Alex and Bob`s Blue Sky Scotland

Glasgow.A Culture And History Tour

2012-01-29T12:35:00.002Z

I don,t go into Glasgow City centre that much these days,not for shopping anyway.With out of town malls five minutes away its too handy to go there and get everything I need under one roof quickly.Sometimes a year can pass between visits on foot into the heart of Glasgow even though I live within the city limits.When I do go in its to find more rows of charity shops,cheap, here today gone tomorrow,type outlets in the quieter,less frequented streets or upmarket stores and restaurant's I have no intention of going anywhere near with my wallet unless I,m dragged into them by someone else.Same story throughout the UK I guess.
However one day, a couple of months ago,a late autumnal weekend dawned where I fancied something different from hills.I thought I,d have a culture and history day instead and here it is.

My first port of call was the City Chambers in George Square.Its open for free guided tours to the public

Monday to Friday at 10.30 am and 2.30 pm.Tours with a guide last about an hour.Its usually overseas visitors that take advantage of this and a lot of Glaswegians have no idea what lies inside this Iconic but fairly sombre exterior.

Glasgow was once the second city of the British Empire after London and in Victorian and Edwardian Times was one of the richest cities in the whole of Europe.Fortunately many of the buildings from that time of great wealth still survive scattered across Glasgow.The City Chambers is one of them.Inside it has more solid Italian marble staircases than even the Vatican in Rome.I have heard Manchester and Birmingham also lay claim to this second city title in recent documentaries,they are certainly larger now and maybe out competed Glasgow later on but from the early 1800,s right up until the 1920,s Glasgow was a powerhouse of Industry and commerce. No expense was spared in these heady times when this city produced between fifty to seventy percent of the world,s shipping in good years and also built the lions share of the world,s locomotives in Springburn.It was not unusual for over 300 new ships completed in a year to power down the River Clyde from the various yards dotted along its banks."Clyde Built" was a term understood by the world,s sailors of large ships for meaning quality and craftsmanship.The great English port city of Liverpool would have been the only other serious rival but with that avenue already taken they developed profitable interests at sea in other directions,concentrating on the mass migration of people rather than ship building.
In these uncertain times today however the fact that you can still explore this outstanding building for free is remarkable.They,d charge you an arm and a leg for the privilege in most other cities.

Past the entrance hall,with its tile mosaic of small domed ceilings you enter an anti chamber leading to two great staircases, both constructed of solid marble.On the one side is the white staircase,composed of the same great blocks of pristine carrara marble that Michelangelo produced The David from along with many of his great works commissioned by the powerful Medici family in Florence.
On the other side leading to the opposite wing of the building is a similar but dark staircase composed of red marble with multi coloured veins and golden swirls creeping thought it.When Queen Victoria opened this building in 1888 even she must have been impressed by its scale and quality of workmanship.

The great banqueting hall lies above.Sometimes this is used for functions and meetings so check first to see if the tour includes this room if you are coming far for a visit.Even the numerous lesser rooms though are adorned with art works and scenes of Glasgow,s industrial past.One fireplace alone is valued at close to a million pounds.

The interior gets brighter the higher you climb,sunlight pouring in from several large dome windows (cupola,s) in the upper roof section that are allowed to drop their illuminating bounty through the full height of the building.This is the highest point the tour reaches. Through the glass dome above the central tower can be seen soaring upwards overhead to its lofty spire.(Just visible in the first photograph.) Yup ! No doubt about it this was far better than going round the charity shops.

Next we visited the debating chamber where the City Council decides which services they should lavish our poll tax money on and which ones will get an empty plate. Its well worth a visit and I,ve shown only a fraction of the secrets hidden within.

Five minutes walk away in Royal Exchange square sits the Gallery of Modern Art ( or Gallery of Modern Crap as some local wits have unkindly dubbed it depending on what,s on show inside)The exhibits change regularly.The story of Glasgow,s great wealth began with the Tobacco lord,s ,the cities first Millionaires (by today,s monetary values some would have been billionaires probably.) From 1707 and the act of union with England Scottish Merchants were able to compete with English rivals on a level playing field. By a stroke of luck though the famous trade winds just happened to be better here and within easy reach of Scottish ports first.Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh were on the wrong coast facing Europe. Bad luck for them. Even today Scotland remains the windiest country in Europe.There are still the ruins of an old inn visible I,ve visited on the Island of Bute, popular and busy in the days of sail, half hidden under the bracken in a little sandy cove at Glencallum bay near Kilchattan.
If the winds were unfavourable for once ships would lie up here waiting for the right conditions then use this express sailing corridor to reach America and the West Indies up to two weeks faster than their southern neighbours in England.Here they would import Tobacco,Sugar, Rum,Cotton and other goods in exchange for materials these colonies required.They would then resell these imported goods to other cities making substantial profits.An idea of the Importance and power of these merchants can be seen here.Under the later added embellishments of Greek columns, new roof and pediment (the triangular bit at the top of the pillars) lurks the large town mansion of one William Cunninghame,A Tobacco lord.In 1780 It took 10,000 pounds to complete his original building and here it remains, one of the few left standing in the city.Many visitors to the gallery however are unaware as to its original use and purpose. Although most of these great piles have long since passed into history the Mansions that used to stand on the ground and the names of the merchants that lived in them linger on in the streets that eventually grew up around them. Buchanan Street,Ingram Street,Glassford Street,Cochrane Street,and Oswald Street to name but a few are named after the great merchants and houses that originally stood there.Likewise Virginia Street,Jamaica Street,and Tobago Street all tell the tale of the areas they sailed towards to collect their goods.

This was what awaited me today inside the GOMA.A giant orange mouse head.For me, as modern art goes it was certainly better than a few squiggles and lines under glass,or paint thrown over a blank canvas.It raised a few laughs anyway and got a few heads shaking.There is only so long you can contemplate a mouse head though and after a good exploration of its innards I climbed the stairs to the upper floors.More galleries lie above.

Now this was more like it!Part of the attraction of any art is how skillfully you interpret it.After careful consideration this is obviously a schoolteacher giving a wayward pupil the strap (you can tell that by the eye of learning in the pyramid above) I bet that hurt,serves him right.Nowadays however young folks might take a different meaning out of it as the belt is also history in classrooms now.With age comes wisdom I thought to myself.Another mysterious art puzzle solved :)
However,back to the tobacco lord,s we go as a few other relics of their time remain in the Glasgow of today.

Hidden halfway down Miller street is this more modest example of a merchants house.A lot of people pass by it taking the handy short cut between George Square and Argyle Street.To many people including me years ago it was just an odd old building sandwiched between taller structures in a fairly nondescript back street.The merchant city,now a trendy shopping and fine dining zone is full of magical buildings restored like this one shining a spotlight on the past.

Citation on Wilson Street.Although a restaurant now its name gives away its original purpose as the old sheriff court of Glasgow.The present modern sheriff court lies across the river near the Gorbals,thanks to Glasgow youth,s continuing love affair with the knife, it remains one of the busiest in Europe.Having said that Glasgow during the day is still one of the friendliest cities of its size in the UK for tourists.Any wild locals just tend to fight amongst themselves mainly but will stop to give you directions if asked :) On second thoughts ,like any other city,always ask someone normal looking that is not talking loudly or shouting. Tourists perceptions of overseas places they don't know can be bewildering however. Large cruise ships have been pulling into Greenock,s deep water docks over the last few summers as a sheltered short visit destination.The Tall Ships Race was an obvious attraction.A few Russians refused to even step ashore one day though as they had read in advance about Inverclyde,s reputation for violence and crime.The quiet resort town of Gourock was awash with gangsters to these Russian eyes.True I wouldn,t walk about hands in pockets dangling a really expensive camera around my neck there but then again I wouldn,t advise doing that anywhere in a town or city.My parents used to take rolls and flasks of tea instead and spent a lifetime every summer strolling around Inverclyde,s coastal esplanades and parks waiting to be mugged.It never happened.

At the western entrance of Glasgow Green sits this massive structure.The Mclennan Arch.Huge in its own right It was originally just a section of a larger building,the Assembly rooms in Ingram Street. A place where music, dancing and meetings were held.Gives you some idea of the size of the lost building when this is just a wee chunk left over from its demise
As a cultural self tour guide there is a good merchant city public art trail pamphlet normally available from the visitor information centre in George Square or in the GOMA itself which might have them.With plenty of pictures It gives you a route to follow around the nearby Merchant city and the Italia centre with its troop of rooftop Sculptures looking down.If you have not visited since its regeneration its well worth a stroll around the place.
If that,s not enough and you want a longer thrill walk you could always make a full day of it and cut up through the Rottenrow gardens with its giant nappy pin sculpture where many generations of Glaswegians popped out of the maternity hospital that once stood here.I was one of them, squirted out into an empty birthing bin then set free into the big bad world.Proud to be rotten to the core :0) Says so on my birth certificate anyway.This is a good place to have lunch with seats and flowers,surrounded by the unusual and contrasting architecture of the University.
When ready climb up towards the gleaming pin.This end takes you onto level ground and through the campus of the University of Strathclyde. Just Follow the signs for campus village.After passing several more interesting sculptures you come out the other end onto the honeypot cluster of Glasgow Cathedral,The Bishops Palace(Museum of Religion) the Provand lordship,s (oldest house in Glasgow) and the Necropolis Graveyard with great views across the city.Yippee!.Also free!!!! .A long full day of culture as energetic as any hill day.With nightfall approaching I crawled back down the High Street to take a bus home.My only outlay of coin yet so many wonders.Call me mean but in these dark days of recession it doesn't hurt to stem the endless flow of twenty pound notes from your pocket.I could live for a month on one of those in the good old days.Visit Glasgow.Its pure dead magic so it is.

Drymen.Gartmore.Port Of Menteith.Kippen Muir.Balfron Station.

2012-01-22T01:28:00.017Z

The Last bike run I managed before Christmas and my secret Santa appointment with a moving vehicle was this one.I decided I should give myself a proper fitness test on a bike,given good weather of course and had my eye on a fantastic tour from Drymen out via Gartmore then the main road to Aberfoyle Then Port of Menteith Then Arnprior...up over Kippen Muir,Round By hill of Balgair,Balfron then Balfron Station,Gartness and back to Drymen.
I had cycled a variation of this tour once before many years ago and knew it was a cracker with exceptional views and empty roads.It mainly uses minor and B roads with two short sections of A road from Aberfoyle to Lake of Menteith then near the end from Balfron Station To Gartness.
A fine Sunday dawned at last.The hills were bare of snow again after days of mild weather and constant rain.Now it was Sunny and cold,lots of early morning ice on the roads.For this reason I left it til after 9.0 clock am to set off,arriving in Drymen car park around 10 o clock am. Although the days were short at this time of year I thought I could be back by 4 o clock pm and avoid cycling in the dark.Even with lights on the bike I consider night cycling on busy roads an easy invitation to the delights of hospital food so they stay in the cupboard normally.I used to cycle to work in the dark every day long ago and the memory of frequent near misses and the occasional direct hit still haunts me.I once slid 20 feet on my knees then on my back along the road at Bearsden Cross when a Morton,s roll van kindly separated me from my bike.Luckily I had thick trousers and waterproofs on due to the downpour of rain at the time and both helped to save me from major damage.Its always an adventure on a bike.

The metal steed in question was quickly got ready and I was off up the minor road towards Bat a Charchel ,the highpoint of the first climb at 230 metres from a start of 45 metres in Drymen.(around 600 feet of ascent)It was a good way to get warm as I panted and groaned my way up the incline.Suddenly I heard a familiar sound in the distance and looked up to see wave after wave of geese approaching.Maybe they were delayed over in Eastern Lands or held up down south by all the storms and bad weather but they were now airborne in vast numbers,Skein after skein of them..They soon filled the sky from horizon to horizon,many thousands strong.I felt very privileged and lucky to be a witness to this mass flight northwards,In all my years walking outdoors I ,ve never seen anything like as many geese before in the skies above Scotland and I doubt I will again.It took them around a full five minutes to pass overhead before the last stragglers disappeared, honking loudly in protest as if to say " Hey! Slow down at bit, wait for us!" Hard to capture a clear image as I think the auto focus was put off by the trees in both shots.

Moments like this make it all worthwhile.I think they were barnacle geese.Didn,t have my binoculars with me alas,saving some weight on the bike.

Inspired by this sight I soon reached the road highpoint and stopped to have this surprisingly close view over the Luss hills from the wild and empty heights of Moor Park.Unbelievably I,d been passed by two keen racing cyclists while standing watching the geese, heads down ,powering uphill at a fast rate.Distance and miles mattered more to them I guess.They only glanced up once."Geese "said one.The other just grunted. Whatever turns you on I suppose :)
I wouldn,t make a good racing cyclist as I stop for photographs all the time or curiosity gets the better of me if I pass anything of interest.That,s the whole point of any journey for me though.Finding out about things.

After a breakfast of two boiled eggs, mature cheddar cheese cubes and seedless grapes I put my jacket on for the downhill run into Gartmore,Itself fairly Isolated at 60 metres on its open ridge.Although there was almost no wind up here the air temperature remained below freezing for most of the day.Thankfully the sun had melted much of the ice on the road and there were only a few shaded patches and weeps to watch out for in deep dips and around corners.I did not fancy departing from my handlebars and saddle at speed again.That tends to be very painful no matter how warm the day.
Gartmore is a quiet village only a kilometre away from the busy A81 leading to tourist hot spots Callander and Aberfoyle.As its higher than this road and largely hidden from sight most car drivers are unaware it even exists.Its not got the draw of these bigger destinations being a sleepy wee place but it does have its quieter,less obvious surprises.

One of these is this belter of a view of Ben Lomond,looking very regal from this angle.The other is a village green monument to an extraordinary Scottish Adventurer who went by the name of Don Roberto.A real life 19th century cowboy and South American Gaucho who had lands here and connections to Dumbarton ,having been brought up there and on the Finlaystone estate in Renfrewshire.He was high born into what could have been a comfortable life but he obviously had a wild streak in him that would not be denied.Instead of sitting in a mansion as a Scottish laird with brandy and cigars he spent his early years galloping across the vast plains of Argentina on horseback.His favourite horse which was with him for many years touchingly gets equal billing on the monument to him.He then attempted to build up a cattle empire in South America and is remembered there to this day.A street in Buenos Aires bears his name . He also found time to become an expert in fencing..Even into his 80,s he was out horse riding daily.When he died,fittingly in Argentina, his body was brought back to Scotland.He lies buried with his wife on Inchmahome Island on the Lake Of Menteith.In later life he became an MP here and became the first one to be suspended from the House of Commons for swearing.
His amazing life story here.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bontine_Cunninghame_Graham. ( Be aware though I have found a couple of minor discrepancies in this otherwise excellent biography when compared to other articles.Wikipedia is not always 100 percent accurate in its research yet but it does update when it receives new facts on a subject so its getting there. More like 98 percent.)

Here he,s remembered on former Graham lands. The Impressive Gartmore House nearby once belonged to the Grahams. This is also the minor road into the village just pedalled from the cycle highpoint on the moors.
As the A81 looked fairly quiet I biked along this.There is a traffic free cycle track here along a dismantled railway to Aberfoyle but these things tend to be slower and below road level for much of the time,limiting the views of the surrounding countryside.The turn off away from Aberfoyle was soon reached and I was off along the rolling section of the A81 to Lake of Menteith.Here a much quieter road was taken, the B8034 hugging the shores of this famous fishing and curling Lake with its island Priory (Don Roberto,s last resting place) and ruined castle,before passing Nick Nairn,s cook school then Arnprior sitting pretty on its ridge.

This marked the second long hill climb.a rollercoaster of rising ground leading up to the final ridge in the distance where the steep wall of the Fintry Hills loomed.I enjoyed this section for the scenery and views it offered but it was tough going.Somehow I,d lost my lowest two gears by this point so it was even more of a challenge.Panting up the green middle section in this photograph I was overtaken by a twenty something girl as if I was standing still.It wasn,t even a racing bike she was on but an average tourer like mine which made it worse.I,m not usually competitive but having sand kicked in your face by a women does something to the male psyche. I,m always happy to accept them being smarter than me(Lets face it.. that wouldn,t be difficult) but to be squashed so easily in a physical battle is much harder to take.With my pride wounded I put on an increased burst of speed up the hill but she was so far ahead by this point she didn't even notice my effort.Eventually I gave up and consoled myself with a sausage. Its tough getting old.Having said that I,m now re -reading and re- inspired by one of the finest travel book writer,s I,ve ever stumbled across.Josie
Dew - The wind in my wheels.Travel guide books to a certain place are different.You need them to know what,s out there and where the best places are if you are setting off there Travel writers however can sometimes tend to be of the variety.... I went there ...I visited here.Bill Bryson and Josie Dew for me stand apart as they can be enjoyed by anyone.Creative,funny and informative, even if you never intend to go to any of the places they are descibing .Multi country adventures in uplifting,always funny and unique insights into different lands.She and her game but unsuspecting boyfriends,s /girl companions abroad take the kicking so I don,t have to.I,ve enough lumps and bent bones from cycling in Scotland thanks..She is completely different class though. A Rare individual who didn,t just dream to going somewhere exotic and far away but made it happen and slogged it out on the ground inch by inch on a bike..A modern day Don Roberta on a metal horse.You will not be disappointed.Like a couple of forces of nature I,ve met in my life though Its far safer to enjoy her from a distance on the page than be involved in one of her adventures methinks:)

What views though.This is looking towards Stuc a Chroin and Ben Vorlich from the minor road near Jennywoodston,a new road tick for me and a belter of a bike run.

Looking across at the Glen Artney range of Hills.Mor Bheinn ,Meall Reamhar and the like.Suberb flat balcony trail along here.All too soon though it was back to the climb up Kippen muir,legs burning to the highpoint just short of 200 metres again.Another wee break for a photo opportunity.

Even in a car its a lovely place to stop and admire the scenery but on a bike after putting a shift in to get there it feels like the roof of Scotland. Now I hoped it would be all downhill on empty minor roads past hill of Balgair to Balfron.A new road for me.Not only was this a twisty little number though it was also up and down,Hill of Balgair living up to its name.

Good views over to Meikle Bin, Dungoil and the Campsies though.By this time I was getting worried about daylight or the lack of it. The sun was starting to slide out of view and in another half hour it would be dark.Forcing myself to increase the pace I slogged on.The only time I,d really stopped moving so far was for photographs or food or geese or to visit something interesting off route with several minor walking explorations away from the highway.It was a poor time by keen cycling standards but I was now rather knackered.Its only a 30 odd mile trip this one but fairly up and down.I decided I didn,t really have enough time to go via Gartness before it got dark.

Last of the sun just before Balfron,looking over at Corrie of Balglass and Sir Archibald,s Plantation.As I was running out of time I turned onto the main A 811 after Balfron Station and raced back in the gathering dusk towards Drymen.By the time I entered the home straight the lights were on in the village and proper darkness had arrived but I,d made it just in time.A memorable day for my last bike ride of 2011.For those keen on cycling who have not done this route yet its a real classic tour.With all the ups and downs its probably close to 2000 feet of ascent..A fantastic day.
I was fairly pleased with my level of fitness given my age.There,s an old saying though" What,s for you will not go by you".How true! Little did I know what was in store for me just around the corner.After a month of cabin fever, shuffling about the house or limping round the shops for messages my hard won fitness is gubbed.Ah well .... Life is an unpredictable game of up the ladder and down the snake at times.Back to square one again.At least I,m still here to reclimb that ladder.That,s the main thing.

The Lower River Clyde.

2012-01-14T19:15:00.004Z

This is a companion post to the Kilpatrick hills post just past.There are a number of good bike rides from my house that run along the Forth and Clyde canal in both directions.Two of the best explore the banks of the lower River Clyde.The first goes via Anniesland out past Clydebank and here at Bowling Harbour, through the Vale of Leven to Loch Lomond side.From there a network of Minor roads in the rolling country north east of Jamestown (Balloch) lead you round past Croftamie and Blanefeild back to Glasgow.A fairly long day but highly enjoyable.

This is Bowling harbour.It used to be a major stop off point for the many steamers going up and down the Clyde,a shipbuilders yard and a busy working harbour After a long decline its now a smashing little place full of quirky interest and has regained something of its former glory.Dumbarton is another place that is often overlooked but it has a great park (Levengrove) a very dramatic Castle and a scenic walkway/cycletrack leading along the Firth of Clyde from this park towards Cardross and the Havoc Grasslands.

The second bike run veers south and crosses the Erskine Bridge then runs along the other side of the Clyde via Erskine all the way out over the hills and moors to reach Inverclyde.This was a run I did in the late Autumn just passed.From high up on the bridge the Kilpatrick hills look almost flat here.After such a poor wet summer I was determined to make the most of any good weekends and chase the sun wherever it landed.Today was a perfect example.Going by the forecast It was a gloomy,wet cloudy day anywhere over the mountain regions within a two hour drive away but in Glasgow and the lower Clyde area the sun was out all day.The city with its heat and concrete often punches a hole through the murk and I had just the ride to take advantage of this.Despite its proximity to where I live I had never fully explored the Marshlands of the Lower River Clyde before.It should be good for wildlife,photography and make an interesting outing I thought.

In places,as here near Newshot Island The River is at its widest,looking more like the Nile or the Amazon than the tame city River further inland.Here it meets the White and Black Cart Waters flowing out of Paisley which help to swell its volume considerably It actually narrows again after this point, squeezed tighter by the landscape and the great northern wall of the Kilpatricks looming above.This was after five days of heavy rain and storms and entire mature trees were floating past out to sea,eroded from the crumbling banks upstream.It didn't feel like the usual urban river.While researching this post I came across this link to a site showing what the Clyde looked like in its heyday.Many of the photos in here are stunning.Its another world.When I was a child being taken around Glasgow in the late 1950s early 1960s I Just caught a last glimpse of this powerhouse age before its final demise.For anyone too young to remember it this is an eyeopener compared to the empty scene now.http://www.glasgowhistory.com/sailing-down-the-clyde-%E2%80%9Cdoon-the-watter%E2%80%9D.html Well worth a look and a lot of work to collect so much lost history and images.

A fine easy bike/walking trail leads through the grounds of Erskine Hospital past the new Golf course and sandy beaches with fantastic views of well known places across the river but now seen from a different angle entirely.On the OS Map of Glasgow however it looked possible to go from here all the way along to Longhaugh point and the M8 leading to Greenock.I didn,t know anyone who had been along here and had never seen it in any guide.That was enough for me.Sometimes I don,t need to go into the true wilds for fun and adventure.You can find wilderness nearby in the unlikeliest places imaginable.I also found where some of the floating trees ended up.

Only a few miles away over the higher mountain ranges rain and murk prevailed.In the words of Austin Powers..."That's not my bag baby!" If I have a choice I prefer a walk in day long sunshine.Which is just as well as it turned out to be one of the hardest, most desperate walks I have attempted anywhere.There is a very good reason its not in any guide.

Dumbarton Rock seen from the marshlands.It was around this point I had to ditch the bike hiding it in the reeds on the edge of the marsh.Walking was becoming difficult by now.Unseen holes,some of them three feet deep and filled with stagnant river water lurked every second step underfoot.What solid ground there was to step on was of the spongy tussock variety or deep sticky mud.It was worse than any hill I,d thrown myself up,even darkest, deepest Galloway which has some of the biggest tussocks and holes off the main walking paths anywhere.There and back It was under six kilometres of white unmarked ground.A blank on the map.It was up to me to fill in that blank on the map for curiosity sake alone.I rose to the challenge ..or rather sank,swam and crawled.

It did have some interesting Highlights though.This is the monument between Milton and Bowling.Its an area that has intrigued me as its off limits to the general public with a manned guardhouse and no way in except for those with the right password.On the Map there is a lot of potential interest though with the remains of the ancient Dunglass Castle marked, built in 1380, this monument,several piers and an offshore island (Milton island).An interesting boat trip methinks.Its off limits because its the site of the old Esso Bowling facility and fuel storage reserve but if it was decommissioned and opened to the public it would give Bowling another much needed tourist asset to complement the harbour. A nice walking/bike trail could be landscaped here linked to the harbour area.It would certainly be better than the side I was on.

Muddy and soaked beyond belief I crawled and jumped my way across this hideous swampy void then returned to my bike.Due to the terrain it had taken a lot longer than expected. By now it was getting dark and very cold.A magnificent full moon was out above Clydebank as I zoomed along the canal, still dripping mud,intent on getting back home before I froze to death from hypothermia.It is not a walk I feel I can fully recommend therefore unless you are keen to do battle with several thousand, hidden jaggy edged freezing mud baths.Waders and birdife seem to love it though.Come to think of it waders would be just the right equipment for this place.Boots were sadly no match for the sucking ferocity of this overlooked wildlife gem and came up short in more ways than one. Never have the backstreets of Glasgow looked so beautiful to my eyes on my return.

