Water Of Leith Walkway.Dean Village.Wester Hailes.

It seems like ages since I,ve visited Edinburgh so with a good forecast at low levels in the central belt I thought I,d do the Water of Leith walkway from Stockbridge to the Pentlands edge then return via the Union Canal. Distance wise Its only 20odd miles or so but as a large part of the history of Edinburgh lies draped along this humble waterway there is plenty of interesting places to slow you down.
I was also taking the bike along.You can cycle all of it though its better to walk some of the narrower sections out of consideration for pedestrians dogs and children.It can get busy in summer.This was no hardship as it gave me plenty of time to look around and take photographs.
If you like bombing along fast ,head down ,this city section is not for you as you will be stopping frequently except out of season.
I parked at my usual spot on Arboretum road just off Ferry road.Since my last visit Edinburgh has introduced monday to friday parking meters all around this part of the city but this road is still free at the moment.There are very few places now you can park in Edinburgh discreetly, free, yet safely without being in front of someones house.Nearby are the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens where you do have to pay to park now. This used to be a free road as well.Edinburgh loves its parking meters. It does have a problem with traffic congestion though.

I started off at Grange cricket ground just down from the gardens where I discovered the walkway dug up and closed off. Not a good start. I then battered along the cobbled streets Edinburgh is famous for til I reached Stockbridge and the large monument of St Bernard,s well with its raised roman style temple to Hygeia,Goddess of Health.
This stretch was broad and fairly quiet.Everyone I did meet in passing seemed to be speaking a different language to English.
I,ve been convinced for a while now that Edinburgh will one day overtake Glasgow in size. All the jobs and growth infrastructure seems to be based here these days.
Although I love Glasgow I,m not one of these folk that can only see the merits of their own city.I,ve always  loved exploring all cities everywhere, affluent and poorer districts alike and have a fairly good knowledge of  most of Scotland,s urban areas.

This is Dean Village on the Water Of Leith. Glasgow has nothing like this. Its a steep sided gorge and was once lined with warehouses and Mills powered by the river. Most of these have been restored and converted into flats and apartments. Its one of the most sought after locations although resident parking can be a problem as it was never designed for cars.Believe it or not I first discovered this area through David Bowie who walked  down here in the early morning after playing a gig in the city and mentioned the buildings and the Water of Leith in an interview in the music press. Probably late 1970,s I think. He always had a big interest in art and design.I followed in his footsteps soon after.It wasn,t as picture postcard then and had yet to be transformed fully.

The first reliable all year round  foot crossing over the Water Of Leith in ancient times was at this ford which was later spanned by a medieval stone bridge. Its amazing the ford is still here and not much altered. A newer bridge is here now though.

This is  it. A very popular spot with tourists and who can blame them. Although this district is small its full of  hidden passageways, steep twisting stairs and old courtyards. I love any city that has the balls and audacity to build across ravines and up steep hillsides and Edinburgh does it with such style.

As most of this district has narrow cobbled up and down lanes I got off and walked this part. Mind you unless you know it well who could zoom through this wonderland without exploring further? A lot of people have remarked its the most English of Scotland's cities which it is but its also very European in feel.There,s a good reason for this. Edinburgh on the East coast had more or less continuous trade with Europe for centuries and its Influence is obvious. Glasgow at its Victorian and Edwardian building peak had closer links with America and India and that helped to shape its style, both in thought and architecture.There was a great arts programme on recently "The Grit and the Glamour" about the number of world renowned artists to have developed their philosophy and work centred and based in Glasgow in the last 15 years. I,m not usually a fan of modern art but this group were exciting and had none of the pretentious twaddle and baggage that usually tends to put me off the modern art world to a large extent.

Murrayfield Stadium came next. Home to Scottish Rugby and International matches between nations playing the sport.Another big difference between these cities. Glasgow is football daft, cricket and rugby far less so. Edinburgh...well, you can see both these sports have a more prominent position here.Edinburgh in feel is also more genteel and middle class in outlook despite both cities having a fair spread of rich and poor districts.Easy way to tell if someone is  middle or upper class. Did they play rugby at school or football? Simple as that.

