cake.
What better than a rare blast of the summer sun to head for the beach with the girls of your life and enjoy ice cream.
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| Girls & ice cream |
On a day when there are negative personal issues around it was great to get out on the bike for an hour to clear the mind. The tide was out and the sky was blue so whats not to bring a smile to your face when enjoying this view at Irvine.
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| Irvine Bay |
As I was walking past this field of barley the wind was blowing back and forward causing the crop to move and sway creating some abstract images as well as being soothing.
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| Barley |
I caught this little grebe known locally as a dabchick hiding amongst the marsh plants constantly diving for its grub. A welcome sight on a day of not so good news.
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| Dabchick |
Sadly when out walking you regularly get a reminder from the local wildlife about the dangers of the environment you are in. Don't know if this was old age, the harsh winter or whatever but a reminder things can go wrong.
I love the stonechat. The male has beautiful colours and the sound they make like two small stones being hit together gives it its name. They normally sit on top of some gorse but I got a quick snap of this one on the ground. Just a couple of years ago the local RSPB put out a watch alert as they had almost disappeared from our area. This year they have been more frequent which is good news.
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| Stonechat |
In Scotland the red squirrel is our natural breed and there has been a fight back against the grey invader. Both are interesting in their own right. Whilst it is normal to see a single grey I was amazed to see these three together. I presume that they are a family unit.
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| Grey squirrel |
This patchwork quilt is actually a grouse moor. You can see all the areas that have been burnt to create the new heather growth and the cover for the birds.
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| Grouse Moor |
The day has finally arrived and I had an outstanding day at The Open at Troon. The weather played its part, very bright, cool wind at times but warm at times. The golf was great and a refreshing beer at lunchtime in this spectator zone just the thing. Great day.
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| The Open Troon |
At the Open the hospitality and shopping area is known as the tented village. This year another tented village has landed on the Marr College rugby playing fields. As all the tents are uniform these must be the ones for hire and another field will have the bring your own camping lot. The real thing starts tomorrow.
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| Marr tented village |
Today was a superb hill walk taking in Scald Law and then traversing East & West Kip. A full report will appear in my Desmondo's ramblings blog. A very cold wind up top for mid summer but enjoyable all the same, a 12 mile walk, tired legs now. This snap is the trig on Scald Law, the Pentlands highest hill, by just 3 metres of the hill across the way in the pic, Carnathy hill.
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| Scald Law |
Like the Cafe Royal a visit to Edinburgh is not complete without a visit to the outstanding trout fishery Harlaw reservoir. A full report will appear shortly on my Desmondo's anglings blog. Sufficient to say great action all day, despite the weather, in a great place.
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| Harlaw Reservoir |
A trip to Edinburgh cannot be made without visiting the famous Cafe Royal bar. A great range of real ales, good food and an amazing decor. The circle bar is a class act. We were astounded at how quiet it was but 15 minutes later it was back to standing room only.
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| Cafe royal |
Went to the River Irvine today with the intention of salmon fishing. However the river was so high and discoloured that fishing was a no go. There is normally a pronounced weir that the salmon have to leap. Today they can almost swim through it as it is so high. The weather had appeared to be ok but there must have been heavy rain up the valley overnight. Problem is this water does not clear quickly. There will be another day, now off to Collenan.
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| River Irvine |
I think that mute swans are one of the most interesting birds. Apart from being so simplistically beautiful I always get a strange feeling when they look at you, they appear to make and keep great eye contact. Also their habit of upending themselves to feed and keep perfectly balanced. Junior here looks on warily, when do I have to do this?
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| Mute swan |
When I was out walking along the River Irvine today it was noticeable how much of the the giant hogweed was growing on the bankside. I know that work is ongoing to try and eradicate this toxic plant. Good luck but it looks like a long road ahead.
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| Giant Hogweed |
Butterflies are just stunning natural combinations of colour and this Peacock sunning itself in our garden is a cracking example. The eye patterns on the wings, designed to fool predators, are a superb example of nature at its best. Normally a late summer arrival but we had another over a month ago.
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| Peacock butterfly |
With the recent rain the water levels have risen so the salmon should be starting to come upriver. So I cycled over to Dreghorn to get my permit for the River Irvine. On the way back I took this snap, the water is still a bit on the dirty brown side but a nice height so they maybe there.
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| River Irvine |
We actually had a spot of sun for a few seconds today and I spotted this insect sunning itself on top of a bush. It seemed totally unconcerned as I got close enough for this snap. It is a bit blurred but can still be seen. Don't know what it is but look at the huge eyes.
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| Garden insect |
I have mentioned in previous posts how many bees we get in the garden. This nice snap shows clearly the large amounts of pollen on the stamen of this flower. Rich pickings indeed.
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| Pollen |
Our monthly fishing trip has been badly affected by the weather this year and today was no exception. The rain had poured all night and indeed all this morning thus the River Doon at Smithston was high and very dirty brown. The river needed the rain to get salmon moving from the estuaries upriver but not today. A fuller report will be posted on my Desmondo's Anglings blog. The river level marker post in the picture showed a water rise of 6 inches from our arrival to departure.
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| River Doon Smithston |
Today I took a walk along the South beach which is a relatively unspoilt and usually quiet, mainly dog walkers. After a while you reach the Pow Burn which is normally deep enough to be a barrier between Troon & Prestwick beaches. Just inland it is heavily polluted. Some old timers say sea trout were once common holding in this area before going upstream but others say not as it has always been polluted. Still a nice walk.
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| Pow burn |
We had the girls staying today and it was great as always to see the smiles and hear the giggles. When you get a smile like this you always end up smiling in return.
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| Smiler |
Over the last year I have noticed that all the reservoirs we fish have all got new safety signs and life saving equipment installed. This does not seem to apply to private waters so I presume this is a Health & Safety issue, presumably paid by the companies that own the waters. European legislation I wonder and maybe no more. We have 5 of these in our own wee water.