Everyone needs a cosy cave to come home to.Its what makes us human.I certainly realised this point after falling,splashing and crawling on all four limbs for hours.Who would have believed such wild adventure could be found so close at hand.What an epic.What a great find. The Scottish equivalent of a mangrove swamp.

Kilpatrick Hills.Duncolm.The Magic Escarpment.

2012-01-08T18:04:00.003Z

Before I posted this I had to look back at our previous entry list trying to find out if I,d posted this walk before as I couldn,t believe this was the first time for it on this blog.Our only other entry on the Kilpatrick's however was in June 2009 at the Western edge. Dumbarton castle.Lang Craig and Doughnot Hill. Unbelievable! High time then these vastly underrated hills get another mention.Of all the hill ranges in Scotland this is probably the one most central belt west coast outdoor folk pass most as they zoom along the bottom on their way to higher,damper hill groups further north.Many don,t even look up.
I should know.... I used to be one of them.

This all changed around thirty years ago ,when I first moved over to this side of the river from the oh so easy to reach open fields and farmlands of my youth.Would I find a playground over here as good as the Barrhead Dams,Gleniffer Braes and high moors of East Renfrewshire for local walks between trips to the greater ranges?It was a serious question.Walking and exploring nature is my life and always has been.I,d be lost and empty in a place without scenic distractions.
I need not have worried.A bold,exhilarating kingdom awaited me on these, my newly adopted local hills. This is the farm track leading up into the Kilpatricks starting from just above the Erskine Bridge at Old Kilpatrick village itself. I think one of the main reasons these hills remain undiscovered by the majority of walkers must be the lack of obvious parking in the area.Once you know where to park however that is not a problem.

For those without a car trains run every 30 minutes or so from Glasgow city centre(Queen street)past Partick to Kilpatrick Station.From here Five minutes gentle walk uphill under the A 82 at the Erskine Bridge brings you past a little Gas facility to the start of the farm track which is signposted" Loch Humphrey."Follow this up onto the escarpment then across the rolling uplands to the rocky crown of Duncolm.The highest point in the Kilpatrick range.The weather here is usually better than even ten miles further west and north.Blue cloudless Skies throughout the year are common.
For car drivers follow the A82 til the Old Kilpatrick cut off which is on the left just after the Erskine Bridge slipway.Once down in the village there are several discreet parking places in quiet streets nearby where you are not in front of anyone,s house or driveway.Then walk up Station Road.Alternatively two suitable car parks for visitors are available right beside the road at nearby Bowling harbour.This is also worth a foot tour round afterwards anyway as its an interesting place full of liitle boats,wooden sculptures of animals and canal berths.There is a tiny three car layby at the start of the farm track itself right beside the gas facility which I use but I would only park my own car here for a short time.It,s up to you.The other places feel much safer if slightly further away.There is also large safe street parking available around Mountblow both in bays below the three grey high rise flats (West Court is the first or on quiet streets higher up nearer the hills.) I,ve parked here many times.

The reason I,m taking the time to mention all this information is simple.This walk into the Kilpatricks is stunning and contains one of the finest balcony trails anywhere in Scotland. This is Glasgow,s answer to Arthur,s Seat in the heart of Edinburgh. ie.... a mountain range surrounded by a city. I,ll never forget the first time I explored this surprisingly wild upland area starting from the Queens View after getting a lift on a scorching summers day,walking through the deep damp slot of the Whangie then continuing past Burncrooks Reservoir, over Thiefs Hill and lonely Saughen Braes to stand on top of Duncolm.It felt as remote as any mountain wilderness but had far less hillgoers.I never met a soul all day til I arrived at the edge of the escarpment above Glasgow and Clydebank then looked down at this view from above.After 10 kilometres of fighting across empty moors and flowing grasslands up to my waist at times in small, springy meadows alive with roe deer ,jumping hares and buzzards it took the breath away to suddenly confront a city spread below like a living 3D map.Its an image I,ll never forget.
Even greater range loving Alex when I persuaded him to go a walk up here (Duncolm was on his list of ticks needless to say) expressed amazement at how good it was.A real five star day out.

The balcony trail to end all balcony trails can be found by following this faint path due south from the summit cairn of The Slacks to the edge of the escarpment.From here it weaves down through little crags and mixed trees then turns right,above a cottage(Craigleith), to join the same farm track seen above in the second picture.Its seldom used except by a few knowledgeable locals.A real hidden wonder.Enjoy.

Try to get it on a sunny blue sky day like this and it will not disappoint. Loch Humphrey.One of many lochs up here.

A view standing high above Dumbarton Rock and the silver ribbon of the River Clyde.

Sunset across Renfrewshire and the Erskine Woods.

Looking across towards Inverclyde,Langbank and Port Glasgow from the farmstead.

Last of the sunset.Standing above the twinkling carpet of Paisley and The Erskine Bridge illuminations.A magical adventure in a remote area yet so close to Scotland,s largest centre of population.How do you hide such a wondrous, dazzling exotic gem for so long? By placing it in full view of course.

An Assorted Festive Collection.

2012-01-02T11:01:00.005Z

Just a few Christmas Photographs taken before I was confined to the house.Glasgow,s George Square was Looking very colourful this year in a bid to attract shoppers into the city centre and away from the out of town shopping complex,s that are killing most high streets UK wide.

This year they have invested in fairground style rides.Unfortunately the weather over the festive period has been so poor,almost three weeks of constant rain and winds, that it has only highlighted the benefits of having all the shops under one large roof.Its not much fun spinning round in gale force winds and rain so I doubt if these children friendly rides made much of a profit this year.Shame.Even the big curling event in the Square had to be cancelled due to warm temperatures after two years of sub zero winters previously.Just goes to show though...You can never predict mother earth,only roll with the punches:)

"Footfall" in Glasgow city centre.Notice how all these buzz words seem to get imported from America.How every shop assistant in a large store now says "see you later" (It,s that family thing to show we really care) Most bank people ask "Doing anything interesting today?" or words to that effect (because they are looking for an opening to sell you something else)Businesses say "get you out of your comfort zone"(ie. it,s something new we are bringing in, you wont like it but hard luck we,ve picked you to do it"
Whatever happened to that old favourite" Not fit for purpose" I wonder?Maybe the saying itself is....
anymore.

Argyll Strret lights.Compared to years gone by this street was looking fairly empty in the days leading up to Christmas.

Its probably the best I,ve seen George Square looking though.The big wheel really caught the eye.

Glasgow City Chambers.Home to the Council and The Lord Provost of Glasgow.May his gold chain never rust!

Under the Golden Mesh. Royal Exchange Square.This Is The GOMA. Gallery Of Modern Art ....which sometimes has interesting and thought provoking exhibits.... and sometimes not.

Same Place Showing the style shops and restaurants.Never been in any of them,don't eat out...never been in more than a dozen hotels in my life,prefer camping....only buy what I need and always have done..Rarely put my heating on in winter....Only use credit under protest when they wont accept cash .Yes Sir...the UK economy is safe in my hands :)

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.Looking very spooky at night.One of Glasgow,s best loved buildings and still free to enter.Generations of people have taken their sweethearts,children,parents,relatives,and assorted others here.Always entertaining.Great way to pass a few hours on a wet day.

Some of the shops at Ballater taken on a recent visit before Christmas.A town that has thrived since Victorian times due to the Balmoral estate and the Royal family highland residence being close by.Most of the shops in this town have a" By royal appointment " ornamental crest above the doorway.Shopkeepers strive to have Royal biscuits,Royal tablet,even Royal napkins appeal to the taste buds or eye of these famous castle dwellers up the road.This in turn attracts hordes of tourists every summer keen to "shop like a Queen."
When you think about it....This is where the entire cult of celebrity first began.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a happy year year for 2012.
My new years resolution? Get back on those hills again. I.m starting to get cabin fever!

Hart Fell.Scottish Borders.

2011-12-28T17:24:00.001Z

As I type this with winter gales and rain yet again lashing the side of the house Sunday the 18th of December 2011 seems a long time ago.Before my surprise Christmas present of a speeding van smashing into my legs and ribcage (thank you kind pedestrian hitter. Its the gift that keeps on giving with free drugs and hospital visits thrown in as extras) and before all the snow melted and turned everything grey and sodden again Scott had the idea of doing something interesting and adventurous now that the white mantle had arrived. Alex then had the perfect idea up his sleeve which would combine a Corbett and a Donald with a sporting day out.
At 808 metres( 2651 feet) Hart Fell is the highest point in a rugged area of hills with deep gullies and cliffs not usually associated with the rolling Scottish borders.Its more like a forgotten and special part of the Cairngorms.Moffat is the nearest town which we passed on a fine winters morning, sun sparkling on the heights around.It was a few degrees below zero but with little wind present, even high up, it was fun in the sun.

This was the first idea.A grade one gully only a little way up the scenic valley of Black Hope. There was not a lot of snow in it thankfully so it was given a miss.I for one was glad as it looked bloody hard work, steep ,knackering and in the shade coming only fifteen minutes from the car.Next up,,further up this valley, was a grade one ridge which looked more promising, bright sunshine ,steep and plastered with snow between Upper Coomb Craig and Nether Coomb Craig.Now this was more like it.

The first section was surprisingly steep taken direct but with plenty of good holds.Alex led the way climbing up with just boots and ski pole while Scott and I stopped to put on crampons.Sometimes when you have a choice of using Ice axe or ski pole on a route they seem to get in the way of each other so I had as much of a tussle with them as with the climb,finishing that section with the ski pole relegated to a supporting role clamped between my teeth like a pirates sword as I pulled over steep boulders.

Alex was storming ahead,keen to get bagging.This is the middle section of the ridge.Although fairly short it had good variety to it and was a cracking way up Hart Fell.

On the Arete section looking over towards Redgill Craig and Rotten Bottom.Quite airy in places.

A rare picture of me in action.Thanks to Scott for the photograph and for making me look good in it. Yes..New jacket folks!

Scott and Alex nearing the top of the ridge.We all enjoyed this way up.It was just hard enough to be interesting without any real difficulty involved. Another reason for climbing the ridge,if we needed one ,was the evidence of several small slab avalanches in the vicinity.Sometimes easy ground isn,t the best way up.

Above the ridge It came as a bit of a shock to realise we still had a good distance to ascend before we reached the summit.You tend to think of these hills as smaller somehow but this one was hard going in ankle deep snow.Luckily two folk had been up early and left footsteps for us to follow. We spotted them in the distance eventually several ups and downs later.Two dark specks in a white and blue world.

Snow makes all the difference to this landscape giving it a real epic scale. Some fantastic views from the summit.Alex then made a detour for his Donald.

We descended down hard snow slopes which we had to dig into with the edges of our boots to get any purchase.It was the way mountain winters used to be.Scott said later it was one of the best hill days he,d had all year.High praise indeed from someone still in the prime of his mountaineering life.
If all Corbetts were as good as this one I,d be a convert.Nuff said.
Thanks to Alex for his insider knowledge and spotting a great way up a hill.

Even met this fell runner out with his dogs.A fantastic day out.

Portencross.Storm Aftermath.

2011-12-20T01:31:00.009Z

Due to the three Braemar posts this one is a tad delayed.No matter.A few days after the big storm that hit the central belt with winds well in excess of one hundred miles an hour I set off late on the Sunday to see what damage it had inflicted on the countryside.My fence,which has survived many winter storms, was smashed in several places so I knew this had been a big event even in sheltered Glasgow.
As I,d already posted two storms hitting the west coast in previous trips I thought I,d visit something different this time.I wanted to see for myself how the more exposed headlands beyond the beaches and cliffs had coped with increased levels of wind speed as stronger storms seem to be a yearly occurrence now.

I arrived at the car park in Portencross around lunchtime,after a tasty plate of ham,eggs,Black pudding, fried potatoes, fried bread and tomatoes.(Hey! How did so much fruit get in there?).The reason for the late start was the grim morning.It had now brightened up into a cold, dull afternoon with a raw feel to it.There is not much to do in Portencross unless you are into walking but it just has a nice feel about it even in winter that,s hard to explain.
The hamlet consists of this restored Castle,a ribbon of houses, a few farms and a tiny harbour isolated under the cliffs,sitting on the rocky stump of Farland Head, part of a square, rugged peninsula.The wall of steep wooded cliffs above would provide a bit of shelter I reasoned and also make for good photos.

Sometimes luck comes into the equation however.This group of kayakers were also looking for a sheltered place to enjoy their own Sunday pursuit.It was still choppy however and not a day for visiting the Firth of Clyde Islands.On a calm day this is a good spot for doing just that.The sea equivalent of a bike Its amazing the distance you can travel in a kayak given flat smooth water.

Whenever I see someone in a kayak I naturally think back to my own trips.Nearly fifteen years ago now a club member(Dave) joined who had a couple of kayaks and equipment gathering dust in his family garage.He was now into climbing full time and was happy to sell them to any club members who wanted them for a knock down price.Alex wasn,t interested.Its always been hills for him.Myself and another club friend Alistair collected them and over the next couple of years had great adventures on calm days exploring the islands of inland lochs,offshore islands,river systems,inlets and coastlines.It was one outdoor sport you could happily enjoy in mist,drizzle and light rain as long as the water was calm.Sometimes this made it even more magical....Loch lomond,s islands and certain west coast sea inlets appearing like vertical terraced kingdoms through the mist.Surreal and magnified, profound shifting glimpses of half guessed locations appearing at random through the murk.Or a large Inhabitant of the deep surfacing close by,sometimes unseen,sometimes visible...then relief if its a seal or a porpoise.(Much larger creatures have been known to glide along under the west coast waters...killer whales and over a dozen species of shark.....Mako, Blue, Porbeagle, Greenland ,Basking...a surprisingly long list.)http://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/uk_elasmobranch.html A very Interesting site about UK wildlife this link also details several sightings of great white sharks in Scottish waters though none are confirmed by photos.Some of the largest great white sharks in the world however have been caught in the Mediterranean and unlike there we have an abundance of juicy seal pups.
It was a brave new realm and I was thrilled to be a part of it sitting in my thin lump of fibreglass above immense depths.Out at sea,sometimes,you could just feel deep channels sink below similar to exposure felt on a large cliff face when climbing.It felt like being a long way from your last runner. A totally different feeling to being in a boat,even a small one.Mind you,at times it reminded me of a fallen fly on a trout pond.

This is one place that had that effect on me years ago.Imagine a still,silent day with a low blanket of cotton wool hugging the land for miles around.On a midweek day off I paddled alone out to sea ,turned round and was suddenly confronted by this ancient sea cliff ,at one time battered by waves and storms before the sea level fell to its present state.The ground below the cliffs remained hidden, a vertical wall just seemed to drop straight into the depths,jackdaws and buzzards voices clearly heard from half a mile out as I sat resting on the surface.

After some memorable outings Alistair moved up north when a better job offer came up.I continued solo kayaking for a while but unless you are very experienced at that game and I wasn,t, its a high risk sport. Solo kayakers bagging islands don,t seem to last too long from what I,ve seen and after a couple of timely reality checks out in the middle of nowhere I packed it in and went back to hillwalking and climbing .I,d already done most of the stuff I could comfortably reach anyway.Adios Kayaks.

The plan was to walk along the bottom of these cliffs and then go round and up near the skyline onto Golden berry hill then come down past Thirdpart farm back to the car.When I came under the Three Sisters however the thought suddenly occurred that I could maybe scramble up the central gully here for a bit of sport.

Although never a stylish scrambler by any means I can, on occasion, creep, shuffle and grunt my way up the odd rock outcrop if the notion takes me....by any means..ie ...knees, elbows, bottom.
On closer inspection however the start of this promising gully was steep, dripping and tangled.Not a pleasant place to be at all.Thankfully these daft notions of adventure occur less and less as I get older.

I soon reached the Goldenberry Woods but was not prepared for what I discovered there.This is a favourite deciduous woodland walk of mine but roughly one fifth of all the mature trees had either toppled or snapped.Even in the more sheltered city parks in Glasgow several large trees had been uprooted overnight but in this exposed headland wood fallen trees lay in long rows like tipped lines of domino's.It does not take an expert to work out if storms of this magnitude become the norm we will not have many woods left.
In this year alone storms have cleaned out successive pockets of large healthy trees.Even If you plant new ones the woods get thinner every year this happens reducing the shelter belt provided for the rest.My local park,Dawsholm, set on a hill,has a skyline in places of snapped off mature beech trunks 30 feet up just where the first branches should start.

I,ve seen a few woodland birds in my time but here you could almost feel the stillness.Hundreds of corvids flew above the wood in total silence.Very unusual for this garrulous species.Not one "caw caw"..Maybe fanciful but It reminded me of humans after a major event wandering round looking at their surroundings in shock.No doubt many of these birds had lost roosting trees and annual nest sites.Corvids are one of the most intelligent bird groups.An event like this would be a major event in their life's. It,s been discovered in recent years that Ravens meet up in large numbers to share information.There are far more birds here above this small wood than I,d normally expect for a local population.This is only one end of a so called "super flock" that covered the area above the trees.Mainly rooks I think but other birds seemed to be mixed in as well.....crows,wood pigeons , even jackdaws whose cliff cavity sites were presumably safe from harm.Were they all viewing the aftermath of the storm.? They certainly circled around for long enough.

All I know is that it was quite sad seeing so many hundred year old giants snuffed out in one day.Lots of work for foresters and tree surgeons though. Even the sunset over Arran seemed subdued.
Scotland,at the moment,finds itself in a fairly stable part of the world weather wise.We just get rain.Lots of it.
Other countries are experiencing more extreme conditions than us as we move into a new age of change.From the early years of this century large sections of the population have been able to distance themselves from the natural world around them like never before.
Mother Nature is still out there though,beyond the city limits,becoming a little wilder and more fickle with each passing decade.Surely we cant ignore her when she taps us on the shoulder like this.
Maybe I,ll live to see the great waves crash against the Portencross cliffs once more.
Forests and mountains rise and fall...sea levels move up and down...living things multiply then die.
May Nature survive,evolving, til the last star falls from these dark heavens.
If humanity is brushed aside in the future new forms of life will spring up to take our place in myriad,radiant abundance.That,s just the way its always been.
Now that,s a happy thought to end with....Is it not :)

Lochnagar.Meikle Pap.Braemar Weekend.Day 3.

2011-12-14T18:42:00.003Z

I,ve saved the best for Last.On the Sunday morning It was decided to drive round to Glen Muick.Most folk seemed to have either done the numerous Munro,s here or simply fancied a social day out.The Corbett Conachcraig would receive a mass ascent with everyone present keen to bag it.Alex would have plenty of company for his third Corbett of the weekend.Overnight the wind seemed to have changed direction.Instead of coming gift wrapped from Siberia it was now howling straight down from Iceland.Fortunately we were sheltered at first in the glen and then the path led up through trees past the estate buildings.With the sun out it was the warmest walking yet.Tropical in fact.

Crossing streams is always good fun when the boulders are covered in ice.At this early stage you don,t want wet feet.The veteran members are still pretty nifty at this I have to say and we were across first.Alex forged on ahead,the prize in his sights while I stayed behind with John to help the others,some without gaiters.
For some reason we seemed to end out in front again.I could see the slopes of the Corbett in front of me and to be honest,yet again it didn't appeal.Just a round lump to my eyes.However Lochnagar with its ring of icy cliffs just peeking up on the other side did. If I was going to go high I reasoned I might as well enjoy it by attempting the most spectacular mountain in the area.I was surprised when there were no other takers for this fine peak,waving a goodbye to John before he followed Alex up the Corbett.The natural thing seems to be do the Corbetts after the Munro,s.Sadly always seeking the sun and best views,even if you have done them before is a much lonelier occupation.Most clubs have to book or arrange trips to areas well in advance so have to take whatever weather they get.I don't mind going out myself now and again but its always better with company.
However I seem to be in a club of one at the moment as I follow the golden orb around Scotland.I,m starting to feel like one of those biblical hermits in the wilderness.

The Land rover track up was the usual sheet of ice but if you stuck to the heather it was fine. I went left just past here to start the path up Lochnagar.Lord Byron composed a famous poem about these cliffs ahead of me."The steep frowning glories of dark Lochnagar" is all most folk can remember of it including me.

It started well enough and after another 40 minutes or so I was just about on the ridge.The wind by this time was howling over the slopes about 50 to 60 miles an hour and the gusts made it hard to see never mind walk in a straight line.Still in my autumn gear and frame of mind I wasn,t really prepared for the sheer ferocity of the conditions up here.I didn,t have thermal long johns with me under the trousers,snow goggles, crampons or a face mask,only a thinsulate hat and gloves. The top half was fine but my legs were freezing even with waterproof trousers on which told me the windchill must have been pretty severe.At a guess about -20 to -30 on the summit slopes.Maybe more.I could have done with my pull on woollen face mask balaclava.Not trendy but still one of the best items of kit for conditions like these.This must have been what those Corbetts were like.I thought too myself.Only lower and more boring :)
I was glad I,d given them a miss.I looked across at where the rest of the club were but couldn't see anything through the conditions.There was a fair amount of high speed spindrift and hailstones hitting me in the face by this time with much darker conditions approaching.I took a photograph of the summit area while it was still clear.

This was my high point.I,d already done Lochnagar a couple of times anyway and when I was blown off my feet for a second time,just missing a boulder and falling awkwardly I thought stuff this.I,m experienced enough to know when to pull back and my reaction times are not nearly as fast as they used to be if I go over suddenly.On my own up here I wouldn't last long in this wind.I could hardly feel my face and legs anymore so I turned tail and descended into a hailstone shower now blowing uphill straight into my eyes again.Typical wild ridge conditions. The summit then disappeared in cloud behind me.
Keen to get out of the wind I cut down into the corrie for a closer look at the cliffs.I hunkered down in a hollow waiting for it to clear again.One good thing about a strong wind is that mist can,t stay in one place. Eleven long minutes later........

This is Eagle ridge.The first time I climbed Lochnagar was as a Munro Ascent.The second time was up this ridge in the middle of the picture.In summer its a 750 foot severe grade classic rock climb..A Fantastic mountain experience.In winter conditions its normally grade V1 6. Way beyond my limit. Not the first time someone has been benighted on it attempting it in winter.Imagine being stuck up there in the dark on a tiny ledge.Scary stuff.
I was still in the relentless wind down here though so kept going up the shoulder of the outlying spur of Meikle Pap.This is a satellite peak of Lochnagar with a grandstand view of the corrie.Here I found a boulder to hide behind to give my legs and face time to recover.Its a long while since I,ve been out in conditions like this.It used to be a regular occurrence.Oh, How I,ve missed it :)

After ten minutes and a couple of almond slices I staggered my way to the Tor like summit of Meikle Pap.
Relief came quickly as I dropped off the back out of the wind and had an uneventful descent apart from one unexpected ,legs up in the air back flop after a slip on hidden ice under a thin coating of fresh snow.Luckily I landed on my rucksack, Mr Kipling and my half frozen water bottle taking one for the team instead of my spine.

I got a good view of nearby Broad Cairn, spindrift ripping in long sheets off the summit.Its a big round beast of a hill but its hidden asset is its northern cliffs.Creag An Dubh Loch.The single biggest face in the Cairngorms.At almost a thousand feet high in places and close to a mile long I,ve only climbed here once.Mousetrap VS.600 foot of near vertical crack lines and slabs.Alex has climbed here too at HVS or E1 I think.Along with Black Mamba VS these are the easy routes here.Needless to say I haven,t been back.

When I arrived back at the car park everyone else had gone.Alex had been waiting for an hour but as it was his car we,d used for the weekend he had a warm place to sit at least.It would be getting dark soon and there had been another light fall of snow making the roads icy.We didn,t waste any time heading for home just in case it snowed further and they shut the snow gates at Glenshee. This was the highest point the road reached on the drive home.Its a ski resort but it was a couple of weeks too early in the season for ski-ing.Plenty of ice but not enough snow.

The Perthshire town of Blairgowrie looked really nice with all its Christmas lights up.We stopped here for petrol and munchies briefly.The heads of countless jelly babies were bitten off and savagely swallowed on the journey home before small soft bodies slithered wailing down the pit to join them.
Hard conditions breed hard men! Men with no mercy!

Muir Of Dinnet.Burn O Vat.Braemar Weekend. Day 2.