Slateford Park Came next along the walkway. Lovely park this with gardens in full summer bloom. Never been here. A first.
Then Came Craiglochart Dell and Colinton Dell. Two wooded gorges I,ve always fancied visiting but never seemed to get around to it.Loads of stairs here to run up and down carrying the bike. Punish that flabby body! Beat that gut into submission. Mind you I got passed halfway up one long twisting stair by an old guy around seventy sprinting past.me like a bloody teenager. Fairly took the wind out my sails as I thought I was doing OK til that point.He was probably an ex Olympian though inspired by the games starting.
There used to be various mills around here also, the remains of which can still be seen today.It was a hot day so I was glad of the shade down here. By this point I,d spotted 4 kingfishers(No, it wasn,t the same one four times) Like robins they are territorial and fight over each small stretch of river kingdom.They never stay still long enough for decent photos.

Spylaw House in the park of the same name.The water of Leith walkway gets more open here and you can build up a bit of speed on the bike all the way to Balerno where it ends.On the way back I cut off just past Currie to pick up the Green way which runs through the heart of Wester Hailes.Up until this point I,d seen plenty of other bikes and path walkers. Going down through Wester Hailes however I seemed to be the only bike in the district. Funny that .

For anyone who doesn,t know it Wester Hailes is like the Easterhouse or Drumchapel of Edinburgh.A massive housing scheme built on the outskirts rising over a hillside above the city.It used to get a bad reputation but it seems to have calmed down a lot these days, more cars on the streets and newly updated housing stock similar to the large Glasgow schemes which have all improved as well. Some of the more run down tower blocks have been pulled down here. I still remember getting bricks and bottles thrown at me going under one when I cycled up through here in the 1980,s.

Its also better to glide down the green way rather than pant up it when being chased as you can outsprint any packs of teenagers who fancy a bit of fun at your expense.I haven,t got the legs to run away from trouble anymore so a bike comes in handy:) Its also a good way of reaching the Union Canal as long as you know where you are going.

Just past the shopping centre you turn onto the Union Canal. There is more chance of coming to grief here as I nearly got sideswiped twice by racing sport colour clad mountain bikers whizzing past back towards the city on the narrow tow path. It makes a fine circular route returning this way.Edinburgh has a great network of cycle tracks and pathways.Just from my own experience I would say more people enjoy urban walking here.In Glasgow its mainly the parks they frequent.

As its Iconic central landmark Glasgow has the Red Road flats, soon to be pulled down,once the highest flats in western Europe. Edinburgh has this. The great southern wall of Wester Hailes bordering the canal. In its own way its as impressive a statement as any castle ramparts. Almost soviet like in its sheer monstrosity of scale and statement of intent.Sleeping accommodation built for a 1970,s workforce in a massive authoritarian brutal style.No wonder they used to call them dormitory suburbs.

This is only seven kilometres or so from the Castle, Dean village and the historic old town full of tourists but it might as well be a million miles away.I hope we have learnt from the mistakes of the past when building social housing for people.It always amazes me.
How could they possibly expect to stick a large population and young families into buildings like these with very little amenities on offer and expect everything to turn out fine and dandy?A large chunk of the population  of any city live in the outlying  districts away from most tourists eyes but they are just as much an integral part of Edinburgh as the tourist hotspots ,helping to shape its culture and character over the years.Wester Hailes is also very Iconic in its own right with some amazing architectural styles and great views over the city.Bet the underpasses and tunnels around here have been a witness to some interesting events and have tale or two to tell.

Edinburgh still likes its tall tenements although these are recent upmarket luxury apartments on the canal.This is an architectural nod to its past.Some of the worlds first skyscrapers developed around the crowded streets of the old town.Glasgow has always favoured tenements three or four stories high...Edinburgh  three, four,five or more levels.Glasgow likes square towers at the end of its buildings...Edinburgh has round ones.Its a major visual difference that sets them apart.
Really enjoyed my trip.Good to be back in Auld Reekie once again.If you can avoid the rush hour week days as that can be a real pain in both cities.

Obsidian Slices.Love Letters To Lucifer.

I like to keep my readers on their toes.And Myself.Experimenting with different themes and personalities keeps it fresh for me.Exploring new projects and landscapes of the mind.
Time for a flip then.Life has two sides to her coin.Dark side uppermost this week just for a change.A  pretty morning star theme. a reversal of religious symbolism and imagery.Did you know that Lucifer was actually a light bringer? My scalpel sharp Angel Of Jet.My King Of Babylon.

Apologies to the Goddess of the Waters.Wouldn,t this sight surprise the commuters travelling on the A80 though?  If sections of the church are so resistant to the idea of female Bishops...What about a female Jesus? Or one with more than human powers and emotions?

