A winter balloon trip in the Pentland Hills.
Sheep at minus 10 below. Cold and hungry nature.
The food parcel arrives from the farmer.
Meanwhile, the un-farmed wildlife has to wait patiently for something to die to get a meal. Rooks catching the weak winter sunshine on a ridge top fence . Waiting still and mostly silent. Stoic. Conserving energy until the snows melt. Presumably, first arrivals, or top dogs, get the posts- bottom rung birds balance on the wire, which must be more tiring but rooks usually travel in a bunch- crows happy travelling in pairs or alone.
Summer lunch on the slopes of Mendick Hill.
Info Sign. Pentland Hills.
A wheatear. A moor and mountain bird.
Two young ravens communicating. Birds of lowland cliff scenery or high mountain.
Destined for the plate? Human or corvid consumers?
As the raven flies.
Eastern Pentlands from Big Bing country. Early summer view.
The Pentlands and Wester Hailes distinctive white flats situated along the Union Canal. Edinburgh view.
Sunrise shot over Grangemouth in the east..
Sunset shot in the west. The short dark days of a Scottish winter....
... brings its own strange magic. Shadows and light. Western Pentlands District.
and a softer obscurity to the landscape. Tinto from the Pentlands.
Fisherman. River Tweed. Border Hills. A pastel landscape view.
Border Country. Autumn colours.
The Scottish Border Country which the Western Pentlands open out into past Lanark. A larger expanse of higher hills between 2000 to 3000 feet high.
Less rugged than the Scottish Highlands to the north but with a special beauty all of their own.
Then back to the gentle elegance of the Pentland Hills..... ....... ....... ....... ..... The End.
8 comments:
Flying over the Pentlands on such a wonderful winter's day must have been thrilling for those on board. I have flown over our Cotswold countryside, and loved every minute of the experience.
Gorgeous photos!
Hi Rosemary,
Balloon flights are still are rarity in Scotland, can't recall seeing more than five in the last 40 years but we may soon see paramedics trained to fly jet packs up mountains- once the dream of science fiction but now being tested recently for mountain rescue teams. Microlights are more common here in Scotland as they can handle the winds up here better and are presumably lighter to transport around for one person.
Hi Anabel,
I try my best. Slowly creeping closer to one million page views. Not bad for an old guy not taking his clothes off online or sticking things up my bottom on video. Old fashioned talent will endure!
There's a lot of debate about whether we, in North Cumbria, can see Tinto - some say it's possible from Skiddaw and vice-versa. I'm not sure it is but I'd love to know...
Love the Corvids Communicating photo - needs a funny caption though!
Stunning image looking across to Tinto
Might be possible through a gap in the Southern Uplands. I've never thought about it from down there Carol. Being isolated from other hills it is a dominant mountain across the Central Belt still visible 50 to 100 miles away with nothing else outshining it, looking southwards.
Hi Andy.
It is one to tick off if you are up this way. Some fine hills away from the Highlands. Not as dramatic but still great days out and much closer to the border.
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