2011-12-12T19:27:00.005Z

Day two at the hut in the Cairngorms dawned similar to day one.Strong cold wind,risk of snow,severe wind chill on the heights around minus -15 to -20 at a guess.The previous night a few of us had thrown down the gantlet to some of the younger members.In our Munro bagging days we ( John, Alex and myself ) had climbed Carn A Mhaim, Ben Macdui and Derry Cairngorm in a days walk in full winter conditions from here then the next day we,d bagged Beinn A Chaorainn and Beinn Bhreac before driving back to Glasgow.A good weekend.
"Of course every generation is weaker than the last." It was declared to the room.
When sitting in a corner,poked with a stick or thumped with a cushion to see if we are still alive or how much dust comes off us...well ,sometimes we are forced to bring out the big guns....and rely on past glories.
This challenge was taken up by Graham, Gordon and Phil who set the alarm accordingly for a predawn start in the dark.They had still to do this latter pair of Munro,s with a bog like high plateau of tussocks between them. Hard going in deep snow.

I was up early as well.One of the duties of the hut is to feed the wildlife refilling the empty feeders hanging outside with nuts.Even before I,d filled them there were 20 hungry coal tits waiting nearby.A bird of the pine forests.Poor little buggers.
Alex had in mind another Corbett,Morven,near Milton of Whitehouse, but when we got there in the car it didn,t inspire me as much as the scenic country we,d just passed through.I have to say this hill looked as interesting as the Corbett the day before.Identical Twins in fact.On a calm day I,d be tempted for the views but If anything the wind was even worse today. I would have felt obliged to go up this time with him though but luckily he had company in the shape of John and Julian.Two equally committed Corbett catchers.
Off they went up the hill and I happily retraced the minor road on foot we,d driven up through fields of colourful pheasant's,cows,partridge, rooks and a few nervous roe deer.After a mile this changed to a track through Caledonian pine forest,the sun came out,the wind dropped and it felt like an autumn day again instead of a deep freeze.

Although I didn,t have a map for this area we had passed the Muir Of Dinnet Nature Reserve and this was where I was now heading a few miles back down the road. I soon found a grassy track that led through the woods and took me out at Loch Davan.See map below.

Over the years I,ve been all round the Cairngorms, mainly climbing, walking and backpacking at high level in the past so it made a nice change for me to do some low level stuff.I,d never done before.This whole area has been sculpted in the past by glaciation of course.This is a subject I,ve got more into recently finding,somewhat belatedly,that to really understand the landscape you are looking at it helps if you know a little of how it was formed.The two lochs here are large Kettle holes formed by stranded lumps of ice as mentioned in my Renfrewshire post a few weeks back.Some of the Nature Reserve is made up of rows of Eskers,snake like ridges between 5 to 20 metres high caused by melt water channels inside the glacier leaving these winding heaps of pushed up moraine behind.As I,d already discovered there are good examples of these features around Falkirk and
Carstairs.http://www.scottishgeology.com/outandabout/classic_sites/locations/carstairs_kames.html

This is Loch Kinord which has a trail you can walk round and several helpful information boards dotted about which explain the landscape you are looking at.It dovetailed nicely into my own current interests.
Years ago I,d watched a strange but compelling film called Pi about a mathematician who believed there were set patterns everywhere in nature.Mathematical equations in fact. They were not random and if you could only see these patterns of numbers you could understand the very rules of nature itself. Its an unforgettable, bonkers film.A work of fiction ,but it came back to me suddenly during this walk.For those interested in what its about. .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_(film)
Don,t think there,s another film quite like it.Seemingly Inspired by the true story of two brothers who built a supercomputer inside their house, then grew increasingly obsessed with cracking the secret of Pi. Kate Bush also wrote a song about it on her jazz flavoured CD Aerial.

Anyway...This is a bracket fungus with layers of growth on it just like the tree it grows on has growth rings inside.

This is a stone found near Loch Davan.Do stones grow? :) Probably formed by layers of lava cooling and contracting perhaps,or some sort of pressure.Just a guess.They both look like hamburgers with a cheese topping layer on the fungi.

A Scot,s pine tree.The bark (lower left) looks very like the way jigsaws are made.Were early jigsaws inspired by these natural patterns as they would have been hand carved originally by people familiar with all types of wood?.Or is that idea too far fetched?
The Ceilidh.A traditional Scottish affair.Many of the dances seem to mimic the natural world around.The figure of eight movement resembles bees in a hive which do a similar dance with other bees watching to tell them where the best flowers are.Likewise both arms raised high and curving during certain dances are just like red deer and antlers.A lot of the early inspirations must have came from nature.Seeing patterns that produced a spark of inspiration for something else.

I spotted this tree creeper nearby.A bird that has been called a flying mouse as it creeps round and round a tree starting near the base then spiralling upwards looking for spiders,incests and seeds til it reaches the top of the trunk then off it flies to a new one to repeat the process.It even likes to nest inside the bark and sleeps squeezed into a crack or crevice,often in redwoods which they love.As such its body is flattened.Hard wee bird to get a chance photo of as it flits round to the other side of the trunk as soon as it spots you so I,m fairly pleased with this.

I rejoined the others for the walk into the Burn O Vat.Having done their Corbett they were now happy to indulge in some low level stuff.Its an interesting formation, only a short distance from the road..Formed in a similar way to the Punch Bowl. .ie rocks finding a fault in stone then swirling around over countless years to create a depression then ,in this case, a large chamber.I,ve seen similar structures deep underground,caving in the Mendips and Peak District many years ago.They were still filled with water but this one had only a little burn now and was filled with sand and debris.If you emptied it out it would probably go down 10 to 20 feet more.You can see the top edges here.

The entrance hole we came in through is just left of the boulder in the top middle of the picture.That gives you some idea of the scale.A good day for all concerned.The rest of the hillnabbers arrived back at the hut at various times depending on how far the walk and drive was.The night passed with cards,books, food and swally.
Graham,Gordon and Phil arrived back in the dark,looking suitably drained I,m pleased to say,two new Munros to tick off.
"Wasn,t hard." they told us,peeling off numerous frozen layers to sit at the fire.
"I know.Told you it wasn,t" We replied.
"Heard you didn,t do a hill today Bob?.Were you sick?"
Tis the duty of each new generation to walk over a carpet made up of the feeble groaning bodies of the last.Such is life!

Glen Quoich.Braemar Weekend.Day 1.

2011-12-11T00:29:00.005Z

A change from the central belt this week.Although it went against my natural inclination for outdoor activity(Mission statement -stay warm and dry if possible,have fun and adventure,photograph and see things of interest on my travels) I joined Alex for our club,s monthly winter hut weekend trip,this time to Inverey.A small hamlet just west of Braemar.As a climbing club they had booked a climbing hut here on the eastern side of the Cairngorm mountains.The highest,windiest,coldest, most snow wrapped Plateau in the United Kingdom.Windchill can often reach minus-30 to minus- 50 degrees on the summits and wind speeds of 140 plus are also fairly common in the winter months. Scotland being the country with most days of wind in Europe anyway. Lucky me!

Fortunately the hut was a cracker with a large wood burning stove in the common room,several extra room heaters and a splendid kitchen.There was also a log store out back with a large supply of handy sized stove fodder to which we had the key.Myself and Alex went up from Glasgow around 10am on Friday..The forecast was for high winds and snow showers throughout the weekend.

There was only one problem.We had to do a hill! Damn! I knew there was a downside somewhere.
Alex had a Corbett in mind not far away.We drove round and surveyed the hallowed heights

Call me picky but the sight of it (See above) didn,t exactly fire me with enthusiasm.There was a strong, bone chilling wind even down here at road level and it really didn,t appeal to someone who wasn,t counting Corbetts with the same verve as Alex.I got ready just the same.It would be dark in a few hours.
"You,re not going to enjoy this are you?" He asked.
"Nope!" Honesty is always the best policy I believe.
"I don,t mind doing it on my own if you fancy something else instead."
I did.Glen Quoich.We were parked at the entrance and I eyeballed those pine trees and sheltered banks like a hampster in a hailstone shower.I was a heat seeking golden furry blur in green gore-tex.
"Cheers.See Ya.Have a nice Day!" I,m a desert animal me.Its my natural habitat-lurking in woods,sheltered meadows and gorges if its a freezing cold wind.Why suffer that when you don't have to is my motto.Why go up things when you just have to come down them again?
"I,d best be off then" Even Alex didn,t appear too happy at this prospect but he started up the faint path anyway,knees bent into the teeth of the gale.Just as well. He,s bored in woods and sunny meadows.He likes it grim and tough. A challenge.......And it was :)

Even in the glen I was hunched up inside my gore-tex jacket like a tortoise trying to get further back into its shell,wishing I had a full set of thermal underwear on and another fleece or two.It was a raw day. The air temperature was only about -2 below but in the gusts of wind it probably dropped to -10 below if not more.I,ve been out in -20 below on a still day in deep snow and this felt colder. A lot colder.It seemed to suck heat from your body in a different way.These pictures look green.The reality was blue.

This is the Famous Punch Bowl in Glen Quoich.For some reason I thought it would be bigger.Still an interesting formation though caused by small rocks caught in a hollow over countless years swirling around and eventually carving out a deeper hole in the stone by water action.The Princess cottage is nearby.Once the playground for Queen Victoria,s Children and subsequent royal visits Now sadly boarded up but still part of the estate.

This is higher up the glen looking across at Morrone or Morven.It has two names , presumably as there is another hill in the vicinity called Morven. Its another Corbett,one we,ve both done though.I watched some light spindrift whipping off the summit of this and thought of Alex struggling upwards across his own windswept lofty lump.I had to smile. I was so happy I wasn,t counting Corbetts.Great decision all those years ago facing life after the Munro,s.
If its good- go high. If its crap- stay low.

If you follow this glen all the way it leads you onto the shoulders of Beinn A Bhuird.The highest summit in the Eastern Caringorms and home to the Garbh Choire.One of the remotest corries in the National park.Here lies Squareface a classic 320foot V Diff rock climb in an exposed and spectacular position near the summit of the mountain.Alex and I have both slogged into it at different times to climb this route during our days of bagging classic rock. Its suitable for a mountain bike and a good track.Sadly we did it in the days before this labour saving device was around. I wasn,t planning on going that far today.There was only a few hours of daylight left and I was happy with the more sheltered glen walk.

I was already looking forward to my dinner at the hut.We knew in advance we would be the first to arrive.It takes a couple of hours with the stove on to actually get any heat in the place for the others arriving later on that evening after work.One of our group, Neil ,was already in the area though,having spent the previous night in a bothy with a boisterous group of Aberdonians to the west of Inverey.I arrived back at the car just ten minutes before Alex so that was good timing.
A warm night was spent in the hut, feeding meals,drink,nuts biscuits and logs into various open orifices at intervals.Oh and Alex bagged his new hill.Well done to him.
The other reason for doing different things of course is that we now both have contrasting and different posts.
See Scotland's Mountains when he gets his digits thawed out.

The hut at Inverey.It snowed again during the night.

Cramond.Edinburgh,s Wonderful Esplanade.

2011-12-04T23:33:00.005Z

I enjoyed myself so much in the grounds of Dalmeny Estate a few weeks ago, looking across at the City of Edinburgh, that I was determined to get back there before proper winter conditions set in.This time to explore the other side of the River Almond starting from Cramond then along the sweeping flat expanse of the Silverknowes esplanade following the cycle path past Granton and its harbour then onwards right down into the Port Of Leith.I,ve done this ride before and know Edinburgh fairly well after many explorations over the years but like any city its ever changing and new things keep springing up.
The last time I was here though it was just me springing up,straight out of the saddle and into the tarmac, hitting first the kerb then the pavement after finding a deep hidden hole in the grass.

The reason I was on the grass was I,d swerved to avoid a small dog on an extendable lead running straight into me.I missed that,congratulated myself for my twisty ability on a bike then went for a swift unexpected dive into the tarmac just as I was about to return onto the esplanade.
Notice how they always pick a pretty girl for these TV shows where they see if there are still good samaritans around willing to help in this country? Try an old ugly man on a bike next time.
Of course they,ll help an attractive girl even if she was feeding them spoonfuls of hospital laxative.
Despite it being busy only one family came over to check if I was all right and that was only because I wasn,t getting up after a few minutes.
"Are you OK mate?" The head of the family asked.
I didn,t say anything because I was trying not to be sick and knew something wasn,t right inside.That was the end of my cycling that day.Broken collar bone and bent nose. Limbs battered black and blue.
"We,ll just walk on slow then.Give us a shout if you need any help." They then sped off at high speed, not wanting to waste a nice day.
I drove myself back to Glasgow in disgust after a handful of painkillers.At least the dog got a pat and a cuddle.I got an x-ray and a very long month groaning and moaning around the house.So be kind to those animals Folks.Poor little things.

The tidal walkway to Cramond. At low tide this island is accessible on a flat concrete path and is a popular excursion with the masses.I had thought of doing it myself but the crowds put me off this time.Better to do it midweek.As you can see it was an excellent day with the kind of horizon to horizon cloudless blue sky that the east coast experiences quite a lot and the west coast less so. Off I set on my bike weaving between the pedestrians, numerous in line roller skaters,dogs and prams.This walkway is like something out of the Victorian era when people used to take a Sunday stroll along the seafront as much to be seen by others in their best clothes as for any health benefit involved.There still is a little bit of that going on here.Well,it is Edinburgh after all.
It,s very easy to lose the crowds though as they only stay near Cramond and their cars.I was soon gliding my way to Granton along empty wide esplanades with great views over the sparkling Firth and the east coast islands.

Granton used to be a purpose built industrial and fishing dock but its transformed over the years into a more affluent suburb with new modern housing and small pleasure boats in the harbour.One of the great things here is to go out onto the Eastern Breakwater which stretches for a kilometre out into the Firth with views looking back towards the city.

As its a long way out I usually cycle it as do others on bikes but its a dangerous place to fall over the edge or weave inwards,large blocks of stone waiting to put a tender message on your fragile face and limbs.Its an amazing construction though. Herculean in scale. This is less than halfway out and its not as flat as it appears as the stones are angled downwards slightly.A brief picture history of Granton docks here.At one time it had
eighty fishing trawlers working out of here.http://www.grantonhistory.org/harbour/harbour.htm The interactive menu shows the harbour being built in stages, section by section.

This sculpture caught my eye.Its obviously a 1950,s or 1960,s nostalgic family group heading for a day at the beach.What struck me as interesting about it is its an age that doesn,t exist any more if it ever did.Flask of tea and sandwiches,ball, toy boat.....no money spent on anything..all cheerful DIY make do.No distracting gadgets around either.

The next place I came to down the coastline highlighted this difference.Platinum Point, a high level upscale development that looks like a white cube from a distance.

I,d imagine its the sort of place like Glasgow Harbour that is aimed mainly at young or older professionals who maybe spend their evenings and weekends having fun in the city,leisure time at the gym ,sailing in the firth or enjoy adventure type outdoor sports.Fair enough for them.I only mention this because every landscaped green area,pond,or purpose built salt marsh walkway around here is fenced off for some reason denying the public any access to them.When I was here five years ago it wasn,t like that. It might be peaceful for wildlife but any children living here and there are a few because I noticed toys and bikes lying around in tiny , postage stamp sized front lawns have only hard pavements and local streets to play around in now.No trees or green at all except safely out of harms way behind a wire fence. Seems a shame and that sculpture family are well out of step here.Where do they go to enjoy themselves... take a bus to Portobello perhaps? If so they are facing the wrong way. It got me thinking.Very few families seem to play on beaches anymore.Maybe we are all too aware nowadays of the risk of pollution,sewage etc,or its just lack of interest ... or decent warm weather? Despite global warming we no longer seem to get the summer heatwaves we used to enjoy at times.That summer just gone was Baltic!It was warmer in early spring. No wonder they are calling it climate change nowadays.

Anyway... I digress... as Glasgow is slowly getting rid of its tower blocks Edinburgh,a city with a history of very few hi rises seems to be putting them up,only in a lower quirky style.

So far it had all been on traffic free cycle tracks but the next bit took me into the heart of Leith itself ,Edinburgh,s main dockland region.The Port of Leith must have been a major sea hub in its day and covers a large area,some of it is still working as an industrial port and off limits to casual visitors.In the days of sailing ships Edinburgh on the east coast was better placed than Glasgow for trade with the low countries, facing Holland ,Denmark France and the Baltic Sea..Red tiles from here were used as ballast in the empty holds to keep ships stable if they were sailing back without much return cargo and these are what gives the east coast its distinctive red roofs.
Glasgow faced America and traded there.Despite a mere thirty miles separating both cities they have very different characters and influences in their architecture.You can see that in Leith which was revamped from rundown derelict docklands to upmarket shops, restaurants and housing.J.K Rowling used to live in Leith, writing in a local cafe and in her flat.It wasn,t that posh then though.
Parts of it resemble Amsterdam with canal like inlets, tall but slim waterfront buildings and cobbled streets.The last time I was here it was thriving but even well off folk nowadays seem to be hanging onto thier cash as there were more than a few properties with signs to let ,for sale or just empty.Maybe with so many bars and restaurants competing here in a tough recession some casualties are inevitable.
Can,t get a decent cheap meal here though.No gregg,s, hot sausage rolls or bridie's :(

I had my ready packed lunch (1950,s style) sitting down at Ocean terminal where the royal yacht Britannia is moored as a visitor attraction.That,s well worth a look....the rooms are so much smaller than you think.Even the Queen slept in a shoebox of a cabin but the royal yacht was her favourite possession apparently for the freedom it offered . I stumbled across this guy here.I knew there was a line of these figures placed at intervals in the gurgling water of Leith by the sculptor that created them but found this one completely by accident.This is the last presumably...looking out to sea.
My intention on the way back had been to cycle along the water of Leith walkway spotting these metal men but it was so busy with pedestrians enjoying the late Sunday sunshine I gave up after a short while,bailing out onto the Victoria park cycle track instead then joining the main one running parallel to Ferry Road on an old sunken railway line.Nothing to see down here but its flat, swift and empty.Although in a green trench I was able to guess which parts of the city above I was passing through by certain clues left around.
Burnt out litter bins and graffiti on walls...must be going past Pilton :)
Sunset found me back at the car and a happy drive back to Glasgow.A tale of two cities.
A good laugh here as locals have fun with the water of Leith sculptures.http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2010/06/27/16420-3151/

This is the world war two submarine boom at Cramond built to stop them slipping past between the island and the mainland.At high tide it can be almost underwater which gives you an idea of the rise and flow here.

Thought this was a cute sculpture with tiny figures all around this sandstone tower.Very inspired.Loved by children who are at eye level with them.
Incidentally,For those thinking of visiting Edinburgh, Mary Kings Close, halfway up and underneath the famous Royal Mile near the castle is a gem.Its a network of very old streets under the city from a time when death, dead bodies and back room abattoirs were commonplace.Some of the earliest skyscrapers in the world were here.Narrow lanes with houses either side rising nine or even ten wooden stories high. A tour guide in traditional costume of the day leads you through its history.This one was about 25 years of age and had been doing it for a while judging by her accomplished performance.She was a local girl and had an outgoing personality.
When I was there she was just getting into her stride in full actress mode surrounded by mainly overseas tourists,waiting for late comers at the start of the first dark tunnel with her guide torch.
" I come from an old part of Edinburgh that is high, dark and scary. "she intoned,creeping about, setting the scene nicely.
I,d paid my money for the tour and was enjoying the show.She was very good.Normally I,m a quiet, well behaved customer but it was too easy an opening to resist.
"You must live in Wester Hailes then?" I inquired innocently.(a large, tall and somewhat notorious scheme on the outskirts that I,ve cycled happily though many times dodging obstructions and thrown projectiles)
She gave me a withering look.....Insulted and put off her stride just for a second. " No! .I,m from Corstorphine............................................... actually!"
That,s Edinburgh folk for you.No sense of humour . Beautiful city though but a bit cool and distant once out of the sunshine.....and so was she after that...........to me anyway.
I,ve always had that effect on any women I meet........What can I say........It,s a gift :)

Renfrewshire.Quarrier,s Village.History and Imagination.

2011-11-28T19:22:00.007Z

                                                 "Fairest of Scotland,s thousand parishes
                                                        Neither highland or lowland
                                        But undulating,like the sea in sunset after a day of storms
                                                 Thou art indeed beautiful as of old."

These are the words of Christopher North ( 1785-1854 ) a writer,poet and professor of moral philosophy at Edinburgh University. More importantly he came from Paisley and went to school in the Mearns.He knew East Renfrewshire well and in later years those memories of youthful explorations here came back to him.I don,t think anyone has managed to capture the special essence that is Renfrewshire better in so  few short words     .http://www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/john-wilson.htm.
This is worth a look if only for the Robert Pollok link halfway down, a poet and friend of Christopher North(Christopher,s real name was John Wilson and his friend went on to write a best seller of the day inspired by Milton,s Paradise Lost.) It made him famous.
What,s so special about that I hear you ask? Well.......It was three and a half thousand verses long! And it was a best seller! Clearly they liked something to get their teeth into years back to pass those long winter nights beside the fire.
I came across this( thankfully) shorter verse months ago on the internet but the image has never left me as I too have been smitten by this magical kingdom since childhood..I,ve known it since my earliest memories yet even after 50 odd years of exploring its depths it still has the power to move and excite me.There is no other place quite like it.

This is Glanderston dam near Neilston. The top photo is Castle Semple loch.
Why is it so special? I,ve often wondered that myself.It has no major hills,no outstanding places of great merit,no famous landmarks or Iconic visitor attractions for the tourist.But to anyone who knows this landscape well it leaves its mark on you forever. If I die and my ashes get scattered I can,t think of a better place to lie than Renfrewshire.
My original ambition for this post had been to do one great bike ride of homage round the entire kingdom from Eaglesham to the outskirts of Port Glasgow.I may have been able to cover that distance in my youth... but not now on winter roads and short days.This therefore is two journeys blended into one.
The first tour was Barrhead past Neilston Pad along the edge of the Lochliboside hills past Uplawmoor on minor roads to Dunlop then back along the winding Harelaw dam minor road,wild and empty of cars,visiting the weird Totherick in mild calm conditions.

A very enjoyable outing.This is Neilston Pad one of the high points of this tangled bedspread of a landscape before it flattens out into high open moorland beyond.And that in a nutshell is its charm.
When the Ice age retreated glacial deposits were left all over the central bowl including Renfrewshire.
Edinburgh is a city built around the sides of ancient volcano,s and stumpy lavas , Glasgow is a city built over Drumlins,a multitude of them , mostly between fifty to a couple of hundred feet high.Its what gives both cities their different character.You only have to look at an OS map of Glasgow to see the large number of kettle lochs on it dotted on the outskirts left by stadium sized blocks of melting ice from that time. I,ve spent many happy years exploring every one.

Something slightly different happened in Renfrewshire though,maybe more low hills got in the way causing deeper wrinkles in the carpet of ice.
Whatever happened it created this fantastic bumpy part of Scotland.A landscape similar in many ways to parts of inland Dorset,the South Downs,The Sussex Weald.A softer southern patchwork of gentle ridges and dips, each hollow might be filled with beech woods,waterways,fields, farms or a village.Its a land built for joyful exploration, every new view containing a multitude of hidden treasures waiting til you stumble across them.Although I grew up just over the border on the outskirts of Glasgow twenty minutes walk over the fields took me into the start of that magic land.Both feet and mind were always going to be pulled in that direction.

The next run saw me park at Castle Semple in the deep trench filled by three separate lochs, the liquid heart of the area.Here,s a view across one of them...The middle one.... The Barr Loch.

The hills above are the start of Clyde Muirsheil Park,the largest regional park in Scotland stretching over
high, empty moors to Largs and Wemyss Bay.Although the modern boundary between Inverclyde and Renfrewshire weaves along rivers and around the edges of small towns like Kilmacolm and Quarrier,s village
I,ve always thought of it in simple terms as this...Rolling valley and pasture lands...must be Renfrewshire. Higher open moors and hills...Inverclyde or Cunninghame.This is as much a landscape of the mind and as old maps show boundary lines are always changing anyway while the basic characteristics of the countryside remain.

A magical tower if ever there was one,purpose built here as a Children,s Cathedral. Quarrier,s was laid out as an orphanage village with its own shops, fire station and ornate stone annexe buildings Now,in this day and age the complex has been adapted into smaller units.A mix of private development,care homes for the elderly,social work etc. From a distance and even up close it retains most of its original features though. Mount Zion Tower can be seen for miles around.Long may it stand over the valley to delight each new pair of eyes that beholds it for the first time.Never seen it on any calendar or postcard.It must be an invisible landmark?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarrier's_Village
.

This is looking north towards the lofty spire of Kilmacolm and the Luss hills across the Clyde.The River Clyde was where I was now heading,intending to cycle along a balcony trail high above the water.The great beauty of this area is the network of minor roads that cross it in every direction.Once there the landscape changes again with different views on show.