This post is all about perceptions.Reality or Illusion.I thought this workman was coming towards me with a knife.Great I thought.I,m finally getting my invite into hell.I couldn't wait to try out my new horns and tail down in the underworld. I,d even filed my teeth down to jaggy points in preparation for the big day.
"Boy am I glad to see you!" I grinned." Come here to Daddy!"
It actually turned out to be a thin plate of metal seen side on,like a cd case, which was needed for a repair.You never know about life.Reality or illusion.Its hard to tell sometimes.The workman was normal and passed by quickly...I was the threat. Strange days Indeed.I would not harm a butterfly.

I decided to find new places of adventure below the bad weather of this dismal summer.A few outings with a difference.
Signs and portents were everywhere.

"Rise" she said,whispering in my ear.

I Did. A metal Via Ferrata beckoned.I would threaten the very gates of heaven itself.A death wish played against the stars.To stand on the rooftops of this world and gaze down into the next.

Or was that also just a dream? A wish fulfilment to climb an urban mountain?All of them would soon be gone.

Glasgow will be a different place without its tower blocks reaching towards the sky.My lord will have lost his mighty towers of Babel all over again.

Even the followers of the law were leaving.No Clients left here.

But towers and walls they used to build for those who stray too far beyond the boundaries of reason.

Ah. To bake some pies filled to bursting with human eyes...A gift to feed my fairies.

Balloch Country Park.Route 7 And Beyond.

As the usual summer weather remained unpredictable (only about one in four Scottish summers are anywhere close to dry) I decided on another bike run at the weekend.It was another humid, sticky day with rainstorms predicted over the mountains.
When you go cycling on a  regular basis walking in weather like this can sometimes feel like wading through treacle at times.Its so slow.With cycling you always get a breeze and the distance you can cover is far greater.Though sadly not as great a distance as I used to manage on a bike.I,ve decided I,m in  training anyway for a longer run across the Islands.Its good motivation to get fit again.

Parked in the large car park at Balloch Country Park.For anyone who has never been here this is a fine area for walking and cycling.Both in the park itself,which has a network of routes suitable for both and in the hinterland to the east which is perfect, quiet cycling country with a collection of different minor roads to glide along.I was planning on doing a part of route 7, then ,as I,d unwittingly done the section from Drymen to  Gartmore on a previous run last year I,d cut off this and find my own way over some interesting land skirting the edge of the highland boundary fault.I prefer making my own routes up anyway.Its usually more fun that way.The first stretch of the West Highland Way cuts across this heading north and in my opinion its one of the most beautiful parts of that entire route but as you all should now by now these days I prefer my landscapes lush and tree filled rather than bleak,exposed and barren especially on a day when the heavens could open at any minute.Obviously I still like sharp ,exciting peaks but you can keep all your round boring ones.No thanks. You never know whats in front of you. I may be dead soon or the legs will go suddenly so I,haven,t got time for any of that nonsense anymore.It would kill me if I wasted my last days on earth climbing up boring lumps of terra firma :)

As it rises from the shores of Loch Lomond then climbs up over a gentle hill Balloch Country Park has fine views over the loch,surrounding hills and numerous great houses and castles.The sea plane was sitting beside one of these when I arrived, no doubt waiting to lift rich punters over the highlands.Loch lomond Shores is nearby too if you have kids and want them to tear a big hole in your wallet.If you have bikes route 7 is ideal for medium sized family bread biters as it keeps to minor roads with little traffic.It also travels through gently rolling countryside with no major hill climbs.
For those on foot a three or four  hour round trip walk from the car park takes you past the fairy glen outside the park limits and up Whinney hill near the quaintly named Knockout.This is  an interesting and twisting route up a path beside a little gorge then through mixed forest.

Fellow cyclist on route 7 heading for the country park My route.OS Sheet 56 Loch Lomond and OS sheet 57 Stirling and the Trossachs.
From the park on minor roads out past Blairquhanan following route 7 to just before Croftamie village where a signed footpath/cycletrack leaves the road and leads through the village and across the Endrick Water.The Endrick is a lovely river ,full of graceful loops,sandy beaches but waist or head deep for much of its lenght (Don,t ask me how I know).Luckily a bridge has been built across  it here on this path/cycleway.

Its better walking across here as the metal might be sharp on some road tyres.The path is pretty good though and you can stay in the saddle for that.

Gives you a chance to look around  as well.The Endrick is a beautiful River but not many know its banks well as most of it flows through private land or nature reserve.
From here back onto the minor road though the hamlet of Gartness with its famous salmon leap pot rapids (also on the Endrick) then out via the villages of Killearn  and Balfron by the Camoquhill Douglas minor road.
Both Balfron and Killearn sit fairly high up on ridge lines with the great continuous steep wall of Stronend and Carleatheran behind, well seen in this photograph.Two of my favourite hills.

Most folk in cars bomb through this area heading further north.......Good. Keeps it empty and peaceful that way.
Next up was Dalfoil then the B818 and the B834. The reason for this was I was curious to see if I could cut across the White road up over Cameron Muir.White roads are always an adventure.Its not the first time I,ve had to backtrack miles after being unable to carry on due to either landowners catching me in the act and turning me back, locked gates and fences too high to lift the bike over or rivers without bridges that were too deep to cross.Always an adventure!

This one was fine though,one of the best and most straightforward I,ve done in the last few years,climbing up over the shoulder of the Stockie Muir on a ribbon of half decent tarmac then  easy grass to Wester Cameron farm.Although it had three locked gates on it the bike was lifted over easily enough and the fact that each  had a small walkers entrance in it proved to me it was a known local walk.
I could see why.It was an excellent balcony trail with extensive panoramas over the whole area,As I climbed higher bog cotton, Curlews and skylarks made it magical.I even spotted a yellowhammer or scribble lark as it used to be called in my youth  due to the  ink like wavy markings on its eggs How can nature be so perfect?.Ever wonder where the idea of an ink nib or a ball point pen came from.Most of our best ideas came directly from nature (like flying in planes) yet today we wipe it out without a backward glance. Both yellowhammers and Linnets were very common birds around Glasgow in my youth.I even used to hear corncrakes in the small boggy area near the old fire station where a flooded quarry was.Not so common now though. R.I.P the yellow bunting.

There were a few surprises up here.A great house I had no knowledge of previously hiding among the trees.The cliffs of Earls Seat as a backdrop.Looking west the chain of the Luss hills,the Arrochar Alps.Ben Lomond and little Duncryne,Known as the Dumpling to the locals, made an appearance.The Dumpling is a great little view point and the late Tom Weir who lived below it would go up it regularly for the panorama of Highlands to the North and Campsie ,Fintry and Kilpatrick views to the south and east.For its height its a stunning lookout.Easy path up from Gartocharn.

At the highest, most exposed point on the white road around 123 metres it started to spit with rain  and it was so overcast and dull over the mountains I thought a thunderstorm was inevitable but after 30 minutes a  very weak sun came out again and stayed out for the rest of the trip though the peaks remained dull and seemingly on the edge of a  major downpour all day.
When I reached Gallangad the road was out,completely washed away by a previous flash flood by the looks of it,just a deep ravine of soft crumbling earth where tarmac once stood.Luckily for the stranded community and me another short white road was nearby, leading through Gallangad farm and this was obviously what the locals were using in the meantime as "take care,children playing" signs were up in the courtyard.I kept an ear open for farm dogs, always a concern passing through someones property like this.
The rest of the journey, following signs down to Jamestown, a suburb of Balloch proved less eventful and I was soon back  at the car.
A good run and some more quality scenery and exercise. I don't do diets.I,ll eat anything brave enough to land,crawl,swim , hop  or plop onto my plate so its always good to get a decent workout.
Yeah! Punish that flabby beach ball of a gut up and down  them gradients.Unfortunately once I got back to the house I was starving and stuffed my face again til the buttons popped.
But it must do you some good.That's what I tell myself anyway.Another  great day out.Off now to sofa surf and watch the last two Game Of Thrones with a monster bag of crisps and a coke.
That,s a very good  well made series but an indicator of a  TV company trying to capture a dwindling market which sees the Internet and its porn as the  main competition in the battle for ratings which is wrong.Like it or not porn drives the world now.It would be even better with less sex scenes in it.But even that too  owes a big  debt to George MacDonald. 7 kingdoms! Wonder where they got that idea from?
For anyone interested in a time when new ideas were the substance that mattered  most to teenagers.A time before Tattoos, gimp masks and tounge studs for children, I,ve put a link up on Greenhill part one.
I could and will explore this network of links for the years left to me.There is so much in here to a time mostly forgotton and 100,s of  dusty books to read by clicking Lilith.
Nearly every great  idea in the present has its acorn buried in the past.Its as well to remember that boys and girls  before you wipe it out.