Dumbarton Castle on its volcanic plug of rock.Always a great sight from here.I have limited myself to a few of the best shots to try to capture what attracts me so much to this land but on each ride I could have used a hundred more photos almost as good.Yet its such a quiet area with few walkers or tourists.Another of its charms.

From a misty morning it had gradually changed to darker skies and bright bursts of sunshine.I wasn't complaining though.I could even cycle without gloves.Unheard of in late November an hour from darkness.

All in all another satisfying day out and I hope I,ve captured a little of the essence of this place myself in picture form.November has been a very mild month and great for cycling jaunts at the tail end of the year.I did hardly any bike trips all summer.Making up for it now with Alex busy in hibernation mode.I though I was the one that didn,t like the winter :) Guess what November is best for though.......

Memorable sunsets................... like this one over the Firth of Clyde.

Hill House.Glen Fruin.Three Lochs Way.

2011-11-19T19:13:00.004Z

It happens a lot that you go to a place then notice other possibilities just by going there.The very next weekend after my Roseneath Peninsula Bike Ride posted here on 30th august 2011 I was back again In Helensburgh keen to explore further.Not had a chance to put it in til now. So...Parked in the same large free car park down at the pier.The shows were still on and Britney,s Toxic had been replaced by Katy Perry,s Extra Terrestrial booming out.I don't mind it nice and jumpy for short periods but I wouldn,t fancy living close by.For me though it was very easy to escape.
.I,d looked up Information on the Three Lochs Way,a New long distance walking trail going from Balloch to Inveruglas on Loch Lomond side.It travels through some interesting hill country, has fantastic views and is circular if you take the ferry across to Inversnaid and return down the West Highland Way.A lot of these new trails are appearing all over Scotland promoted by local areas keen to have visitors numbers staying and spending in the vicinity.
http://www.threelochsway.co.uk/balloch-helensbu.html Good maps of the route here also.
This one looks interesting as it visits some lovely wild scenery,interspersed with gun ranges,private MOD roads and little known tracks high above lochs most people zoom past on their way further north.
It was an easy uphill cycle on quiet roads to reach Hill House situated at the top of upper Helensburgh.I,d read the large garden surrounding the house was free to visit and it was someplace I,d never been.That was enough.I,m not a big fan of Charles Rennie Mackintosh though.He was unique and his ideas are bold and visionary with furniture and high backed chairs that look as if they were designed for aliens with eight foot spines but the outside of his buildings often look cold and detached.Just as well they are now saved for the nation,they don't look comfortable places to live in.The garden matched the house,large but fairly spartan.It didn't have enough colour,flowers or wildlife in it for my tastes.I didn't stay long and as I know Mackintosh designs well I didn't visit the house itself.Feel free though.It has its own sizable car park.

I much preferred this house nearby.Now that looks a welcoming place to come home to though a house that size would be a maintenance money pit.Need to have very deep pockets.
Anyway the main reason I was here was to go along the Upland way,an old coffin route, which runs at the back of the house left and right and travels through Highlandman,s wood to Rhu.Its one balcony trail I,ve never done and I do like a balcony trail as Alex will tell you :)
For part of the way this is also the Three Lochs Trail before it veers uphill across country to the north.You can also do part of this route described as a walk returning via Rhu and the sea front Promanade or take the Three Lochs Trail inland over to Glen Fruin Then Back Along Minor Tracks Via The Reservoirs.This also looks good.Glen Fruin is also the site of the Last great interclan battle in the highlands..A woman distance runner has completed the whole thing in 7.5 hours recently and a good mountain biker can do it in a day.(one for you Mr Vally?)
I soon discovered its not really suitable for a bike though once past the three loch turnoff as it has too many dips,tree roots and curves to be a safe ride for someone of my limited ability.I was happy to walk these sections anyway as it only increases erosion on a dirt and grass path like this to ride a bike along it.When I did it in the summer the trail was fine but the latest information on the link above suggests it is now muddy and rutted given the amount of feet, bikes and rain we have had since then.A large amount of money(£40,000) will have to be found to repair this.Not the result the makers of the way intended but in the words of a well known film...build it and they will come... then walk across it,trample it down and leave you with a trench.I suppose that's always the catch if it proves popular.Luckily much of the way is on decent broad tracks which can take the numbers involved.There is now a detour in place. I visited the ever popular Mugdock recently above Milingavie for a couple of hours and a lot of the grass trails there were looking pretty trashed and muddy due to continued use in all weathers.

This is one of the views on the upland way.Looking across to Gare Loch, The Kilcreggan Peninsula and then Loch Long.It is very fine scenery in all directions and a nice walk in itself..As it was a better path now,hard packed and firm I got back on the bike for the descent down into Rhu and Shandon.

At the bottom it was the usual canter along the fairly quiet main road beside the Gare Loch til I reached the Minor road leading up into Glen Fruin.This is the first real highland glen you pass traveling north up the A82 from Glasgow.The next one up from here is Glen Douglas yet both are quiet and empty of visitors despite having good scenery.Its the usual thing of being hidden out of sight because its right under everyone,s nose.I include myself in this as I,ve only cycled here twice many years ago in spite of its proximity to Glasgow.
The last time this sign wasn,t on the gate at the entrance though.

As signs go this is a cracker,the red one being the best.Don't know the reason why its here.Maybe some local has issues with the MOD base nearby or thinks he might be sued if someone is accidentally shot on his land....who knows.It didn,t bother me much anyway as its a public road and I wasn't intending to stray off it.
I also remember it being a belter on a bike,good views and peaceful.
Nothing has changed.As you can see from these photos its still the same.

This is the steep climb up with the hills of Argyll in the distance.I didn't make it all the way up in the saddle and was passed by two younger guys with thin tyre racing bikes and more low gears.They were still struggling though.It was warm and muggy and the sweat was dripping off them with the effort.I was happy to walk and had my first stop at the top for a snack and a drink of juice.

I could now see the Luss hills ahead.On the map,OS sheet 56 Loch Lomond and Inveraray/Trossachs, there is a larger, faster road built above this one running through Glen Fruin.It looks close but you can hardly see or hear it, all it does is take any traffic away leaving this original one serene.The Three Lochs Way passes along here.

Any farmers I came across were friendly and always gave me a wave.This guy was moving sheep to a new field.

After the hard work over the pass its a slow gentle freewheel all the way along the glen itself til near the end at East Kilbride where you cross the Fruin Water then climb up less steeply to reach the main A 818.Views now open up over Loch Lomond and the Campsie/ Fintry hills area.

This is Loch Lomond and Balloch Country Park.Good walks and safe car parking here too.
As I still had a bit of energy left in the legs and hadn,t been round this section I followed the cycle track down to reach Ross Park and Auchentullich Jetty area on Loch Lomond with its Golf courses and loch side views.Very upmarket,not me at all :)
Wish I hadn,t bothered with this added on bit though as I slogged back over the hill to reach yet another area I,d never visited.This one was much more to my taste.The town reservoirs just above Helensburgh. Here I had a seat to recover and got talking to an elderly woman out with her dog.She was a local,owned a grand house in the upper town but was struggling to pay for the upkeep and heating bills now she was no longer earning money .Her family didn,t want to live in it after they themselves got married preferring something smaller and more modern so she was left sitting alone in a sleeping bag in this massive pile all winter trying to save costs and did all the housework and gardening herself as well .She was a nice old lady.Its a familiar story sadly. Over the years I have met a lot of people like that where the money has gone yet they still hang on to what they love,often places where they were born and raised a family... so some of these grand houses are not always what they seem.

One of several small reservoirs just above Helensburgh.Anyone visiting Hill House can walk from here and explore these by using the upland way track.Its a short ten minute walk straight from the house to here.
Well worthwhile.
A great day out with a variety of landscapes.Some of the hills are a bit odd looking around Garlochhead though.

South Queensferry.Dalmeny Estate.Mons Hill.

2011-11-14T00:15:00.007Z

Another nice day forecast on the east coast.Going over the rising hump of the high plain on the M8 Motorway between Glasgow and Edinburgh however I was starting to wonder if this was the best plan as it was dull and grey up on the heights past Airdrie. But it turned out a fine day once over onto the eastern seaboard..As I was busy from very early in the morning and only had a half day left I fancied a relaxing trip this time, just somewhere with a shoreline,good views and autumn woods.There would not be many outings left with the leaves still hanging on the trees.This was a fellow cyclist I met below Mons Hill.
I arrived in South Queensferry(locals just call it Queensferry) shortly after 12.00 noon and set off on my bike.I like cycling anyway but I would not have enough time on foot to explore the full Dalmeny Estate and get back before nightfall.I would on a bike however.

Queensferry itself is a pretty town,with its cobbled main street,harbour,shops and seafront.It lies sandwiched in between the Forth Road and Rail Bridges,looking up at both like a small child protected between two big brothers.Its a good place for a day trip in itself and has fine walks in both directions.Its also got a fair bit of history.The Hawes Inn dates back hundreds of years and was used in Robert Louis Stevenson,s book Kidnapped, the start of which of course was set here and across the river at Cramond. The strange and pagan like ritual of the Burry man parade is held here every year where a local guy is encased from head to toe in sticky burrs only his eyes showing then he walks through the town.And of course the famous Loony Dook.More Info and links on all that here.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Queensferry The history of all the Islands in the Firth of Forth can be found here too.It makes an interesting read. They have been used as quarantine Islands in the past and also in a cruel experiment where a woman that could not speak was placed here alone with her two infants to see if they would grow up speaking the true lanuague of God.This was on Inchkeith which is still a very remote and Isolated place today.On a modern map they no longer print" here be dragons".That would just invite dragon slayers.Nowadays....they just hide it in the open..in full view :)
For walkers and cyclists however, the Dalmeny Estate is the jewel in the crown.Seat of the Earl and Countess of Rosebury for many generations its mature woods, meadows, hills and sandy bays are popular with local walkers and cyclists.A circular bike route runs right round the entire estate.

Apart from that what attracted me however was the fact I,d never been up Mons Hill.Its not high ,around 300 to 400 feet but its got a fantastic view over small shell dotted coves,Sandy beaches,miles of woodland,numerous islands scattered in the Firth of Forth,most of Fife,Lothian and the Central Belt.In short its a gem.I wasn,t really sure if you could go up it but the sign on the entry gate said you were welcome to explore the estate within reason so long as you were respectful to the livestock and surroundings I didn't see any problem sneaking up for a quick look.There was no sign of a path however so obviously It doesn't get that many ascents.
I,ve had my eye on this grassy dome for many years now.Its been five or six years since my last visit here but that was in poor weather when I sheltered in the woods during a violent summer thunderstorm,not interested in climbing a summit running with water and no view.
Now was the hour.
I hid my bike behind a tree just off the tarmac path and set off to claim my prize.The view was worth the wait.

This is a zoom of Inchmickery, full of WW 2 buildings and gun emplacements to protect the Forth Rail bridge and Edinburgh from attack and behind that Inchkeith.
This is nearer at hand.Cramond Isle... and beyond that the gleaming wall of Platinum Point at Leith docks and Granton Docks.

Well pleased with my hill tick I dropped back down to the bike and continued past Barnbougle Castle and Dalmeny House Itself to Snab Point.

On the beach here I met a fellow outdoor enthusiast and we chatted for a while to see if either of us would turn out to be a nutter or just plain weird.(Hi Hunter) It must have went well because we decided we were both going in the same direction,towards the shoreline at Cramond.As someone who does his fair share of solo trips its really nice to meet strangers now and again with similar interests who are happy to engage in casual conversation.It,s something that happens less and less nowadays I,ve noticed.Folk are either wary of your motives,don,t want to engage in talking or are simply too busy.But mostly its a trust issue.
I remember a few weeks ago running after a woman in a Glasgow park(not something I do often) and calling out a couple of times,not that loudly before she eventually turned around to face me.The relief in her face was obvious when I handed her back a toy her child had dropped out the pram.It was a sunny day and the park was fairly busy at the time.Yet Glasgow and Scotland as a whole fare better than a lot of countries.Turned out he was from Glasgow originally so that explains it.Glasgow folk will start a conversation with themselves if no one else is around.
Ironically the more connected we are through phones,Internet and other machines the more detached and suspicious of each other we are getting as people.Its not a very trusting age. I,m no different to anyone else in that respect I suppose.

Good view of Edinburgh from here and Arthur,s seat.As he was on foot I rolled the bike along the path beside him til we came out at the River Almond and looked across at the Pub in the tourist mecca of Cramond.This is a very popular spot.There are several car parks nearby and scenic walks up the river and along the sea front.So near and yet so far.

Up until a few years ago a passenger ferry existed here,just a rowing boat and a ferryman living in the cottage that would take people from one side to the other.There has been a ferry here since the 1660s though sadly now its gone and the nearby Coble Cottage lies empty.There are plans afoot to build a bigger new one though,which given the visitor numbers to this spot makes sense.One that may take bikes linking the two half's together.Edinburgh has a great network of cycle tracks throughout the city and is more advanced than Glasgow in this respect.
Anyway I spent that much time chatting to Hunter about various rock bands, the death of Jimmy Savile,Scottish islands we,d both been to and the like that it was a shock to realise it would be dark in 30 minutes.It was the first week the clocks had changed.An hour of light less. His car was closer than mine.I got back in the saddle and shot off.A quick look at the big house then it was steady peddling through the trees,the lights of the various towns in Fife twinkling in the gathering gloom.Although warm before It was certainly November now alright, cycling fast without the sun.I also wondered if the car park at Queensferry had a gate on it that would be locked at nightfall by someone.This thought made me go like the clappers,the forest whizzing past.

Luckily this was not the case and I arrived back to a bumpy shudder along the cobbles and a welcome haggis supper takeaway at a nearby fine dining establishment.I sat on a bench at the car park in the almost dark watching several rabbits munch the grass nearby while I had my chips.The lights of both bridges ,North Queensferry and Dalgety Bay as an illuminated backdrop. A grand day out.

Torphichen Hills. Preceptory.Korean War Memorial.Linlithgow Loch.

2011-11-07T19:16:00.007Z

Sometimes you visit a place then something else interesting comes out of it.My cycle around the Bathgate hills got me thinking about Torphichan Preceptory nearby.I,d been here several times many years ago using Torphichen as a base for cycling trips in the area.When you are young its all go go go without spending much time delving deeper into the history of an area.Well, it certainly was in my case anyway but as you grow older you want to know more about the district you are in.When I got back this time I looked at the map (Falkirk and West Lothian Sheet 65) and spotted for the first time an improbable route through the Torphichen hills.I didn,t have a clue if it was possible or if I would find it dull or uninspiring or closed to walkers but sometimes just going there and attempting it without any knowledge beforehand brings the best results.In the end it was a great new walk through rolling,varied scenery.Constantly interesting with a few surprises in store.I had a wonderful day,more so as it was unexpected.

Torphichen Preceptory itself is unique in Scotland.The entire village it sits in is hidden away on its wooded ridge, half forgotten but treasured by those who live there.I knew it was founded by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem in 1140 but other than what I,d read in a quick passing look at the church yard information boards about them that was it.I was younger then and it was still all go go go.Now, I thought why would they pick here..tucked away in this obscure low hill range in the central belt? It turned out to be one of the most interesting and informative trips yet from a research point of view once I got back and a cracking walk into the bargain on an unknown(to me anyway) right of way public path between Torpichen and Linlithgow over the hills.It was from here and only one other place in the UK( London) the Knights regrouped and operated from an organisation originally founded to protect pilgrims going to the holy lands.Although set up as warrior monks similar to the feared Knights Templar and the Knights Teutonic(a German Order) they were also involved from the outset in caring for the poor, sick and injured.These three groups were the SAS of their day,highly equipped ,well trained and motivated by religious certainty.They would charge on their heavy horses into the gathered ranks of the enemy army like a thunderclap from god himself.Self doubt and fear didn,t appear much on these guys menu.(Remember the Black Knight in Monty Python who gets his limbs hacked off one by one yet still refuses to stop fighting and surrender when he,s down to just a torso and a head.) However they also helped set up the first Cheques,Banks, and Multinational companies.The Knights of St John fared better than the Templars who made the usual mistake of growing too powerful and attracting the attention of a worried King.The Knights of St John survived however, gained former Templar lands as here and after many changes and adaptations to the political landscape of the times they are now better known today as the St John,s Ambulance.You couldnt make it up!
Full fascinating account of all three groups here.Look under DECLINE paragraph for Knights Hospitaller(Knights of St John)Amazing stuff.Torphichen Preceptory is also here under SEE ALSO. in Knights Hospitaller page..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Knights_Templar

The Path I followed after leaving the village took me north to Craigland on a minor road then followed a rough track East through splendid autumnal woods past the still standing remains of an ancient tower(marked on map).A wooden sign beyond pointed uphill north under the bulk of Cockleroy and you could easily climb this hill from here if you haven't done it then come out at the car park but as I,d been up it too many times I followed the track down to a field instead where it petered out.The right of way path was between Torphichen and Linlithgow but I wanted a circular route so veered east towards a small round dam.This was inspected(Family of swans and a bunch of Jays) then passed to reach the road.I then snaked up through Beecraigs forest trails(if you don,t know these best to stick to the yellow tarmac road) then came out higher up near the road at wardlaw.

The Korean War Memorial is here with its lay by parking bays.I,ve passed this many times and to be honest it didn't look worthwhile stopping.How wrong can you be.A lovely landscaped little garden and shrine to the people and nations that served in the Korean War(1950-1953) and a path up the side of Witchcraig hill which turned out to be a fantastic viewpoint over a wide area.

The shrine is below.This also gives you an idea of the scenery involved on this walk.Not that high but stunningly beautiful rolling hills.And so quiet with most outdoor folk busy on the greater ranges instead.I could actually see the northern edge of the highlands from here plastered with fresh snow but I didn,t fancy swapping places, no doubt a penetrating bitter wind up there on those heights.Here I could still feel as if I was in summer mode in the more sheltered glades ,warm and safe from the cold wind in bright sunshine.Winter will come soon enough...I,m in no hurry to rush into it just yet.

Also up here is a very strange object.I knew it immediately as a cross of Lorraine same as the one that sits above Greenock but I didn't have a clue what it was for til I returned and looked it up.Its a refuge stone.

There is a ring of them sitting in the landscape an old Scots mile out From Torphichen.In the days of The Knights of St John anyone in trouble reaching the safety of this ring would be safe from retribution for any ill deeds they might have done.Mind you no doubt the good knights would ask for something in return.There,s always a catch somewhere :) From here a grassy trail leads along a mini rock escarpment in the direction of Cairnpapple Hill which you could also do as part of this walk.I however descended to pick up the road again as I was going back via gormyre and that minor tarmac ribbon.As it was overhung most of the way with shimmering dappled beech leaves it was a joy to walk.I got mobbed by some rooks on Witchcraig Hill Escarpment.Unusual in that they treated me more like a fox or raptor than a human who might have a gun and came fairly close,repeatedly circling above me before deciding I was OK after all.I didnt mind this at all.It was great for photographs.

A very interesting walk with bags of wildlife.Even seen a stoat and a Kingfisher.Too fast to get pictures though.Tricky wee buggers to capture as a chance face to face meeting like this.You need to set it up then lie still for hours...waiting.....thats not for me.
Back at the car I still had enough time before it got dark to drive to Linlithgow and park there to walk round its loch.I,d seen it sparkling in the distance of course from the hills so I just had to pay it another visit.Its such a great area for views and photography.

The loch and Fishermen.Great range of birdlife.Great crested grebes,assorted ducks,coots,moorhens,dabchicks,swans...its got the lot.

and buckets of history as well.Mary Queen of Scots birthplace.Linlithgow Palace.

And finally...This is the view from the hills above Williamcraigs.

A Springburn Hills Day Out :)

2011-10-31T18:37:00.077Z

Sometimes,if its dull in the west coast of Scotland,as it frequently is here,living in a large city can be a bonus.
Outside in the surrounding area it can be dull and gloomy but under the concrete sprawl of the mighty metropolis with its heat and vapours a micro climate exits that can punch a hole straight through to sunny skies above.
This was predicted to happen on the forecast the night before but I waited a few hours on the day to be sure..til eleven o clock in fact and bang on time it came to pass.Dull and cloudy beyond the ring of hills that encircles Glasgow.Sunny and warm within.Time for an urban adventure.
Sitting in the car park in my local retail complex eating a roll and bacon I had a look at my large streetfinder map of Glasgow.Where to go....always the problem. After so many years exploring or working in the city I,d been most places.The main reason I climb hills is for the view and any excitement involved so I wanted to find some place interesting and elevated I hadn,t been to before with good views.

There was only one place that stood out but it was in an area situated in the north east of the city with a well deserved reputation.Looking at the map though it had many green spaces on hill tops I,d never stood on before.That was enough for me.Although I,d worked a fair amount years ago all over Maryhill, Possilpark,
Ruchill,Springburn and Sighthill I,d never been around the parks and open areas much.They looked as
if they would have great views over the city from new angles.

This proved to be the case.Ruchill Park came first.A park of 50 odd acres situated on a hilltop surrounded by a mix of social housing.Some were older estates like Maryhill and Ruchill itself, others were newer like the adjacent long row of student flats purpose built for incomers studying at the university.Many of the scenes in Still Game were filmed around Maryhill and Ruchill.The park however, situated on a hill leading up to a flagpole highpoint was very quiet.I,d been here once before years ago without a camera and it was just as deserted then as well.Its the sort of park you tend to look around you a lot to see who else is there.In this case it was just two guys walking their fighting type dogs,a common sight hereabouts, but I did also see two old women walking normal dogs.So maybe that's just me.Being quiet it actually had loads of bird life in it,a large flock of bullfinches eating berries of which the park has an abundance.In the right season Waxwings sometimes frequent it because of these trees.
Birds don't bother about fighting dogs though.Being descended from dinosaurs they,re well hard!
The view point up at the flagpole is amazing.I,ve spent ages trying to get a decent clear photo of the Park Circus church spires above Kelvingrove without poles or wires in the way and here it was at last.Its a slightly unnerving place though I have to admit.It,s reached by one lone spiral entrance rising up to a flat summit ringed by thick bushes and railings.Its hard to see from below if anyone,s up here til you arrive out on top.The only way down as an escape route is by this same narrow path.Reminded me of Dalmarnock Low level train Station for some reason which has the same vibe of single way down and up.Wasn,t too keen on lingering around on that underground platform either for any lenght of time though the locals probably didn,t think anything of it. Needless to say I made sure there was no one else coming up behind me.Call me cautious,most folk you meet in parks are fine but I,m just naturally always on guard in urban areas I don't know very well.Relaxed but aware of what,s around me.

The view towards the City Centre ,Cowcaddens and St Georges Cross.

Looking towards Port Dundas,The Forth and Clyde Canal and Townhead.Port Dundas was the closest the canal could get to the centre of Glasgow and goods were unloaded here to be taken down into the city a short distance away.

Alan McGee, the guy that ran Creation Records and discovered Oasis and signed many other indie bands lived in this converted warehouse building for many years.Luxury penthouse apartments with stunning views.
I,m happy with these flagpole views though.They come free.

This is looking west towards the Maryhill barracks where many troops were billeted during the war years.The high stone wall around these flats still stands as a boundary marker today to that period.Anniesland and the Inverclyde/ Renfrewshire hills lie in the distance.
I descended and followed the green ribbon of the Canal path past Firhill Basin where all the barges used to tie up and barge workers could then socialise and swap stories at night.Nearby is Partick Thistle,s Football Stadium.The third but smaller of Glasgow,s better known football teams.Celtic and Rangers being the others obviously.This took me round to Sighthill Cemetery,the second oldest burial ground in Glasgow after the Necropolis,both built on hilltops.I was now in Springburn.The Rome of the North.http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/springburn/springmitchell.htm. Great history and info why here.
Although I knew of its illustrious past as the great railway centre of the world,building then sending steam locomotives to every corner of the globe from the mid 1800s to its limping demise and closure in the 1980s,many of which are still providing a service to passengers today I hadn't heard it was sometimes referred to as the Rome of the North. Like Rome this former self contained railway town was built over seven hills.

Sighthill Cemetery in the heart of Springburn.Before the Industrial Revolution many of these seven hills with their fine open views had large mansions and country estates on them owned by the tobacco lords, the great and the good. Petershill,Keppochhill (Cowlairs Park)Balgrayhil, and Springburn park itself,once resplendent with its fabulous glass enclosed Winter gardens, ornamental ponds and rockery.Its now faded somewhat but you can tell its been posh at one time.See the same link above for a very interesting and informative description of Springburn at its peak.It still has its castle tucked incongruously down a suburban cul de sac surrounded by council houses.

From Sighthill Cemetery with its expansive views my eye was drawn to the bold outline of the red road flats at one time the highest residential flats in Europe.Glasgow is a city of towers in every direction.Springburn has more than its fair share but many of them are in the process of demolition,hence the gaps as the interiors are stripped out.Due to prior knowledge of its reputation they were hard to let to folk from Glasgow so a lot of asylum seekers ended up here instead and in nearby Sighthill which even has its own African cafe in the shopping area.
Something else caught my eye though in the other direction.A bare grassy meadow area not far away that looked a bit like an Aztec temple,rising in rows of terraces,one on top of each other.With a shock I realised I,d never been up there before.A completely new unknown area right in the heart of Glasgow.Cowlairs park.

Many years ago when cattle were still moved on foot into the growing hungry city Cowlairs was the point where cattle were rested,in lairs, on the side of this hill before being driven fresh to the markets and abattoirs below,trundling and complaining down through Cowcaddens.
Later,in the 1920s a park was created for the growing workforce in the nearby rail yards.It was a functional place.Few trees or fancy touches,these were hard working folk with not a lot of spare time or public holidays, just nine football pitches and a pavilion,stacked on top of each other,carved on ledges out of the side of the hill.Its a derelict waste ground now between Possilpark and Keppochhill,looks as if its been that way for many years and in the words of the locals...Its super dodgy up there.But I couldn,t have been happier.Amazing views and a new place to explore.It is a tad rough though and I avoided the bush unsighted, overgrown pond area as I could hear some sounds of nefarious activity coming from that direction(kids burning tyres or some such)
What a place though.A new viewpoint.

My last port of call was Sighthill itself.Its got a park as well.A bare place with some trees and meadow and a recently made stone circle.If you are a kid here though this is the best it gets for a nearby playground. Wandering through here I found myself thinking how lucky I was growing up on the outskirts of the city.Although it was a rough scheme I spent most of my childhood in real farmland and lush countryside which was only a street away.
Growing up here I,d imagine you would adopt a pretty tough outlook on life.
The biggest fighting dog I,ve ever seen lurked round the corner at the local shops.(I noticed the African cafe had the shutters down,don't know if its still used.) The guy holding it on a chain was just as impressive and together they made a formidable sight.Just for a second I thought of taking his picture but I didn,t have the bottle.I didn't fancy getting my bits chewed then stamped pulpy if he took offence.

Most of this area was the domain of the St Rollox Chemical works,at its height the biggest in Europe.Sighthill Park and its surroundings are built on the waste and spoil heaps of this long gone complex.The east end of most northern cities tended to hold the poorest members of the population due to the prevailing wind direction.During the time of heavy industry, coal fires and large smoking chimneys the rich lived upwind of the smells and pollution.The poor didn,t have a choice and had to settle close to where the factories and work provided a living for them.No cars then.Most folk walked to work.
Now that a smoke filled city is no longer the problem it once was the east end is slowly changing with new housing and infrastructure.Its been going on for years but It will take generations to really change the whole area though as attitudes and history can,t be swept away overnight.This current recession certainly doesn't help.Unless its free entry I can,t see that many locals using the new purpose built Commonwealth games velodrome at Parkhead.
Wonder what this area will look like one hundred years from now though? I hope it now has its best years ahead of it again.

The new North Glasgow College.Springburn.

Mell Fell.The Bruce Cave.

2011-10-22T17:16:00.002+01:00

The third day of our Lake District weekend dawned or rather didn,t.A good sleep was had at last by me as I learned my lesson and slept as far away from any bedrooms as possible this time.(I must be a lighter sleeper these days,it never used to bother me as much.)
We all woke to the worst weather yet,rain,driven by wind, audible inside the hut.It wasn,t all bad.It would go off for a short time then come on again harder.
After a multi hour soaking yesterday only two of our group,Craig and Neil opted for another battering up a mountain...this time Skiddaw. Off they set as if it was just another a walk in the park for them.Maybe younger folk only feel alive if they are fighting against the elements.They seemed to enjoy themselves up there anyway even posting a mini video of staggering along the ridge into what looked like thrown swimming pools of water.Good to see them enhancing the club,s reputation for bold endeavour.Long may it continue.

As we,d raved about our Loughrigg Fell balcony ramble and clear views from the summit the rest of the group that had climbed The Old Man of Coniston the day before decided on that.As expected,they had a good time despite the rain,full of beans as usual .As I,ve said before and firmly believe.... good weather is just wasted on the young.Especially if they happen to be mountaineers.You could drop most outdoor clubs in a wall to wall sunny country and the first thing they,d do is climb up the nearest big hill into the mist.I rest my case.

It was Alex,s turn to pick a hill today for us old guys,running on a single bean each.Through sheer luck or sound judgement (he,s a smart lad though) he picked Mell Fell,a modest hill to the north that had the advantage of a woodland path through trees most of the way to the summit.It was also on his bagging lists.

Most of the way we were sheltered by a mix of trees, only a few drips through the canopy to remind us it was actually raining,leaving us just a 300 to 400 feet canter across a rising open hogback that reminded me of Neilson Pad near Glasgow.It would be a fine viewpoint if you had a view.We didn,t, except for a faceful of rain at the summit.
The last bit was grim stuff indeed.It,s been many years since I,ve been out in such relentless driving rain and I still don,t like it one bit. Why would you prefer this to warmth and sunshine given a choice? Its all a complete mystery to me but I suppose every ones different.Maybe its an addiction thing? Give me another big hit of slush and murk please,that last one wasn,t strong enough :)

We Just patted the summit then turned straight back to the comfort of the treeline.As you can see John was here as he was travelling back with us,having got a lift down in another car that only stayed the one night.Considering the conditions down here it was three good days hillwalking.We,d made the best of it by staying lower down.

We had a surprise stop off on the way back to Glasgow.Just over the border into Scotland again at a place called Kirkpatrick Flemming.Alex remembered a childhood trip here with his Dad to see Robert the Bruce,s Cave near Gretna.I,m ashamed to say neither myself or John had ever heard of this one so we turned off the motorway to see if it was still there.It was.
As you can see its surrounded by tat due to being in the grounds of a large caravan site.Its certainly a child,s horse.I,m no expert but wouldn,t this one be a touch small for carrying a man in full battle gear?Thought it was heavy horses they had to use for that?
Anyway ,we followed the signs down into the gorge and soon came to the Bruce Cave which sits halfway up a vertical sandstone cliff.Reading the handout we were given it is just possible he might have used this place.He grew up only 12 miles from here and being well connected to the area may have known its secret.A castle used to stand here above the cliff.
The cave is mostly hand carved and had a concealing door (now elsewhere for safe keeping) so it would have been well hidden and was used to stash valuables from the castle during English raids.The only way down to it then was to be lowered into it and the door shut in place.Two head sized Spy holes,where the famous spider presumably lived,either side.Who knows if its true. Bruce, like Wallace before him has several caves in Scotland
credited to him.The one on Rathlin Island being the other main contender

Its still a fair drop to the river, though now there is a wooden platform to it.Not much to look at inside.It would be a long three months in hiding with a spider the only entertainment on offer.
Below the cave is a sandstone seat where presumably Robert the Bruce sat of a quiet evening practicing his sword work when he wasn,t watching arachnids falling from his cave window.
Incidently,I remember reading somewhere that William Wallace and his famous two handed sword may not have actually existed at the same time.This artilcle stated it only came into Britain from Europe sometime after his death.Unless he went over there and got one.It was such a fabulous iconic sword though they linked it with him afterwards to increase his standing. And on that bombshell.........: 0)

Loughrigg Fell.Coppermines.Lake District.

2011-10-20T18:46:00.005+01:00

It felt good to revisit Ambleside again.It seemed to have only three types of shops.Eating shops,Walking and climbing shops,and tea rooms.Not a pound store in sight! Tres Cher if you were a local though I suspect!
A good night was spent around the open fire in the hut owned by a fellow but local climbing and walking club.£7 a night was good value for the property tucked up a steep hill track under the Old Man Of Coniston.
As we,d never been here before even finding it in the dark was an adventure for those without a SAT NAV or GPS to take the fun out of finding its location.(Myself and Alex, pauper old school and proud of it)
After a visit to the nearby Youth Hostel and then the Yorkshire Club,s Cottages further up the slope,the only lights for miles around,we fumbled our way tyre wise to the correct unlit building, me walking ahead in the rain at one point while Alex inched across a burn.At least we had the pleasure of meeting our friendly and helpful neighbours and already felt a small if temporary part of this valley community.

It was a beautiful, wild if slightly industrial setting several hundred feet above Coniston village itself.Numerous spoil heaps and old mines lay scattered around or dug deep into the surrounding slopes,rusting buckets and metal rails silent testimony to its busy past.I liked it,reminded me of Wales or the Leadhills area of Southern Scotland.
We just had to do a cave while we were here.I love caves.These are some photos from Sunday morning however.A semi dry shelter from the deluge happening outside.It was so wet outside it had its own little river system ending in a sump even though a man made hole.

Next day, after the usual night of snoring in the hut(myself not included here as you have to be asleep to snore,must remember ear plugs next time!) we looked out the door and decided what to do.
Heavy rain, mist and wind anywhere above 1500 feet.It was a no brainer for myself and Alex.Find a hill below 1500 feet and hope for the best.

The younger crowd were made of sterner stuff however,undaunted by mere weather.
I used to think if you showed people how to find the sun every weekend they would take that option but they seemed in good spirits with a day of driving rain and mist ahead of them.It was not just the guys,several waterproofed girls made the ascent as well happily pulling on rainwear without a grumble.(test those jackets girls)Ah youth.I used to be exactly the same once.Not a girl......just keen in all weathers.That lasted for the first fifteen years then I,d had enough of that nonsense.Ok,OK... maybe I am a girl......I don't care.There,s nothing in my contract that says I have to charge up big mountains in all weathers Just cos I,m in a mountaineering Club (Oh yes there is..Alex)
I don't mind a good day out with the amblers and ramblers as long as its sunny.

Even the sheep took the dry option and I like to think I,m smarter than the average sheep,though a brainy one might give me a run for its money. We had one convert however.Our friend John,also a man with twenty years of Munro soaked summits under his belt just couldn,t face another vertical drowning at height.One of the main benefits of completing the Munro,s I can see is that you can then start to relax and actually enjoy just being in the outdoors for its own sake.He cant though... he,s started doing Corbett,s :(
I,m a lone island surrounded by a sea of active baggers.Normally no one wants to go on a girlie type walk with me,not even the girls :( But it was so bad outside he was tempted.
"What are you guys doing? "He asked.
We looked at the map of the Lake District..Three hard men together! Nay...more than that...Mountain Men.. but in good weather.
Loughrigg Fell stood out.Situated near Ambleside, home of country ramblers,(oh, the shame) not far from Grasmere and William and Dorothy Wordsworth,s Dove cottage,(Wish they would show the amazing and controversial Ken Russell,s TV film again of that!"Clouds of Glory".We get the bloody X factor every night instead.)It must be kicking around the vaults somewhere.Anyway... it looked lush ,green and beautiful,even on a map.It was surrounded by a necklace of six big ponds and lakes,crisscrossed by a perfect latticework of paths and tracks and looked good enough to eat.A landscape apple strudel.

It was also under 1500 feet.It was like a fairy tale come to life.We went there.

They must have something in the water here though.The landscape also had a magical effect on its animals.This little horse was only half the size of the black one so it cunningly manoeuvred it onto a stepladder slope to have its wicked way."Reminds me of chalky"(his wee white dog) John commented dryly.
It was also a persistent little bugger.It gave the other two horses no peace at all.

We watched our backs crossing this right of way field just in case. A delightful path past cottage gardens filled with free range chickens,dry stone walled lanes,humping bunnies and open, tree dotted meadows summed up what I love most about the Lake district.That and a youthful Felicity Kendal in Ken Russell,s controversial suggestion about......(that's enough of that....Alex..edit)
Anyway we soon reached the summit and it was magnificent.
"Glad I came here with you guys" said John,pleased.

The mist hung in layers in every direction.Even better we were above it yet still in the clear,larger hills around buried in murk.Even for our luck it was stunning.

We stayed up here for a good while, taking it all in.Minute by minute it would change,new views opening up ,while others disappeared.A cloud shifting kaleidoscope of a summit.It was a popular spot and everyone up here chatted happily,bowled over by their good fortune of just being in on the wonder of it all. No sign of Robert Johnston though (Famous blues guitarist) must have been his day off....Look him up if you don,t know why I mention him :)
We then took the balcony trail halfway down,looping around the hill as it passed above Grasmere and Rydal water,mirror reflections in both still waters,banks dotted with little Lowry people playing with unused open umbrella,s far below.(it never rained all day here)
For a short time it felt like being God,s suspended high above our world.
Then an underworld beckoned nearby and we just had to explore that as well.

As flooded caverns go this was the best I,ve been in without a paddle.It went back a good distance and just near where Alex is the water was deep,full of little fish,hundreds of them.Superb stuff.What a day!
.....................................................To be continued.

Helvellyn.Coppermines Cottage.Lake District.

2011-10-18T18:03:00.001+01:00

Not long returned from a great weekend down in the lake district with our mountaineering club.The first hut meet of the winter season.Most of them were leaving as usual on the Friday night after work from Glasgow but Alex and myself decided to head down on Friday morning early as the Country file farmers forecast for the week ahead showed that to be the best day.Not that you can always trust such a long range prediction.It turned out to be the right move though..
He had also done his homework on the Internet so we could avoid the £7 parking charges now in force down here in the more popular car parks and worked out the cheapest pubs to visit.He,s very good that way.Thinking ahead.Some charge £10 for a pint and a small single burger!That,s the skint hill walkers modern equivalent of a bear trap covered over and filled with stakes.(excuse the pun)
It is a great area though when its done out of season and tourist numbers are down to bearable.proportions.(excuse the pun again)

Parked in a free lay by just outside Glenridding village and headed along a scenic path beside Ullswater which weaved through trees beside the shoreline then cut up along the side of the road.We have not been down in the Lakes for years and you forget how beautiful it is here.Sure it can get mobbed at times but the network of charming paths,ridges,compact mountain chains and scenery make it worthwhile.Just over the Scottish border into England The Lake district is different to Scottish mountains as a lot of them start from bleak empty valleys.The very thing a lot of people from England like about our Scottish hills.For us though this was a welcome change.

Helvellyn was our hill of choice.A good pick as it stayed in sunshine all day while many of the surrounding ranges attracted dark clouds.

The path up was broad and dry,a big change from miles of deep heather,bog and bracken during recent summer trips in Scotland away from the more frequented Munro,s..As we got higher the wind started to increase.By the time we reached the famous Striding Edge it was a full on gale with gusts of 50 to 60 miles an hour.
A few folk we,d met turned back here when the ridge started to narrow and the first rock towers began.If you didn,t brace yourself when walking you would get blown flat by the gusts.Luckily there were more sheltered bypass routes round the towers which this elephant seal of a climber was quite happy to use on hands,bum, elbows, knees and anything else that came in handy while Alex stayed mainly on the crest.His natural surefootedness can be a wonder at times and an irritation for those less able but its also good for photos.I bummed along in his wake while he complained, rightly,that he wasn,t getting many good ones of me.

"A man always on his arse spoils a photo! He grumbled.

It stayed dry though so that was the main thing.

This is us nearing the top of Helvellyn looking down on Striding Edge.Although dramatic its fairly easy under normal conditions with nothing that can,t be avoided which was just as well today.
At the summit we had a short debate.The plan was to head round and descend Sharp Edge as the logical scrambling horseshoe but that would mean staying in the constant and freezing wind all day.The view along the ridge the other way and a drop in the wind in this direction soon had us changing course.
While not exactly tropical conditions we could at least take off the gloves and drop the hoods on our jackets.
We could even speak to each other again.
"Bumcrawler!"
"Rock monkey!"
It was really good fun to be up on a long undulating ridge again as we admired the views of half remembered mountain ranges in the distance.High Street,Gimmer Crag,Great Gable,Bowfell,Scafell Pike.High Pike.We used to come down here a lot years ago both walking and rock climbing with the club.
Happy memories.Don,t really know why we,ve not come down here more often as its easy to reach from Glasgow even for a day.Although we have climbed a good few hills here it felt like a brand new area again after so long away.

We continued over Nethermost Pike then Dollywagon Pike then dropped down towards the lovely circle of Grisedale Tarn where we stopped for lunch out the wind.Jackets came off.The suns rays now felt warm and it was fleece time again for the drop into the valley.

We,ve both done our share of valley descents over the years but the long canter down Grisedale was an eye opener in every way.Scenically impressive with a long line of steep cliffs on one side and the rugged slopes of Fairfeild and St Sunday Crag on the other.If I,ve been down a more impressive and varied valley it was a long time ago.This is a Lodge used by the Outward Bound.Plenty of remote walks and climbs from here.This looks a good gully for a visit winter or summer.

A cracking day out.And it was only the start of our weekend.......

.................................................................to be continued.

Riccarton Hills Bathgate Hills.

2011-10-10T18:01:00.001+01:00

Grangemouth day part two.Read post below first for it to make sense....or not.
I know.The title has put you off already.The mere mention of Bathgate or Broxburn or certain areas in Scotland tend to put people off who know the location...or think they do.Why is that?You can go to so called remote areas up north and be standing in someone else,s waste droppings outside a bothy like I was a few months go.....But that's all right because its wilderness.Its a type of subliminal unintentional snobbery I suspect.You can have a fantastic day,s adventure here of a weekend after a week,s hard graft in Hall,s pork pie factory in Uphall.And you will need some quality R and R after that.And stand on no ones ouput as you admire the view.This area is civilized This area has flush toilets.
This is a double post.On the same day a mere mile over the first high ridge from Grangemouth you enter a different land.Out of sight out of mind.Cliches are cliches for a reason....most of them ring true.Tellingly,you cant see Grangemouth from here.Its like the difference in the Wizard of Oz between the black and white drab brutality of Kansas farm life and the technicolour beauty of Dorothy,s new end of the rainbow,tornado utopia where her house lands.

Most people would think of this as beautiful landscape but I did notice that most of the animals and birds spotted were placed here by man.They did not choose it for themselves.It is ordered.They are fenced in.This is a factory,just as much as Grangemouth.The difference is people find this landscape attractive.But we still use the end product in all sorts of ways.It is all a matter of perception.How we look at things.

It is an incredible place to wander or cycle through however.Up over the ridges towards Linlithgow I cycled leaving my little furry pals behind me, paws aloft trying to climb the wall.It was late afternoon.I,d timed it well as I love that look of low sun on grass where nature turns almost furry and alive.You can almost see Mother nature take a last few inhales of warm breath then turn over before the long cold night of darkness ahead.

This is Linlithgow.The views around here are exceptional if you like ridge after ridge fading into the distance as I do.

.From here it was up past Riccarton then round to Long Mains.Seen side on like this Binny Craig looked much higher than its real height in the distance.

I love lush landscapes like these.You can sink into them like pillows of happiness. And it was warm.Something of a novelty during this particular summer of 2011.
From here it was easier cycling past mid Tartraven and Cathlaw to Cairnpapple Hill,the highest point around.Another fantastic Bike/ hill climb is to Park At Beecraigs.The circuit of Wester Ochiltree,past Tarhill, up Binny Craig then round to the Winchburgh bings...Up them...then Cairnpapple hill. Then Up Cockleroy to finish.Its an outstanding bike and hill day.An unknown classic yet treasured by the few that,s completed it..
Hats off to them.(Mr Valley,Its a new area for you to bomb round on a bike.Plenty of hill climbs for a young tiger like you.Lock your bike inside a field below each hill though)
http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/propertyresults/propertyabout.htm?PropID=PL_050&PropName=Cairnpapple%20Hill

As a more distinguished flabby tiger I panted up the steep narrow road to the small car park under Cairnpapple then wandered up through a field to this Ancient Hilltop burial Ground.There was a bull in this field.Its a fairly popular tourist walk up here so I presumed it was a well behaved bull as I would have to pass it.

It was.Didn,t even look up.Mind you it had a whole field of cows to get round.It was probably tired out of an evening.

Its such a beautiful landscape here I could happily live in Bathgate,Broxburn,Grangemouth or Bo,ness as long as this was my playground.We don,t value certain areas enough.If this was England it would be an area of outstanding natural beauty and have thousands descending on it.Thank god then we don't and this is only going out to a few like minded people.
Its at its very best in harvest time.Glad I caught it this year as harvest was a short affair due to all the autumn rain.

Back to the car at Bo,ness.A knackered but happy peddle hound.Steak Pie supper Takeaway for dinner. Too exhausted to cook or even get out a plate.No wonder that poor bull didn't move much!

Bo,ness Station.Kinneil Reserve.Grangemouth.

2011-10-10T17:59:00.003+01:00

Its been a great summer in the UK to be an apple apparently.Me I,m just glad I can find pleasure in the lower hills,pastoral scenes and contrasting landscapes as that,s where the better weather normally lies.
I,m a bagger too.I just have my own lists to tick. Visiting different parts of Scotland of Interest (to me anyway) is one of the rewards.

I,ve been to Bo,ness Railway Station a few times over the years.You can take a steam train from here in summer a couple of stations up the line to Birkhill Clay Mine.Departing at Birkhill,also done up as a Victorian Station the energetic could then descend with a guide down a long flight of stairs into the wooded Avon Gorge where the same guide unlocks the massive steel door and takes you on a tour of the underground clay mines.Fireclay was dug out and hauled from here to be made into durable bricks for industrial furnaces.Unlike most other open to the public Scottish mines I,ve been to which are fairly constricted places you can stroll through this one hands in pockets, the ceiling out of reach, or even drive a mini bus along it if it was allowed.It twists along at a gentle gradient for almost a mile and was one of the lesser known wonders of this area.For families, kids and the more adventure minded tourists it was a unique day out.There was even talk of boat trips through the deeper network of flooded tunnels though that was always just a pipe dream with today's health and safety laws.

I mention this because Birkhill Clay Mine is now closed at present.There is support to save it so hopefully it will not be too late..A rather convenient rock fall has meant it has had to be reviewed.It costs £50,000 a year to run I believe and employs 8 staff.Not sure if their wages are included in that bill (I hope not for their sake).probably just lighting,running costs.maintenance etc.With implemented cut backs about to bite in every region,Its future is in doubt.To be honest with the level of mounting power bills to cope with and visitor numbers down after a very poor summer I can see where they are coming from.Hopefully funding will be found however and it will be saved.Part of the problem I think is not enough people outside of the local area know about its existence or want to walk for an hour deep under the ground.Its not an experience you can capture on a computer...or maybe you can? Having just watched a programme which highlighted the fact that wildlife and countryside TV Programmes are at an all time high yet most of the viewers will not be regular explorers of areas outside of their own immediate.neighbourhood maybe that's the problem.People like the idea of having countryside but in reality its always getting squeezed,changed ,moulded or lost altogether.Unfortunately once these places are gone they are usually gone for good due to rising water seepage in mines.Make a good landfill site though as we are running out of them. The mine is not owned by the Steam railway company which remains open..You can still take the return train ride on a steam train and then visit the adjoining Scottish railway museum and harbour area which is interesting in itself but a truly unique experience with the mine journey included may be yet another memory of the past.It will not be the only thing to expire.Expect other examples to follow soon as everyone now gets patted on the back finding new ways to save money.I,m not normally political. I find most things to do with politics boring in the extreme.But.... (a but included here just for Ken :)
Think the old cigarette sign at the top is out of date with its message? Don't believe the words? A more modern one might read.
"The bankers and the Politicians will share the hardship of these cuts just like the rest of us". Aye right.
Its a real shame if it closes because there is nothing else like it in Scotland.
Mc Cowans Highland Toffee factory in nearby Stenhousemuir seem to have made the last bar of jaw jammer as well,victim of changing tastes and times.However the proclaimers can send an Email to America now instead of a letter.Time always marches on sweeping anything that cant keep up into the gutter.
Wham bars,pan drops and Bon bons also bite the dust when its closed.
They were making an Advert or Film in this train station when I visited.A production crew busy screwing up modern hoardings with what looked like designer clad models on them. Remakes of the Railway Children and The 39 Steps have been made here but I don't think this was a period piece somehow.I got short shrift from the female in charge of the crew when I asked what they were going to be filming and were there any spare models kicking around or stars arriving in person that wanted a free tour.Well, it never hurts to ask.

Bo,ness itself is a funny town.It has a lot of old interesting buildings and a few picturesque old alleyways.It has had and is still getting a makeover with several restoration projects going on.It,s got potential. It could rival Linlithgow as a place for tourists to visit if it had just a few more streets of ancient houses and they were clustered together more.It has fine buildings but they are scattered or in a line along an upper hillside which a lot of less able visitors don't like.It has free car parks though and an interesting nature reserve nearby which is where I was heading now. Its main tourist drawback though will become evident by the end of this post.It is in sight of something.Something large and overpowering.Something dark.

This is the Kinneil Foreshore Reserve just outside the town.Its really beautiful.It has a large car park and is well used.A great asset to the town and the reason I was here.I had my bike with me and set off....a cunning plan in mind.You can travel much further on a bike.
I was here once in the mid 1980.s when it looked pretty bleak and barren though the insects still enjoyed it.Up until 1983 this was the site of the former Kinneil Colliery then it was landscaped with waste materials,a large tidal island created and trees planted that would thrive on such poor soil.It just shows you how an area can be transformed.Now its lush and verdant with some wildlife and a nice place for a few hours walk.

Many humans walking dogs seem to enjoy it and why not? It has extensive views over the Forth.The reason for the bike however was to visit a sleeping monster just in sight in the distance.One of the great dragons of our age,without which the entire country couldn't, function but which is usually shunned or ignored by the eye of the beholder.I ,ve always been fascinated by this particular monster and with the bike I could cycle out past the reserve and right into the belly of the beast,getting up close and personnel as it were to within touching distance of its hot foul breath....Grangemouth.

I was close enough here to almost feel the heat off the gas flares.There is a grassy track that leads out the reserve and heads west along the estuary right into the heart of swampy marshlands surrounded by a myriad of cooling towers,pipe racks and storage tanks.Its an extreme head trip as birds and animals actually seem to enjoy being here within touching distance,under the dark shadow cast by this vast Petrochemical and oil refinery complex.The only one of its kind in Scotland.

Nature will always surprise you.Thousands of birds were here,feeding in the not too clean looking marshes.Vast flocks of waders,gulls,crows,finches and smaller assorted others.This in turn attracted predators like foxes, hawks,stoats and weasels.The place was bouncing with life.Far more than on the scenic nature reserve.It brings into question the nature of beauty as its such a hard thing to define.Even four people in a room may have different views on what it is.To a proportion of wildlife it just seems to be a place far away from human activity.To our eyes you might think they would prefer pristine uplands or rural farmlands or the nearby nature reserve but this place has several things going for it.Few people ever come here....It has food, water and shelter....Its tidal....and I bet in winter time its hotter than the surrounding landscape.

I will not lie to you though.It,s very far from paradise here.Its pretty scabby to most peoples eyes. Right up close to the complex and downwind there was a strong and acrid flavour to the air,metalic almost and little bits of ash fell down on me on occasion.If I had to work here every day I,m not sure
I,d like it much but a job is a job and the pay is probably good for many with all those volatile substances around on site stretching for miles.
As a one off visit though...Wow ... its right up there!

I carried on half expecting to be stopped by a security vehicle until I arrived at the natural barrier of the River Avon mouth.lt felt like being in a sprawling industrial kitchen, one belonging to an entity that looked on humans with little favour or regard.
This is where my trip ended in this direction.I had lunch here sitting on an estuary wall,sharing my almond slices with two bare tailed , not so little, companions moving around on the muddy shoreline below me.I was careful not to place my hands anywhere they might have been for obvious reasons but I didn't mind giving them a few leftovers.They looked at me with fearless curiosity while eating. A dark garden of Eden.
Beauty is variable depending on what you need in Life.A peaceful home.A place to feed.Somewhere to feel safe.... to breed,thrive and survive.For eyes other than ours this is obviously a great place to be.

An unusual and interesting place.

Stronend.Culcreuch Castle Estate.

2011-10-03T22:18:00.004+01:00

For anyone who has not been up this Magnificent hill....What are you waiting for?
There are not many hills I,d do again and again but this is one. I,ve been up Stronend a dozen times over the years since I first discovered it.For my money its the finest hill in both the Campsie and Fintry ranges and for its size (511 metres) its one of the best within fifty miles of Glasgow.
Its hard to describe what makes it so good exactly but I,ll try.

The drive out past Killearn and Balfron is beautiful past the popular and almost as good Dumgoyne with its lay by stuffed with cars and walkers then round to the much quieter and serene Corrie of Balglass. For once I,d deliberately picked a Sunday outing trip in poor weather as I fancied something different for a change. Heavy intense showers were forecast throughout the central belt of Scotland mingled in with scattered bright periods.This was during our so called Indian summer heatwave which never really happened except in England.It was very warm though and a risk of thunder was a possibility.I like a good thunder and lightning storm me. What I can never work up a passion for is dull ,drab weather and grey skies,lifeless with no energy.If I go out walking on days like this I always feel the same. I never really enjoy them.
This though was different.The morning had a brooding, pulsing edge to it that had my senses tingling.The animals could feel it too.

Fintry is a smashing little community.A true mountain town if ever there was one,sandwiched in the deep gap between the Campsie Fells and the Fintry hills.It should really be the hub of walking in this entire area considering its surroundings but the hills lie mainly empty.In countless visits,winter or summer I,ve met few folk on the upper slopes.This is the other side from Stronend. Dunmore and Dechrode.Also a fine outing if combined with Allanrowie and Earl,s Seat.Also beautiful but empty hills and ridge lines.

Maybe parking is why this strange state of affairs exists.There are double yellow lines on most of the best parking spots now but the B822 road lay by area beside the rugby fields next to the Culcreuch Castle entrance is empty except on match days and there are other safe areas nearby to park unobtrusively if you look.It is never a problem for one or two cars to get a space anywhere mainly because so few people come here to climb these fantastic hills.Its a puzzle.

When I started out these farm cows were sheltering under any trees they could find in a Capability Brown style landscape.The rain was hammering down now.Mind you if the thunder and lightning materialised I,d not fancy my chances there.A whole herd of fifteen or so bullocks were killed a few years ago doing exactly the same thing on the eastern hills outside Edinburgh.
As it wasn,t fork and boom time just yet though I hugged the trees myself all along the lane then walked up past the estate loch where several fishing tents and poles were sticking out,owners snuggled deep and safe inside the canvas while they fished.One of the reasons I,d picked this walk was the shelter it offered throughout this lovely estate.
Culcreuch Castle is an upmarket hotel ,one of the oldest in Scotland.Its fairly popular with wedding couples getting photos taken in the grounds.You are still allowed to walk through them though and they are a delight,full of mature Oaks,Giant firs and Redwoods,beech, Ash, Sycamore and Horse Chestnut.A circluar tour of the main path through the grounds,up past the castle then on down the long western entrance towards Fintry Cemetery is a popular local walk as is a pint or a coffee and meal in its restaurant dungeon which is open to the public.Dogs would have to be kept on a lead though until well up the hill due to the numbers of sheep and cattle roaming around,both in the fenced grounds and free on the open hillsides above.Unless they were well trained.
http://www.culcreuch-castle-hotel.com/

As the castle comes into view just past the small loch a fork in the road occurs.Follow the right hand tarmac across an open car park and the low level hall nearby(parking here with permission.ie Castle hotel or restuarant customers.) and take the lower right hand track that,s signed farm.This is followed past said farm (Barking dogs are normally secure in kennels anytime I,ve passed ) then up left through a gate onto the open hillside.Keep following this track as it zig zags through some lovely scrub land and meadow to the upper balcony of the hill.
Maybe the main reason I like this hill so much is the different levels you pass through at each stage.
Lush woodland walk....then open grassy meadows...then this.....

The double escarpment of the upper zone.You can avoid this band of crags by trending up right or you can get an easy but thrilling scramble up one of the more open gullies in the middle.Once up here Stronend turns into a proper mountain with a wild almost Peak district feel about the terrain and the outlook..A flat broad ridge is enjoyed rising gently to the cairn and far reaching views over Kippen Muir,the Forth valley and Flanders Moss.... To infinity and beyond!
It doesn,t feel like a Scottish hill at all,more like a Limestone peak transported to here.A fantastic hill and luckily the good sunny spells matched in with the summit push given a little extra time wasting in the woods with my mushroom guide on my part.I dont eat them as I dont like the taste or texture but I like to know what they are just in case it comes in handy.You never know.
I,ve not changed that much folks.I,m still not going to climb a hill in the pissing rain :0)
A vast flock of geese passed above me close to the summit.Think they were either pink footed or greylags going by the pale breasts and black wings. They look like storks here though.Wierd!

Didn't stay too long on the summit as it certainly wasn,t heatwave conditions up here.On the way down I could see the dark clouds rolling back in again driven by an increasing wind which at least helped to dry my still damp clothes.

I was even able to get a photo of a rain shower and sunny patch only a short distance apart so unusual were the conditions on this strange day.No lightning though.Shame.
Back at the car I headed up over the Muir toll road which crosses the Campsies,bleak high and empty in yet another sudden downpour.Above Lennoxtown however the rain eased off so I waited a while and I got my best photo of the trip.
Lennox Castle and its Woods boiling in sunshine with mist slowly rising in the evening light.

Magical.A photo can,t really capture the full glory of this moment though.I,ll remember this day for a long time.Wild, empty and timeless scenery. Yet its all under 20 miles from the heart of Glasgow.
The icing on the cake was this sunset just entering Glasgow,s Suburbs once again..Every three or four years you get one as good as this where the clouds seem to roll like slow motion ocean depths above you.

Yep.I certainly love Stronend! And a pork chop and stewed apple extravaganza for dinner as my self cooked reward.Happy Days.

Arran Ridge.Casteal Abhail.Ceum Na Caillich Horseshoe.

2011-09-26T22:55:00.002+01:00

It shows you how mediocre a summer its been weather wise when the last time we did any islands off the west coast of Scotland occurred months ago.Its been the dullest and coldest summer since 1993 apparently. Obviously we are only going to do them in fine conditions but even single good days on the mountain ranges of the west were few and far between despite watching the forecasts expectantly every Friday evening for a quick weekend dash across.A return to Arran was always on the cards but dull predictions gave us little hope.
After slogging through the usual mile of trackless knee deep heather on ruggedly good but unspectacular Beinn a Choin with Alex last week I was almost howling at the summit..Arran and the Paps of Jura were in bright sunshine."Why are we here when we could be over there?" I asked him."We`ve missed a great opportunity to get back to the islands again"
".If its good next week we`ll go ."Alex said,a bit peeved himself as its years since he`s been on that golden ridge.

Sunday dawned cold and wet.It didn't look too promising after heavy overnight rain which was slow to clear.It was freezing on the ferry over but the forecast said it would start to turn into a fine day by 10am .We could only believe that and hope for the best.

Bang on time the clouds started to drift apart and Brodick came into view along with this wind turbine ship.They would look rather fetching scattered all along the ridge line and would attract more tourists to the area as a result.Better not joke about it too much,you never know.
We departed the ferry and quickly caught a bus round to North Glen Sannox as we intended to do the sweeping horseshoe of jagged peaks from Sail an Im round Carn Mor then Caisteal Abhail and then the tricky ridge of Ceum Na Caillich (the infamous Witches Step) back to the glen.I`d done Caisteal Abhail myself from Glen Rosa not that long ago but apart from the summit slopes of that peak all this route would be new ground for both of us.

I never need an excuse to go to Arran anyway.Its my favourite mountain ridge by far,even beating Skye (for me at least ) which is harder and good fun but doesn`t have the same variety or sheer beauty of combined elements.(I can hear the howls of disbelief already :)
Nice waterfalls in the glen were soon replaced by a deep roaring cleft then round boulders of granite and a faint path weaving upwards onto the ridge.We had several stops for me to have a munch of something and Alex to rest his foot.

All being well this will be our friend Brians last Graham over there...or so I was told by the groaning one.I only feel some sympathy for him as he could be doing great cycle rides or easy coastal walks which wouldn`t hurt his foot as much but recently he`s taken to doing the most rugged,ball breaking ,knee grinding ,out of the way Corbetts he can find instead.(Punish that foot boy give it hell!) I have nothing against Corbetts there are many fine ones I`ve really enjoyed but a few of them are a tad uninteresting it has to be said...After miles of bog slog and effort just large grey lumps of tussock,rock,holes and heather.Certain parts of Galloway springs to mind here.At this time of year with the vegetation at its most rampant and deep its very heavy going underfoot as there is little in the way of paths.Alex soldiers on though.A driven man. .I tag along....slightly less committed.

By contrast the Arran ridge is a joy to walk along.Sharp sweeping ridges....little sparking clear pools of water tucked in hollows between the boulders or just sitting in deep potholes on bare rock....short grass,golden in colour when the sun shines on it.....enormous strange shaped rock towers rising out of a flat plateau.towers so sublime and ornately stacked its hard to believe nature made them at all...it`s just special... it`s.... it`s..............its.......quick nurse the screens!

On a full days ridge walk we only met other folk on two occasions.This happy group passed us on the ridge early on and then a fit looking guy who was an even keener bagger than Alex.When my companion explained to him I wasnt counting Corbetts they both looked at me sadly as if I had an unfortunate condition to overcome. A short time later we reached the summit of Caisteal Abhail which must be one of the best summits anywhere.

You can`t go wrong up here photography wise.Just point and shoot which is why I know Alex will have a different set of photos to me.Normally I might take 80 shots on a day out and have ten clear best ones.I took over 200 on Arran and most are worth posting.Cutting it down to only a few is the hard part.

So far it had been delightful but easy walking.Then came the Witches Step,a deep notch in an already jagged ridge of Pinnacles and rock towers.Scrambling on Arran granite is not easy.Its like a beetle climbing a stack of oranges sometimes if there are few holds available to help you climb these smooth rounded lumps.

Alex made a better job of this than me.The boys still got it.

This descent into the notch was not as easy as it looks.The rock down here out the sun was still wet and slippy,also granite erodes into round marbles under your feet on the ledges and the easy route was backwards down this rock groove to where Alexs feet are.I had a worried moment here until I discovered two small one finger jugs then a foothold. Luxury!
We had a look at the direct upward line on the pinnacle itself but it looked hard and neither of us were that keen so we took the easier option of the rising left traverse seen in the full pinnacle photo above.This was hard enough for me as it was cold and damp down here and the sun had been replaced by dark angry clouds by this time.Its amazing how your mood and the surroundings can change in the space of five minutes
with just one big black cloud hanging above you.The rest of the ridge was without problems and we made it back down to the road around six o,clock in the evening.
A fantastic day out.
Walking along the road towards Sannox we met some of our club who had been doing the Five Ferries tour on bikes.They also had been blessed with a smashing day. Brodick round to Lochranza then ferry across to Claonaig on Kintyre..then Tarbet to Portavadie ferry then round the Kyles of Bute to Colintraive ferry,across to Bute then Ferry from Rothesay to Wemyss Bay.They were doing it in reverse and were on the last leg.Although 56 miles and a lot of hills later they looked fresher than us.We were older and cream crackered ,Alex with his foot, me with painful knees.
A good Samaritan passing in a car took pity on us hobbling down the road and took us into Brodick.(thank you kind Sir) This meant we had time for a takeaway supper from the chip shop at the pier before getting the ferry.Mine was a steak pie,Alexs was a sausage supper I think.The seagulls enjoyed his leftovers as usual as he never likes his yet keeps buying the same one.(punish that stomach boy give it hell!)
Got the bike team back over on the ferry and arrived back in Ardrossan in the dark.A bit of a shock as that`s the first time for many months its been dark while we were still out after a hill day.You just get used to it then... bam...winters round the corner again and the land starts slowly shutting down preparing for the long sleep ahead.
As usual I`ll be avoiding that fate for as long as possible,hugging any pockets of green warmth and lush growth I can find like a limpet :o) Forth the old frost dodger!

The bike team.

Loch Lomond.The Islands.Camping Trip.

2011-09-20T20:05:00.006+01:00

I am lucky enough to know a family who own a boat.Occasionally,if there is space,they are kind enough to invite me to tag along.One such trip happened this spring when we went on an overnight camping trip to Loch Lomond.
The family consisted of Gail, John,their teenage daughter Morven and her same age friend Jennifer.
It was a family geocaching trip so it was a magical mystery tour as to where we would go or where we ended up.
At 23 miles long and just under 5 miles wide at the southern end Loch Lomond has plenty of space to get lost in.It also contains a stunning archipelago of 23 named islands,some big some tiny but all different and unique.A few are flat with wide sandy beaches,others are high and rugged,covered in thick mixed woodland of Caledonian Pine and deciduous trees,mainly oak,alder and silver birch.A couple of the islands have working farms with fields, meadows and cattle.There is even a seasonal pub on Inchmurrin the largest Island with a notice that says...."no wet suits at the bar".

This is the village of Luss seen from the loch.It used to be famous for the highland TV soap"Take The High Road" but even though that's long finished its still a popular and pretty village that pulls in the tourists in huge numbers.
We parked at Balloch and set off from there as thats where the main slipway is.All motor craft have to be registered and given a number before they can sail on the Loch.I think kayaks and canoes are ok though as I never had any bother when I used to explore here but that was before it became a National Park.
The geocaching went well and we found a couple of little boxes hidden over the length of the loch and on islands.As far as I understand the rules you find little waterproof boxes filled with either trinkets,toys coins,notes etc.If you take any away to keep you have to leave one behind of your own with stuff of a greater or equal value.Its like a treasure hunt with different levels of difficulty of hiding places depending on personal ability as caches can be placed halfway up a mountain, on a rock climb,in woods,swamps and even underwater.In the USA a few people have even disappeared permanently, lost out in the wilderness still looking for boxes.Its very popular worldwide and can be quite addictive ...or so I`m told. In a lot of national parks they are not allowed.

From my point of view it worked out well as we set up the campsite in the middle group of larger islands seen in the first photo then headed off towards the northern end of the loch.This is narrower than the south end and is much deeper going down to over 600 feet in places.It only has a few small islands dotted around but as we had to search the mainland banks for hidden items we thought we might as well pay them a visit too.This was an unexpected bonus for me as I managed to then bag the last remaining islands not reached by kayak from years ago.Felt good to collect the full set at long last.

Inveruglas Isle has the remains of MacFarlanes Castle on it, reputedly destroyed by Cromwells troops in the 17th century.The same unfortunate clan also had a castle on nearby Eilean I Vow but its the same story there...only a sunken dungeon remains which you walk down steps to enter.Its a lonely little place remembering past glories buried deep in its stones.

Being spring loads of Canada geese had nests on both these islands so we didn`t want to disturb them,just a quick in and out to touch the beach in the case of Inveruglas.These birds are not slow to let you know they are upset though.You can tell this one is a bit peeved.

Next up was Eilean I Vow which sits at a narrow part of the Loch.Its almost a perfect circle,covered in dark yew trees,juniper and ivy.Very green and it has a slightly creepy feel at night.I`ve slept in the dungeon once years ago during my kayak years.

This is the boat with John the sometime skipper (driving is a family enterprise with everybody taking a shot at the helm) It was actually a great time to be on the loch.Being spring It was fairly quiet boat wise as it was overcast most of the weekend but didn`t rain.On a lovely sunny day during peak season it can get too busy at times,boats jet skiers fishermen and campers all trying to find a peaceful bay to call thier own.
We bagged a third island,Wallace Isle then headed back via Rob Roys Prison on the West Highland Way,a well hidden cave only found because it has CAVE in large letters above it.If it didn`t you would never find it which was rather the point when Rob Roy used it.

This is the popular Inversnaid Hotel,reached by a narrow twisting road which the tourist coach drivers must love.
It was a great evening. Not too cold for sitting out by the tents, clear with only a few midges soon removed by a small fire as loads of drift wood lay around on the sands nearby.The family had a good BBQ dinner prepared by Gail which looked lovely and I as usual had my favourite standout of smoked beechwood sausages,pineapple chunks,tomatoes and onions grilled over the coals on sticks.Perfection.

This is some of the family meal prepared by Gail and the girls.Yum Yum.Its making me hungry even now!!
After a pleasant evening of watching boats drift by,stars come out and then a hanging lantern and candle show set up by the girls we adults broke out the wine, cheese,nuts,crisps and beer.A couple of hours or so later it got too chilly for the girls so they went off to bed .John I stayed up talking by the fire,had another couple of cheeky beers, munched crisps and then a plate of burnt leftovers found nearby (as good as a kebab) and generally had a mellow time.For me it was a nice feeling just being part of an extended family group for a short period,a rare novelty as all my close relatives stay over in Australia.Most of the time I`m happy on my own but its nice to compare the difference occasionally.

There`s always something really special about camping on an island and it felt a lot further and more remote than 20 miles from Glasgow with a surrounding population of two and a half million souls.Its best explored in spring and autumn though when its empty and wild like this.A great trip.

As Tom Weir used to say."You only know Loch Lomond properly if you visit its islands".
Inchmurrin and Inchcailloch can be reached by small ferry boat or hired rowboat.(take plenty of rowers,its harder than you think) I believe there is still a post boat service operating some days from Balmaha and several " tour the central island trips" run in summer from Luss for those interested. £9.50 a head plus concessions for OAPs and children.http://www.incallander.co.uk/bustimes.htm My choice would be the Luss tour round the central islands (not landing but scenic or MacFarlanes boatyard which has a choice of options available.The larger tour boats tend to be £££.
Wildlife you might see if you are lucky include ducks ,geese ,ospreys,buzzards,capercallie (five left on Inch......? I think),fallow and red deer and wallabies.
Yeah....some still survive for now.Support your local jumping pouch puppies.Furry introduced children of the 60`s.The capercallie can bugger off to some of the other islands.Keep the trapped tail bouncers.They don`t need any money spent to save them they do fine by themselves and are much loved by many people.Furry love beats feathers any day :o)
http://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/looking-after/help-save-the-capercaillie/menu-id-650.html

Off now for some well deseved home made pizza.Over and out.

Banton.Kilsyth Hills,Colzium Estate.

2011-09-12T18:15:00.003+01:00

When I go a walk ,As most people probably know by now,I,m just looking for a variety of habitats and surroundings.I no longer feel that need to throw my poor floppy body up the highest mountains every time if its just a solo walk,mainly because that same poor body will suffer in the process and I can have as much fun lower down.(Mind you I still like reading about other people suffering pain ,thirst and starvation on the mountains as long as its not me.Oh Yes ,Even today as the wind from the remains of Hurricane Katia rocks the house I think of brave folk on holiday struggling up the hills in the rain enjoying the 80 miles an hour winds... take a long sip of fizzy orange and munch another cream scone. Happy days!) I was actually suffering high myself last Sunday on a Corbett but as Alex usually posts these I,ll wait for now.If I had to pick my perfect solo day however it would be one with contrasting scenery,good weather conditions,loads of interesting nature and hopefully a new area to explore.
If I had to pick my best buy in an OS map It would be the one of Glasgow.Forty tattered years later I,m still finding new areas to explore on it.
I actually discovered the pleasant little village of Banton for the first time on a cycle ride last year but it was just in passing.I did notice this rights of way sign however.When I got back to the house I had a close study of the map as if seeing its potential with new eyes and promised myself a future visit on foot..One of the benefits of all the new signage around these days is walks that before were the preserve of locals only are now more obvious to everyone else.

Banton is a lovely wee place.It still has an old mill building in use as a modern base for two companies.In the old days according to another handy sign it was a weaving mill and the Girls from Kilsyth used to Walk the Lade trail to Banton to get to work.Most of the men in the area then worked down the nearby pits.
I parked at Colzium House as its good parking in this Estate and as their local park its a great asset to the surrounding Community.Hopefully that will continue into the future as new housing nibbles its edges and cut backs everywhere means less money available for upkeep and maintainance of parks and gardens.It looks splendid just now though.

The round monument commemorates a victory for the royalists under the command of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose who defeated a larger army of Covenanters in the vicinity of Banton Loch.Old relics and objects from that time are still being found occasionally in the fields around the loch.It can get boggy in the marshlands near here but this is something else again!!! When digging the nearby Forth and Clyde Canal an unlucky trooper was found trapped and preserved in a bog from that time still astride his horse.What a sticky end.What a Bog! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kilsyth
A good trail leads from the park along the south shore of the loch then into Banton itself.Dragon flies and damsel flies danced around reedy margins and it still felt like summer though it had been a chilly morning.This little snail is enjoying the sun while it can.

I kept going and was soon climbing up to high Banton then through two green gates just before the entrance to Glenhead farm which took me into the open fields and onto the Kilsyth Hills.This was new territory for me.An obvious track on the map leads to Berryhill farm via the ruins of Drumnessie.It was a pleasant walk ,warm with good views over towards Cumbernauld and the upland plains Alex and I were cycling on a few weeks ago.

Smashing scenery and just below the clouds enveloping the higher mountain ranges around in the distance.

Apart from cattle and sheep roaming around its a fine lonely walk with an open feel about it.The route brings you out high on the Tak ma Doon road from Kilsyth to Carron Bridge,a favourite for keen bikers as its a killer of a climb when peddling.
Luckily I was descending so it was fairly painless.There was a local woman riding her horse beside the golf course and I couldn't resist a photo as it summed up what a smashing wild area this is.I was hoping she would break into a full blown gallop but she just managed a trot.Shame.Horses galloping against a dramatic landscape is always high on my photographic tick list.

Did manage another long held photo tick though.I,ve lost count of the number of insect photos I,ve taken where the background is not right ,the subject flies off ,or its out of focus.I don,t have the patience or willingness to set it up under controlled conditions to get that perfect shot as I like the spontaneity of the moment as it happens rather than the technical aspects involved.If I get it fair enough if not ..there,s always a next time.

Quite pleased with this though as bumble bees never stay still for me when the camera has to be right in their face to get a decent shot.
Ended the walk with a stroll round the fabulous walled Garden at Colzium estate.For its size (its tiny) it has to be the best use of planting and paths I,ve seen in a walled enclosure of this type in Scotland.

One thing I did notice on the way back from this area was a place outside the estate.Inside the estate there was this good example of a stream system in full summer bloom.

A natural enough scene with a good habitat for wildlife.
then again there is this.....

Although it looks beautiful in flower and was first introduced as a garden plant for that reason Japanese knot weed was soon seen to be an extremely aggressive plant outside of its native homeland where it has naturally evolved insects and predator controls to keep it in check.Left unattended anywhere here it can grow through roads ,concrete,cover vast areas quickly and spreads even faster if you cut bits off it or dig it up and throw it away.The last ten years I,ve noticed every river system in Scotland become a breeding ground for another beautiful but invasive plant... Himalayan or Indian Balsam.This seems to have started out in Kew gardens in Victorian times then escaped into the wild.Its taken a long time to arrive up here but every summer it blocks out more and more of the variety of riverside plants til it becomes the only species left.In winter, when it dies down ,you get a bare riverbank which is then open to erosion.A lot of people don't recognise them near their house til its too late.There have been extreme cases of Knotweed even coming up through floorboards.
If you want to know what real life triffids look like...... here they be.

Coming soon to a location near you..........

Dams to Darnley.Barrhead.South Nitshill.

2011-09-05T23:43:00.006+01:00

While Alex has been resting and getting measurements made for his new screw on plastic feet I`ve still been active at weekends.On mediocre days weather wise I`ve no interest in struggling up hills just to get a misty invisible soaking so I stay below the cloud level and find different, unusual or long forgotten places to visit instead during this poor excuse of a summer.
Last week it was the turn of yet another beautiful area,that,for one reason or another is often overlooked,
few people apart from locals willing to explore its delights.That is the great walking publics loss as it has a wealth of history,great landscapes and a network of paths stretching over a wide area.

If the newly created Dams to Darnley wants to succeed as a proper country park however it really needs to
develop a better park infrastructure like toilets and safe access car parks to encourage folk to visit and explore this area properly.Compared to the welly booted crowds descending on Mugdock Country Park above Milngavie every weekend (admittedly an affluent area with more money available to it) this place is a ghost town.Which is a shame because it is just as scenic and has great potential.....or is it only rich people that bother to go walking these days?
It`s a semi serious question ...in Glasgow and the West of Scotland at least. Mugdock above Bearsden...heaving every weekend with families.
Barrhead,and Paisleys braes,Darnleys open fields, woods and dams ,Robroyston Park,Balmore and Kelvin walkways, Havoc grasslands and Levengrove Park.Overtoun Estate.The Kilpatricks.Great areas for walking but all lie largely empty.Its always puzzled me this.
Maybe they are perceived as being rough and unsafe somehow though the number of times I`ve been close to injury by being knocked down by speeding mountain bikers, galloping horses or had my prize assets stomped on by muddy pawed dogs in crowded Mugdock suggests otherwise.Maybe its the lack of facilities needed to attract family groups in numbers.
All I know is the only person liable to attack anyone in these areas is that person themselves as they will be the only ones in the vicinity at present.

There are several scruffy small laybys used by fishermen on the minor Aurs road leading up through the dams between Barrhead and Newton Mearns and a large purpose built car park on Balgraystone road above high Barrhead.(this is always empty ,desolate and forlorn looking any time I`ve been there and would need to be busy with other cars and walkers before I,d leave my own vehicle there for any length of time.
Luckily ,knowing the area well,I parked at the large retail outlet complex on Nitshill road right beside the Darnley.I bought some messages from the superstore there so I could park happily as a genuine customer
and set off.First stop was a short distance along Nitshill road,right opposite the Ashoka restaurant operating in what used to be the Old Darnley Mill.
Across from this is the object and history that presumably gives the Darnley its name.
The famous (but ironically almost unknown to the public at large) Darnley Sycamore.Now surrounded by a fence. How its survived the gangs, troubles and traffic over the generations is a complete mystery.I remember climbing it as a boy when it was just another big tree to have an adventure in.

When I was growing up around here it was all a wonderful if dangerous playground for children I remember a still working fire station on the corner of Nitshill road and Parkhouse road;a set of abandoned tramlines which used to run past South Nitshill to nearby Barrhead;another abandoned rail line just behind the Darnley hospital(still open as a Nursing home) the crumbled remains of Arden lime works;deep tar filled pits which we used to dare each other to jump across;lime spoil heaps which made your eyes burn like anything (weeping,red eyed boys were good for playing zombies with!) a flooded abandoned quarry which was rumoured to be bottomless until several drowning victims proved otherwise:two coal bings opposite the Niaroo pub(reverse it) which we used to slide down happily on bread boards into the oncoming traffic:a brick works down towards Nitshill where a feared and bigger rival gang lived(our numbers kept dropping due to the tricky surroundings) :and best of all the ruins of a large estate house slowly disappearing into the woods of the deep,swampy and special Waukmill glen which we loved.Nearby was what we assumed to be a curling pond of the big house but it could have been used for other purposes.At the time it was a wonderland of constant surprises.Like the day we stumbled on several deep concrete trenches hidden in a forest nearby.What could they be we wondered .They were around eight to ten foot deep, six wide and ran for a good distance across the stunted woodland.Someone said they had found a gas mask and old gloves.Hundreds of large green glass marbles were discovered near here which made a satisfying thud when you hit anything solid with them,including rival gangs. Thereafter we called this area the lost world.We didn't know what it could be but in our childish minds we knew something important had happened here.It took me a long time to figure out what they were really for.There were a lot of puzzling structures half buried all over this fascinating landscape. Each slowly removed by the authorities as more and more of us intrepid young explorers discovered the dangers involved in simply finding them.
A lot of interesting information about the big house and details about the trenches here.a/www.damstodarnley.org/index.php?id=72 On the dams to darnley site click on rifle ranges down the left hand side.

Anyway set off again on my trusty bike ,taking the back path behind the Ashoka where several old bridges sit half buried in trees just off the path,some dating to the 1800,s. A couple of reedy ponds were passed ,offshoots of the brock burn(old name for badger)before I reached the white bridge and the halfway point on Corselet road.
From Here the walker has two options.Straight line up the tarmac ribbon of Corselet road to the Dams or trending right on grass paths towards woods with the burn still on your right.
Not far from here,on the edge of these woods ,at an old iron gate,the curling pond still sits,invisible under a thick coat of brambles.A large flooded quarry used to be here as well.a favourite haunt til it was filled in after parental protests and several more unlucky drownings.Full of newts and tadpoles it were.Steep muddy sides made it very easy to fall in though and never get out again..Although very deep it too wasn,t exactly bottomless.
The bike was rolled and carried along through a canopy of beech trees and memories til I regained the minor road again not far from the water chute overflow for the dams.

Its always a great sight after the steep deep confines of the glen to pop out onto a flat open world of water.High summer and I had it all to myself,just one young local boy and his father fishing near the upper waterfall.
From here a flat tarmac strip leads under the red railway viaduct to Neilston,curving between dams to reach the Aurs road.On the other side of this a good track follows round the largest Reservoir,Balgray,taking you to that empty, purpose built,facility free car park mentioned earlier.

This is the view over Balgray reservoir.There are five separate bodies of water in the dams area.Walkmill glen reservoir,Ryat linn,balgray itself and two smaller offshoots,cut off and stranded by minor roads.

Considering the scenic quality of this area a few locals fishing is as busy as it normally gets.
I was still feeling fresh so decided to keep going round the side of Balgray then up past Glanderston mains with the volcanic plug of Duncarnock looming above,Ancient fortress home of a celtic tribe.A good brief history of the area here for anyone interested. .http://www.mearnshistory.org.uk/Overview.html .The Barrhead Dams history is also contained in here under Gorbals Water Works.Its a fasinating account of the Victorian construction of this huge catchment area supplying half of Glasgow with fresh water up until fairly recently.It also highlights the grim drinking water in Glasgow which killed thousands in the 1800,s.
Kirkton road and Dam were passed before I rolled into Neilston(a former cotton and textile town as was Barrhead) then a spin out across the high plateau towards Uplawmoor,all on quiet minor roads with great views across to the table top summit of Neilston Pad,one of the highest summits in the area and a distinctive landmark from far afield all over Glasgow.

Great cycling out here.

Legs were starting to tire now however so reluctantly I headed back, still along a network of minor roads via Barrhead,Parkhouse road and the Darnley.
A fairly hard day out but plenty of shorter options available for the walker.A hugely underrated and underused area in my humble opinion. No rain here though I could see the higher mountain ranges around getting a liberal soaking from time to time.Hint of thunder in the air too at times.

Barrhead Museum..... and a close up of the tower

Rosneath Peninsula.The Forgotten Finger.

2011-08-30T00:53:00.011+01:00

Its been many years since I`ve been round the magical Rosneath Peninsula on a bike,the first pinkie of land jutting down into the waters of the upper Firth of Clyde just past Helensburgh.Why forgotten? Well, unless you know how good it is already or live or work here there is a tendency to overlook this fine chunk of land as it doesn`t actually lead anywhere and has no prominent hills or main towns for the bagger to visit.
It is however a splendid area to explore on a bike or even on a leisurely circular drive with a wealth of important architecture, stunning ever changing views round each corner,and a few notable stop off points.
Forget the ruins of Angkor Wat in the steaming jungles of Cambodia or visiting Beverly Hills and Hollywoods real estate canyons or hiking the increasingly popular Inca Trail.We have our own version right here and its far easier and cheaper to get to the starting line.You can rise late,pack in a full days exploration and be back in time to catch a good film on TV in the evening.
Arrived in Helensburgh to the sounds of the shows starting up,a run of several consecutive days of fine weather pulling out the tourists.(This was three weeks ago now as we have a slight backlog again.Damn this endless sunshine!)
Helensburgh is a fine town popular with day trippers as it has several streets of attractive shops,a wide coastal esplanade stretching all the way towards Rhu, a prosperous feel and good views over the Clyde towards the three large towns facing it .From this distance they also look pretty and prosperous :) It also has a large free car park down by the water if you park up at the far end.

Off I traveled on my bike.The road was fairly busy at this point until I arrived in Rhu where the traffic slowed to a trickle but there is still a traffic free cycle route to here for folk unsure of cars or with children.Bike lanes tend to be slower though and I stuck to the main roads.The Faslane Peace camp was reached.This is still open with its half hidden line of rustic caravans in the trees but the residents have tried to make it colourful as you can see. Its purpose here is supposedly to protest against the Faslane MOD base nearby, home to the nuclear submarine base.
I was not too bothered either way politically until I got a puncture in my back tire right outside the uphill mile of razor wire fencing round the base whereupon I protested loudly and bitterly to the watching security cameras.
"Its always the bloody back tire! Why me God! Crap bloody surface!" or different words to that effect.
Half an hours sweaty labour later I had a new inner tube replaced and the gears set back in order.
Up to that point I had been enjoying the run but a man on a touring bike no matter how heavy or big of belly cannot flatten down newly scattered loose chippings.I noticed they were only laid down before and after the main road leading towards Faslane hence the outburst.

With roads and views like this though I couldn`t stay upset for long.In the 1970`s I was an admirer of the early visionary art work of Gage Taylor,Bill Martin,Cliff McReynolds and Joseph Parker.Paintings that often took years to do.Not to everyones taste though.And I certainly don't like all the images or thoughts expressed in here. A lot of it is hippy guff but when its good and closest to the natural world its very special indeed.Pick your own favourites,if any. http://www.billmartingallery.com/
http://iasos.com/artists/jparker/        http://artamerica.com/gagetaylor/
Coming out of California and Mexico it was grounded in ordinary natural surroundings but layered with a minutely detailed explosion of tiny images, exotic trees ,animals and spectacular hyper bold sunsets that deliberately heightened and mixed reality with things that could never exist in the real world or were placed outside of normal settings.A forerunner perhaps of some of todays more sophisticated elaborate computer games and films only this was conceived back then in oils.(avatar springs to mind here)
My favourite is South Aquaria.A bright circular painting covered in exotic trees,animals,steeply wooded cliffs,waterfalls and paths leading down to a little cove and beach covered in ornate seashells. A girl stands beside the beach,arms folded, her back to a cave as if waiting for a visitor.Its an intoxicating window into a land of  perfection which can never exist..I`ve still got a copy of it hanging on my wall nearly 40 years later.Its still my favourite.Its not depicted in any of these links by the way . That would be too easy :o)
The only reason for mentioning it now is this.Nowhere else in the world have I came as close to seeing its real life equivalent than on the wooded slopes and old red sandstone cliffs of the Firth of Clyde Estuary.

I`m not envious of this kind of moneyed manicured beauty at all as I`m only too aware of the effort, upkeep and maintenance required to keep it at this pristine level.I have enough trouble maintaining my own little shoebox as my natural inclination on a free dry day is to go outside somewhere and watch other folk grafting away while I sail past giving them a cheery wave.I do like scenes like these though.Art works come to life.From artists sitting surrounded by the giant redwoods of California to me sitting here on my bike admiring rows of transplanted cousins on the Firth of Clyde. Giant redwoods and monkey puzzle trees grow as well on the damp mild hillsides of western Scotland as in their native lands.
So...if you like grand architecture sticking out from the surrounding slopes and forests which contain hundreds of exotic trees and shrubs carefully placed there by Victorian pioneers who made these fjord like inlets their playground away from the grim, smoke filled metropolis then this is the place for you.Forget Angkor Wat... too many snakes, insects and hours sitting in planes and airports.Forget Hollywood with its annual canyon rim fires,smog and heat. Its all right here,mansions of the rich and famous, old red sandstone cliffs and numerous quiet coves with secret delights in store for the visitor.

The King Tut stone.This is one of the famous painted boulders scattered around the Firth (the boy kings tomb still being big news at that time) originally painted I suppose to give the steamer tourists a visual attraction on the shoreline and get them spending their cash in Kilcreggan.This is one of the lesser known ones repainted several years ago by pupils at the local Cove art school under the guidance of their art teacher.There are others...the more famous Crocodile rock and Gowk Stone on Great Cumbrae,Jim Crow at Kirn and the Maids of Bute near the Kyles and Burnt Islands.They were originally painted at a time well before the days of political correctness.
Kilcreggan with its pier and passenger ferry over to Greenock (car park,some shops and easy coast walks) was passed then the road got really quiet.The section past Cove and Ardpeaton is the best bit of the trip.Three castles sit high above the road at intervals, one of them reputedly built on the ruins of a viking stronghold.

This isn't it.This is Craigrownie Castle built by Alexander Thomson around 1854.He doesn't get as much credit as C R Mackintosh but for my money he`s the man.This is worth a read.
http://www.glasgowsculpture.com/pg_biography.php?sub=thomson_a
This is his only castle and fell into disrepair some years ago,almost beyond saving with the roof open to the elements when an intrepid individual with the right skills and money stepped in to restore it .http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/3322873/From-crumbling-ruin-to-a-castle-for-keeps.html
Although famous in his day and a more prolific architect than Mackintosh a lot of Thomsons projects fell under the bulldozer during the great slum clearance of the 60 and 70`s when if it was old in Glasgow it was bad,many more were damaged during the second world war.He only rose to belated prominence again a few decades ago, his work being cited by those capable of judging these things as a supposed influence on both Macintosh himself and that grand master of American architecture Frank Lloyd Wright.Next generation Mackintosh actually won a scholarship set up to remember Thomson, allowing promising architects to study buildings abroad something Thomson himself never achieved in his lifetime.All his work was here in the Roseneath peninsula,around a dozen villas and the castle,a varied range of buildings all over Glasgow including mansions,warehouses, villas, stairs , three churches.and one house on Bute.He was inspired mainly by classical lines,Greek, Italian and Egyptian structures,hence his nickname of "Greek" Thomson.There is a weekend coming up in September (17th and 18th) 2011 when many of his buildings will be open free to the public along with many others you don't normally get a chance to see. Its the yearly Doors Open day.
Mackintosh was a fine interior designer of houses,both himself and Lloyd Wright influenced more by Japanese styles just filtering into Europe and America around that time.Trouble is he`s far too popular in Scotland at the expense of many other fine architects who were also working here,his designs on everything from tea towels to coasters.Although they always sell well to overseas visitors and the fashion conscious I,m completely over saturated with his designs along with many other folk I suspect.
Also,apart from the Willow tearooms and the Glasgow School of Art the exterior of his buildings leave me cold.None of them make my heart beat faster in the same way as the wonderfully turreted Dunselma, (the nearest we have in Scotland to the fairytale Neuschwanstein),a baronial confection floating above the wooded Strone point,built as a sailing lodge for the famous Coats family of Paisley.And it was built by Rennison and Scott who don't even get a look in! Neither do William Leiper (the local architect working out of Helensburgh who designed a decent chunk of it) John Honeyman ( Knockderry Castle),James Sellars (Cove Castle) James Carrick (Rothesay Pavilion) and James Smith (the magnificent Overtoun House above Dumbarton which always seems to hang above its abyss, both literally and financially.And dozens of others who built dreams out of stone,wood and marble. Unfortunately it takes vast wads of cash to keep these vast piles going.

The road here is a delight,empty of cars with little bays and grand houses dotted above the shore.Cove is lovely, no other word to describe it. It has a couple of tiny lay bys ,a few seats down by a grassy open esplanade and that's it.
The stopping point here for me is always Linn Gardens,a brilliant rambling place with ponds,terraces, a tiny steep gorge,waterfalls and bridges all hanging onto the sides of a hill.A couple of quid in an honesty box lets you into a lush oasis clinging to the slope with a long thin water feature at the top and a main house being slowly swallowed by all the vegetation around it.A strange but fabulous place.Well worth a visit in season.
Next was the run out towards Ardpeaton and Coulport where a large chunk of the Kibble Palace Greenhouse in the Botanic Gardens came from donated by James Kibble (among many other things he was a glasshouse designer and constructor who had it as one of his two Conservatories.That shows you the size of the properties around here.The area was home to Victorian industrialists,captains of industry,wealthy inventors,scientists and the great and good of their day.Ironically its only now we are really reaping the benefits visually as when they planted out the often bare slopes around their grand homes and castles with thousands of trees and shrubs they never saw the fully mature results.Same with all the Victorian parks around the world we just take for granted most of the time now.In their own day looking at old photographs in books they always look a tad empty with newly planted miniature woods not yet grown to the full splendour we see today.

Next up was the steep but short grind over the Cove pass but the views made it all worthwhile at the top.This is looking down Loch Long towards Strone point and Dunoon.A heat haze was building up by this time in the afternoon but the freewheel on the other side was good for a cooling breeze then it was back onto familiar roads round past the pretty village of Garelochhead. Nearly everything is pretty round here though.

and the millionaire enclave of Stuckenduff and Rhu.
I arrived back in Helesburgh as kids were getting thrown around on the show rides,laughing and mock screaming to the sounds of the Kinks. Lazy Sunday Afternoon then Britney Spears Do you wanna Piece of Me? with its hook line "Lifestyles of the rich and famous,Oh my God that Britney is shameless." Very apt dontcha think :o)
A great day out .A feast for all the senses and its left me with a few other ideas for adventures in this area.Will Alex Come?.I seriously doubt it. Flying pigs and all that.

Cumbernauld Uplands. The Bam Fae La Mancha.

2011-08-23T00:33:00.002+01:00

"I,ll say this for you Bob.You always come up with places I`d never think of going to in a million years!"
"Its the same with some of your ideas Alex...cheers."
Sitting in the car heading towards our destination neither of us could decide if this was a compliment.
One of the great things about Scotland though is how varied the landscapes and places to visit are for such a small country.Its not all mountains.We have miles of low grassy golden hills (braes),flat cliff ringed escarpments;hundreds of miles of beaches,each one different and unique;At least five different types of woodlands and even that rarest of Scottish features.....the high flat plain.
Recently I`ve been inspired by Rick Steins colourful 4 part TV series on Spain and in particular the vast elevated plains of La Mancha with its wide horizons and big blue skies.
Recently too Alex has climbed ( reluctantly) into the saddle,due to his dodgy foot, so a brainwave had occurred in my kaleidoscope of a mind for a cycle ride he`d really enjoy.
We have our own version of La Mancha right here.A high elevated plateau rising to almost 1000 feet where skies are big and wide and views stretch away into the hazy distance in all directions.

Cumbernauld!!!
Only joking.To be more precise its the high triangle of moorland above Cumbernauld stretching southwards to Carluke and eastwards as far as Livingstone.A surprising place that's perfect for cycling.Wild, remote and empty yet full of surprise,history and interest.
Car parks are few in this area and indeed most people unless they are local aren't even aware of its existence
as they zoom past on the M8 motorway between Scotlands two largest cities,Glasgow and Edinburgh.(Its that high flat boring bit in the middle.)
But its aware of them alright and they could not function properly as a society without it. Without this place there would be chaos.Not believe me...read on.

It was a lovely sunny morning (well, it always is in BSS land isn't it?) when we arrived in the large car park at Palacerigg Country Park among the pigs, goats and chickens on the southern outskirts of Cumbernauld. A quick tour of the rare breeds in their various pens then we were off on the bikes,climbing up on empty roads past the remains of Longriggend remand centre, the vacant eerie bus shelters the sole reminder of its troubled existence in this isolated spot.It was closed down in 2000 due to prison cuts and the large number of suicides within then demolished in 2007. Only the village of Upperton nearby remains.A fairly tight knit community I`d imagine.
After more uphill panting and pedal work we reached the actual village of Longriggend sitting prominently on top of its high ridge.Its well worth the effort to get here.It feels so special ,like a frontier town from a Clint Eastwood film and what a view.Looking down from the roof of Scotland itself.

This is a back view looking towards the Campsies as to the obvious relief of Alex we had now reached the central plateau section.He doesn't like hills very much :o).
It feels amazing up here and its now easy cycling. I told all this to a game but suffering Alex beside me.It was another warm sticky August day. Luckily we`d picked a morning of light winds as it can really blow up here and in grim weather ,well... its a very grim place indeed for a victim on a bike.There is a distinct lack of shelter apart from widely scattered tree plantations.
From here we cut round past Caldercruix then on to the new cycle path running past the giant Hillend reservoir,a place very popular with central belt anglers fishing from the shoreline or in small hire boats.A railway used to run past here then closed down. After many years Its now rebuilt again as the new monkland line running from Airdrie to Edinburgh so apart from easing congestion on the roads network it should also improve Job prospects and Journey times.Good to see it back.
Next came the road from Forrestfield to Drumbow and its a gem.Straight, empty and with vast open skies.

Superb cycling.The skies seem massive up here.Much of this is reclaimed land and it would have looked very different a hundred years ago,teaming with open cast coal mines, deep coal pits,shale oil workings and ironstone quarries with miners and workers toiling hard and a network of railway lines and waggons dragging the raw materials off towards the hungry cities, seaports and towns. Entire villages and communities grafting away of which little now remains.Here`s an information board to some of the lost villages in the area.

A byproduct of all this endevour and industry all those years ago was the quantity of large holes left afterward
once the rich coal seams had run out.A handy place to stuff all our rubbish over the decades creating at the nearby Greengairs Reclamation Site high above Airdrie what is reputedly the largest single landfill site in Western Europe.Anybody who wonders why we need all those different recycling bins cluttering up the garden need only come up here and see the few holes remaining.Most have already been filled, landscaped or planted with trees.Half a million alone over the region we passed through. An additional square added to the patchwork carpet of the Central Scotland Forest which will one day transform this bare high plain.
Alex was still not happy though, dragged away as he was from his mountain trig points and bagging lists.
"Its official.You`re a bampot!" He rubbed his head to wipe away the sweat "How can you possibly compare this to Spain.Its nothing like La Mancha.
"How do you know?I shot back."Have you ever been there?
"No but I know its nothing like this.Do you even know where we`re heading?
"Si senor"!
Knowing that Alex had to have a hill on any outing to keep him happy I was gradually heading for the most prominent summit in the area.

The soaring bump of El Sombrero.Known locally as the Mexican,s Hat.Its formal name is Lochend Colliery Pit no 5 bing but that's not got quite the same ring..
To enhance the Spanish influence even more there was a surprise treat in store for Alex.

"See! You cant get any more Spanish than that! I declared proudly. "Hola! Hey Torro.
Despite my best efforts Alex still found something to complain about.
"There`s not much cover if its lurking about somewhere out of sight." he muttered, scanning the large field in question.
"To the victor the spoils (heap)" I quipped,pushing him ahead of me Go get your bing man! Its there for the taking."

No bull appeared and the view from this surprisingly steep pimple was extensive.A complete 360° panorama
of near empty moorland, occasional farms and forest.A rare sight in Scotland where something usually sticks up to break the horizon.The only thing disturbing the summit was a pulsating mass of tiny flies,hundreds of them who greeted our arrival with glee.Probably the first human victims this summer.It was like being in a bull run all right only in miniature.
"Probably Spanish flies."Alex commented dryly,still not enjoying himself sufficiently for my liking.
We returned swiftly to our bikes and continued past the Black Loch then Limerigg before a glorious freewheel down into Slamanan which was still over 500 feet in the air.

This is a fairly quite place now but the area around here used to be full of miners and industry.A look at the war memorial nearby convinced us that the region was also a prime recruiting ground for the the armed forces in the past as names of the men killed right up until recent battles lined the sides.Mind you when I found this list of old mining accidents online I can see why joining up might be a preferable if risky choice.Reading down this hair raising report of tragic but often grotesque calamities befalling the local population the armed forces might seem the safer option.See the accident reports here

Leaving Slamannan behind Alex suggested heading along a minor road from Wester Jaw to Jawhills which would take us back to Fannyside lochs on the edge of Palacerigg.(I`m not making these names up,honest!)
It was a cracking road for cycling with a dirt track section (white road on map) between two gates fortunately left open as three big sheepdogs gave us the usual excited farm welcome tearing along beside the bikes.
In the distance perched on Black hill,at 285 meters high ( or 935 feet) the twin Black hill transmission masts could be seen.Well ,where else would you put a TV aerial except on a roof .

If your TV picture occasionally gets knocked out by a massive lightning strike this is where it hits.Each of these monsters reaches a height of 306 meters over1000 feet ,the largest free standing structures in Scotland only beaten by the Durris Transmission mast near Stonehaven.322 meters;1056 feet.They cover a huge chunk of the central belt and Greater Glasgow.
Fannyside Lochs surprised Alex who had heard of them but never visited.He was surprised how large the main loch was when it appeared.Maybe he was expecting a puddle.They have a small sailing school here and both lochs are quiet,serene and delightful in good conditions.Although just above the traffic and bustle of Cumbernauld all you experience up here are views over moorland and a more distant backdrop of the Campsie Fells. A scenic but fairly lonely place.
Yet within minutes we were descending rapidly to access the back entrance of the country park.A short canter through the woods and we were back at the car.
"How did you enjoy that then? I asked a groaning Alex struggling to dismount from his noble metal steed..
"Pigs will fly before I get back on a bike again!" he declared, rubbing his aching bottom.
Oh, OK then.That,s easily arranged.Thought it was going to be something hard :o)

A flying pig.

.

Windy Hill.Barone Hill.Bute.

2011-08-16T01:24:00.000+01:00

Back at the Wemyss Bay ferry terminal again but this time with a difference. Alex was with me.We were both keen to bag some west coast islands before this unpredictable soggy summer was over and Bute fitted the bill being easy to explore during a days adventure once a good forecast was certain.This time though we were aiming northwards.
The lure for Alex was Windy Hill,the highest point on the Island situated at the northern end in the middle of an expanse of nondescript empty moorland.
The lure for me was simply being back on Bute again.One of my favourite Scottish islands.Few can match it for its combination of scenery,Victorian and onwards period architecture, variety of walking, cycling,lochs, beaches and history.I,ll get more folk going over there if it kills me : o)

The plan on arrival was to cycle round from Rothesay past Skeoch Wood then sleepy Port Bannatyne and Kames Castle until we arrived at a farm road leading up into the hills just before the golden sands of Etrrick Bay.Following it to a suitable highpoint we would then leave the bikes locked up out of sight and take a dirt track leading up through cows and fields onto the higher moors.All went well and we soon arrived on the upper slopes after an entertaining approach.From here the path faded out and a romp over the open moors saw us reach the summit which didn't look like it received many visitors.

This is the view from the ferry of the route taken.It has to be said its probably the most boring hill summit in Bute for both views and situation.Even Alex admitted that. A bagger was happy though and we both enjoyed the cycle round and the ascent up the lower slopes.I didn't even bother taking any pictures of the view from the top which is unusual for me.

What I did take a picture of was this very large hairy fly.I,ve seen these before a couple of times on higher moors and mountains but can`t find out much information about them as I don't know what they are called to type in..About the size of a thumbnail,much larger than a bluebottle, they may be harmless.They do seem to take a keen interest in humans though and always settle beside folk when they stop moving for any length of time.Sure enough when we stopped for a well earned lunch one quickly appeared,sitting a few feet away, bold and unafraid.It reminded me of a polite vulture or vampire bat that just happened to find itself,completely by accident, resting next to a static person.
We studied each other as it hopped onto a closer rock,eyeball to eyeball.It seemed more interested in me than the crumbs of sticky almond slice offered so I made a mental note never to fall asleep when one was nearby just in case it was looking for somewhere warm to incubate its eggs.Cute wee bugger though!
After lunch we strolled downhill through knee high grassland back to the dirt path and the bikes.It was a warm humid day so it was something of a relief to get a cooling breeze on the bikes and ferry.

This is the farm road leading up to the hill.A good one. By this time Alex was enjoying himself and suggested cycling round via Ettrick Bay to Straad which used to be a tiny but thriving fishing village in the days of the herring fleets but nowadays is a pleasant cul de sac of houses and a few,discreet, low rise holiday apartments.
One thing that struck us as odd was the fact that the Ettrick Bay Cafe was packed to bursting with day trippers and kids munching and drinking yet only two families were actually playing on the empty expanse of beach.It was deserted by comparison.It was a fantastic day...warm and sunny! It may seem daft but I honestly believe a lot of children nowadays have simply forgotten how to amuse themselves outdoors without the aid of an endless stream of gadgets.And parents, for some reason best known to themselves, no longer make flasks of tea and home produced sandwiches if they are going away which would save them big bucks every trip.My entire lunch and two bottles of fizzy drinks that day pre bought cost under £2 quid.Alex was even less as he had home made sandwiches with him.I spent a day with a family group a few weeks ago and for two adults and two kids in a well known children's attraction restaurant a basic lunch for them was over £30 quid.It seems such an easy,painless way to save money to me.Mind you, myself and Alex are both pretty tight when it comes to spending these days :)

Barone hill was the next Summit to get a bagging from us.It sits in a great position overlooking the town of Rothesay itself but as we were reaching it by bike we climbed it from Loch Greenan,yet another picturesque Loch on an island Jam packed with them.This was the normal expected summit viewpoint on Bute with great views over the Firth of Clyde and beyond.

We thought about having a go at Canada Hill as well as we could see it across the valley but by the time we got back on the bikes and down into town again it was getting late.Better to save it for another time..For day trippers that fancy an easy hill walk any time of year Barone or Canada hill make fine excursions with superb views.For those others wishing a Full day hike Barone hill then the traverse along the low spine of hills above Loch Fad to Quien hill then returning by Birgidale Creiff Butts track and Dixons Dam track to Rothesay is a fantastic varied adventure.This is a true classic of a walk yet is hardly known.

Of course I couldn`t let Alex leave the island without showing him what I think is one of Scotland's most Iconic views, yet one I`ve never seen in any magazine or calendar.Its always the Five Sisters or Glencoe or Edinburgh Castle or the Black Cullin in them.( I buy Scottish Calendars every year to send to Australia and its fairly predictable stuff.....Its the same tired old shots year after year!Theres so much more out there to capture)
"This could be the Rockies or New Zealand." Alex admitted."What a setting!" He was further impressed when he met a wildlife photographer who showed him some of the birds and animals he`d captured earlier that day.

Here`s one I captured myself outside the Victorian toilets at the pier.This cheeky crow was doing its business over the heads of folk using the facilities then looking down to see if it had got a victim.Seemed to be enjoying itself as were the gulls with young chicks around the castle.Having a moat all the way around you means not many predators can get near without a swim.

Parts of Rothesay castle date back to the early1200s and is a very rare example in Scotland with its ornate moat and rounded structure. A lot can change in that time. Although its now right in the middle of the town surrounded by buildings it wasn`t always that way.Originally it sat on the shore.Over the years the shoreline was extended outwards to accommodate the growing town til the castle ended up several streets back from the sea.

Like many small towns Rothesay itself over the centuries has experienced many periods of boom and bust.Royal patronage from the early kings of Scotland, Herring fishing fleets, linen and Cotton industry then Victorian tourist mecca right up til cheap holiday flights took off in the 1970s .Its still here though and Bute is still the undiscovered isle for far too many living on its doorstep.
Thankfully Alex has at last seen the light.We were so overcome by holiday good will back on the esplanade that we forked out for two hot dogs from a nearby stall.He watched the bikes and took pictures of the Waverley paddle steamer which had just arrived while I waited for our order.When asked if the dogs would like a coating of mustard or tomato sauce I said the red stuff as that's what I like best.Of course Alex wanted mustard on his.Well he would wouldn't he.
A fine trip and a day of great variety with bikes, hills, gardens,paddlesteamers and fairgrounds.

Ben Hiant.

2011-08-08T21:50:00.002+01:00

Tuesday 13th July.

The intention was to go up to the Flow country in Caithness for a visit to the old hill fort on Beinn Griam Beag but due to one thing and another we ended up on the opposite side of the country.
The previous evenings forecast was for great weather out west so we filled a long term ambition and headed off to camp on top of Ben Hiant in Ardnamurchan.Across the Corran ferry to Ardgour and then the long,and I mean long,forty odd miles to the lighthouse at Ardnamurchan.I`d bagged the westernmost point of mainland Scotland a long time ago with Big George and contrary to what people think it is not Ardnamurchan point itself.It`s at Corrachadh Mor about half an hours walk due south.
Having already bagged it though I could relax with a coffee at the tearoom near the lighthouse in the warm afternoon sunshine :)

We pottered around for an hour or so and then headed back,through Kilchoan,and back east a bit towards Ben Hiant...

Opted for the easy option and parked the Bongo off the road at NM551640 and packed the tents etc;
It was now about 6.30pm and the sun was beginning to ease off a bit thankfully.A well used path leaves this point and ascends the north east ridge.Although steep,it`s a pretty effortless ascent and my foot didn`t seem to object too much.

Yachts entering loch Sunart from the Sound of Mull...

There wasn`t a breath of wind at the summit and no midges either thank God as we pitched the tents about 10 metres away from the cairn overlooking the Sound of Mull....

A cup of coffee and then dinner was cooked followed by the swally which was awaiting nearby on the trig point...

Gavins bottle somehow didn`t seem to last very long and I was a bit suspicious when he took up position right next to mine :)

Just to be on the safe side Bob and I dispatched him to a small knoll a short distance away to watch the sunset on his own...

Then the sun went down behind the Isle of Muck....

...and turned the Isle of Rum all sorts of colours...

When the light had finally died we had a look at the moon through Gavins Leica binoculars..

...before going to bed after midnight some time.

Sunrise was at 4.20am but I awoke at 3.50am in time to have a cup of coffee in readiness.True to form the sun put in an appearance rising behind Sgurr na Ciche ridge in Knoydart...

Bob and Gavin got up and we watched the differing array of colours that presented themselves until 7.30am when I went for another hours kip :)

The island of Carna in Loch Sunart sticks its head up above the cloud...

The campsite....

We headed off down at the back of 9 with the intention of going up the nearby Marilyn,Meall nan Con but it was warm,we were in holiday mood and my troublesome foot was beginning to hurt from the descent.The beach it was..the beach at Sanna and a walk round the coast.It was a perfect day to be out on a yacht....

....or even a tall ship come to that.

The Far North of Scotland.

2011-07-25T18:44:00.001+01:00

Some pics form a wee trip up north at the beginning of the month.Broke off the long drive up by stopping off at Fortrose for a spot of dolphin watching but the tides weren`t in our favour and the dolphins obviously had better places to have lunch.Martina lives a few hundred yards away from Chanonry Point so we called in to see her.We never got lunch either, only a cup of tea :)

Continued up the A9 to Helmsdale and then up the Strath of Kildonan stopping off at Baille an Oir for a while to
see the site of the goldrush village.Over then to the lonely outpost of Kinbrace before turning north to the coast at Melvich.Some stunning views of Beinn Griam Beag from this road.

There`s a wee campsite attached to the Halladale Inn here for £5 a night.It`s right next to the road but as there is next to no traffic here it`s not really a concern.Sparkling clean toilets as well.I was sorely tempted by the pub quiz that started a t 9pm but the weather was stunning and,being Scotland,it would have been daft to spend the evening inside so we headed down to the beach for a walk.

This pic was taken around 10pm....

Next morning it was puffin hunt :) I`d heard about a nearby sea stack which was home to a colony so headed off over the moor and out to the coast.They were there alright...hundreds of them.I walked out on to the tip of the promontory on the left.The puffins nest on the sea stack on the right.

It was a perfect vantage point for watching them fly in to feed the young ones.They seemed to have perfected a dambusters style of return by flying in fast and low into the gap between the seaward cliff and the stack in order to avoid the black headed gulls and skuas harassing them.I thought I might get a better view a bit lower down so climbed down the cliff on the opposite side for about 30 feet to a ledge I could see.Maybe about Mod or Diff.Surprise,surprise,they were nesting on the landward side as well about 10 feet away from me . I got an odd glance off the occasional one but they didn`t seem bothered at all.

Cheeky puffin...

Sat there for half an hour watching them come and go. Fish supper....

The whole point of the trip was that Mrs.Blue Sky had read that the sculptor,Lotte Glob,was opening her sculpture trail on the shores of Loch Erribol for a few weeks and was desperate to pay a visit so off we headed in a westerly direction.I`d much rather have pottered about though but did manage to disappear into the heather to bag a few fundamental bench marks on the way :) Coldbackie beach is one of my favourites but I didn`t have time for a paddle alas.Down the road from Coldbackie and Ben Loyal appeared....

I would have liked to potter around the Kyles of Tongue for an hour or two in the hope of an osprey putting in an appearance but was under pressure from Mrs.Blue Sky.I did have time for a chat with a German cycle tourer by the name of Tio.Tio had been all over the world cycling but swore blind he had never seen such stunning scenery as the north west. Anyway,I dropped her off at Lotte`s and went for a walk from Sangobeag to Rispond.More cracking beaches.....here`s Sangobeag..

Back to up the road and had a quick word with Lotte about a few of the local bothies before Mrs.Blue sky put in an appearance.Camped round at Durness for the night.
View from the tent...

I got up at 5am the next morning and set off Beinn Ceannabeinne via the nearby Marilyn of Meall Meadhonach.I was glad of the early start as it was getting too warm by the time I reached the summit.The foot wasn`t giving me too much trouble and I even managed to cross the bogs dryshod in my trainers.Great views to the south towards Ben Hope and the Foinaven massif .

Cranstackie and Foinaven.

Self timer at the trig point...

Back down at the tent before 10am.There were no real plans for today so we went for a tootle around the coast down towards Scourie.went over to Tarbet to try and get the ferry out to Handa Island but alas,`twas the Sabbath :)

Ben Stack on the way back from Scourie...

Beach at Oldshoremore...

Foinaven,Arkle and Ben Stack from near Kinlochbervie....

Went for a walk along Balnakiel beach in the evening...

The old church at Balnakiel with Cranstackie in the background...

The evening light on the Maidens sea stacks where the one and only Tom Patey lost his life in a climbing accident..

I wanted to visit the old graveyard where some of my ancestors were buried so took the road back south via Tongue again.No apologies for yet more pics of Ben Loyal....one of my top ten mountains.

A bunch of poppies on the banks of the Kyle...

I take this chair everywhere in the hope that the Scottish Tourist Board will buy a few prints off me :)

Pottered about Loch Loyal on the way down to Altnaharra...it was a gorgeous day.I think only 2 cars passed by in 16 miles.Eventually got to the graveyard after asking an old crofter for directions.It was pretty hard to find as there is no road into it but what a stunning location to be buried.

View from the graveyard bench...

Had a look around to see if I recognised any names but all the old ones were illegible due to weathering.I don`t suppose they would have had what we call gravestones anyway,just a marker stone.Given my miserly tendencies ( according to Mrs.Blue Sky that is ) she was beside herself with laughter when she found a gravestone for someone by the name of Ebeneezer whom she was adamant must be one of my relations.

Spent a pleasant hour here watching the salmon jump in the river below...

Paid a visit to the old family house nearby which was sold about 20 years ago after being in the family since the mid 1800`s at least.The new owner has added an extension to the side.Funnily enough,being a local, he shares the same surname as me :)

The ancestral pile..

Stob Na Broige. Alistair`s last Munro.

2011-07-18T20:34:00.002+01:00

Bob.

Sat 11th June 2011.

A group of eleven of us turned up on a Friday night a few weeks ago at Blackrock Cottage,looking over Rannoch Moor not far from the entrance down into Glencoe. We were there to celebrate our friend Alistairs last Munro.It was fairly exciting driving up.Some folk arriving there we still see on a regular basis,others we hadn`t seen for many years.Would they have lost all their marbles,teeth and energy and be driving caravans pulled by 4 by 4 square black tanks.Or would they all arrive in green wellies with numerous toy dogs in tow.

No.Thankfully it was like a school reunion only with people you still have a lot in common with.What we all started with in fact......a love of the great outdoors.It was good to catch up and hear how everyone was getting on in their lives.

This beautiful scene belies the fact that after a fine night supping the usual beer, whisky and wine it was not so peaceful inside.Around midnight most of the assembled bodies went to bed.At ten past twelve some of them discovered an entire Siberian forest that needed to be felled urgently and set about it with gusto.It was just like the alpine huts I have such fond memories of.I was keen to be one of them.
Being an innocent happy bachelor I refuse to believe that the two girls in the hut would be a party to this tonsil mayhem going on.Its a well known fact among we confirmed bachelors that the only things rising from females during the night are exotic butterflies,rose petals ,golden fireflies, tiny winged teddy bears and Chanel No 5.
Of course,tired by these productions every evening they awake with troubled dreams of new kitchen units, must buy furniture,clothes, carpets and accessories.Women love accessories.I try to keep away from both and I`m normally successful.
That first night I just wasn't tired enough though..I was only drinking coke which certainly didn't help.Around four `o`clock I`d had enough of the billy buzz saw choir performing around me as I lay awake and set off over the old drove road,now part of the West Highland Way to Victoria Bridge and Loch Tulla.At this time of year although the sun sets it never really gets dark.It was a lucky moment.An hour later at the top of the track I came across a herd of red deer.Mist hung over every loch on Rannoch Moor and the deer just stood and watched unconcerned as I got closer to them.Much closer than I normally would have got at this time of year.

I got to within fifty feet of them before they leisurely made their way downhill,not running even then, just slowly ambling off.Must have been the early hour.We were all in that half asleep,dream like mode.

I made it back down just in time for breakfast then the group set off up the last Munro,all except Alex who didn't think he was up for anything major yet with his foot and settled for views from Beinn Sgluich instead.

This is us setting off.As everyone no doubt knows Stob na Broige is a separate Munro at the other end of the long ridge on the Buachille Etive Mor.Its a good interesting walk in itself with a dry path leading to a small waterfall then easy sloping slabs to reach the top.

Here's another one from a side angle this time.

The bottle of sparking stuff was duly produced along with glasses and a round of applause.A good Munro to end on and fairly easy to reach.Thank god it wasn`t a really remote bugger.Some of us would need to be wheel barrowed in these days.

This is the assembled cast. Dougie,Alison,Jules,Scott,Graeme,Alan,Dawn,Alistair and John.I`m taking the photo.Out of eleven of us there that weekend we had seven who had completed all the Munros.Not bad for a small club like ours.If the rest get a move on before the old ones snuff it we might become the only club to have everyone complete them.Fame at last!

On the way back down we had a split.Most of the others went happily back via the same route they had taken going up.Myself ,Scott and Jules carried on up the ridge,keen to see the summit of the big Buachaille again.I had fond memories of dancing down the scree slopes of the central corrie.Views were excellent all along the ridge.

I think this is Stob Ban in the Mamores.A couple of brief heavy showers didn`t dampen spirits as the sun quickly came out again. The central corrie did though.Of all that lovely scree there was no sign.Instead we were presented with an awkward steep bare head wall then a 2000 foot man made staircase of no give giant boulders most of the way to the bottom.As my younger companions sprinted off ahead I took it easy, zig zagging down the ledges as I wanted to be able to still walk at the end.Very sore on the knees and I`m glad I`m not starting out on the Munros now although I played my part in joyfully and unthinkingly dancing those same screes into the history books.
My bad, my bad :)
It was an unforgiving descent and I for one was glad to reach the Kingshouse and a seat in that splendid pub.Three golden pints flowed over three dry tongues one after the other before life seemed fair again.

And now I feel a fable coming on.....
Like a rare white stag that every few generations or so is born deep in the mountain hollows so...once in a clear full moon.... there appears among us a white guitar.This one was pupped in a birthing den at three am in an empty alleyway damp and dark,the gutters running with old blues,folk and soul.It was treasured by the lucky finder who took it home and fed it on milk,badgers blood,beer and honey.
We have in our ranks at the cottage two fine musicians who can produce tunes from this magical instrument.Tunes so sublime they could have been torn from the lips of a wooden unicorn.
In the brown envelope is the usual vulgar folding stuff for the artist to trouser at the end of his performance when his fickle muse has departed for the day..The tinkling notes of Carrickfergus linger on the breeze...or it may have been Ace of Spades by Motorhead they are very similar tunes.Almost twins in fact.
Soon our other musical maestro and rightful owner of the guitar makes a belated appearance,lured by the vibe and immediately composes a powerful lament for the lost screes of the Munro's.Aw.

Blackrock on Sunday morning....

Beinn Sgluich.

2011-07-11T17:59:00.002+01:00

Alex.

Saturday 11th June

This was the weekend of Alistair`s final munro in Glencoe.We`ll fill you in on that one later.My continuing foot problem forced me to miss out on the hill and seek out a low level alternative.
I set out towards Loch Linnhe with no particular idea of what I was going to do.Parked at Dalnatrat and noticed a new cycle track on the shores of the loch...just the thing I thought.It was a lovely morning.....

Followed it down the lochside only to find out that it crossed the road after a few hundred yards and continued through the trees with no views to be had.Had a quick look at the map to see what else was on offer and noticed there was an old right of way marked going from Salachan Glen to Glen Stockdale.I`ll see how it goes I thought to myself.To tell the truth it was as boring as the map suggested.Up a landrover track surrounded by sitka plantations before a hunt around for the start of the path where fortunately some kind soul had tied a ribbon to a tree or it would have proved hard to find.Small Rights of Way markers were pinned to the odd tree ...

Nice easy going found me at the edge of the forest with no complaint from the foot so I decided to take a right turn and head up to Beinn Sgluich which looked like it must have a good view :) An added advantage was that I wouldn`t have to hitch a lift back to the car

Kerrera from high up on the slopes of Sgluich....

Quite a few golden plovers around...

The ground was bone dry and I continued in my trainers with the boots in my rucksack in case of boggy ground.The ground looked as if I should be sinking into it but the area is limestone and as such was well drained.Didn`t take long to get onto the summit ridge where I wandered along to the south west top for the views....

The northern tip of Lismore and the south west top of Beinn Sgluich...

Down the Firth of Lorne...

Zoomed shot of the houses at Port Ramsay on the northern tip of the island of Lismore.....

Sat around for an hour or so enjoying the sunshine before heading back north to the summit.A bank of cloud had been building up to the west but it quickly passed but not before hitting Lismore with a squall or two.....

A bit of a surprise to me was the view of the Aonach Eagach which I wasn`t expecting to see from down here.....

The view northards over Ardsheal Hill and the Corran narrows.....

Took my time going downhill and pottered about looking for some of the Stockdale caves but only found a huge cavern formed by a landslip.The decomposing sheep at the bottom dissuaded me from going down though I suspect Martina would have been made of sterner stuff if she was there :o)
The foot gradually got sorer and more tiresome on the way back down the track but it was worth it.
A bottle of wine back at the Blackrock party helped as well :)