Inverclyde And Renfrewshire.The Greenhill Country.Part Two.

Style....Kaleidoscopic.Films, books ,music everything else.

Be aware traveller. There are many different ways to explore the labyrinth of minor roads that sweep across this fantastic area like dew on a  spiders web and make it so good for cycling. Dozens of routes. On foot or bike. Although people do live here it is surprisingly empty and wild, current fashion luring most outdoor folk towards the honeypots of the greater ranges.
Here's my suggestion for one of the best rides to give first timers a real taste of the area. Walkers can do a shorter version of this and still be impressed.
OS Map Sheet 63 Firth Of Clyde.
Parking.Knapps Loch area. Semi hidden large lay by off main road just beyond that loch going out of Kilmacolm.
Suggested route. From here to Quarriers Village Then Hattrick Farm road, then past Killochries then past Blackwater to Gateside,  Down B788 to Balrossie School minor road.

This is it here by the way. Then along Strathgryfe to High Maternock then left then right up and over a white road (on OS map) on a reasonable grassy track to reach 187 and 201 metre spot heights towards Port Glasgow then along top of the Industrial estate,where I received a back tyre puncture (which would normally have pissed me off but I was so happy by this time I just laughed.)

Puncture view surrounded by sunny Port Glasgow.

Then down through sleepy Woodhall Into Finlaystone Country Estate.This is Woodhall  by the way not the country estate.I often wonder where all the people go from council estates like this one and all the many tower blocks  due to be pulled down in Glasgow. That's thousands of people. They are not building many new houses for rent these days and not everyone can afford to buy their own home. Maybe that's why they put up the suicide barriers on the Erskine bridge. Expecting a rush perhaps?

Just watched a programme with The Specials which highlighted the fact their big hit "Ghost Town" was inspired by a visit to Depression era style Glasgow during the Thatcher demolition derby solution to Scotland's  heavy industry and the streets of boarded up communities left in the aftermath.You get the distinct feeling now it may happen all over again. The Specials naturally thought of Coventry going the same way as Glasgow as that was home for them.

This is the gorge within Finlaystone. £4 pound entry fee to visit here.£3 quid  if concession or child.

The Old Laundry at Finlaystone gorge.Now open to show what life was like for a laundry maid working for a large house and estate. Hard and fairly relentless mostly I'd imagine. Good for soft hands and getting rid of colds though when washing the linen in ammonia.

The sunken gardens. I could go on but you get the picture. Large country estate ...big mansion house. Tearoom and mature grounds.
"Pride and prejudice" for here as I know a family with 5 young daughters of marrying age not too far away in Greenock :)

If you wanted to skip the Port Glasgow bit then just go via Kilmacolm and Auchendores reservoir road  to reach Finlaystone which is more scenic than Port Glasgow but not as much a shock  to the senses going from one of the richest areas in Scotland within a couple of miles straight into one of the poorest. Then,for those that have the energy  up via bogside, north glen farm, mid glen and whinny hill.This is very up and down but very scenic.The  first part of the route as far as High Mathernock is not hard but beautiful,  ,just gentle bumps and easy dips.
What I really want to write about though is the variety seen on this route and what such ever changing landscapes do to imagination.Well ,to my own at any rate.

Dumbarton. with the Luss hills just losing the last of a heavy rain storm.I was lucky as I was cycling in a sun bubble all day.Mind you that always seems to happen to me somehow. I picked cycling today as it was hot and humid with thunderclouds hanging over the mountains.

View over the dark ,gloomy Cowal hills and the coast from high above Port Glasgow on that  grassy white road.

You can see here how the great ice sheets would have taken the  easiest channels to the west coast waters. Loch lomond and its Islands lie  up to the left ,landlocked in a  deep trench but connected to the sea by the River Leven and its scooped out Vale.
Now we get to the crux of this two parter. For me this has always been the ultimate landscape for any one day tour.It has so much variety packed into such a small area that on a  four /five hour easy cycle ride you can be in almost any part of the UK or further afield.
Last year I walked up Blackcraig hill with Alex near New Cumnock.Normally I like it down that way but I found the hill itself so monotonous I almost turned back and only took three photographs of the day out.Its never been posted.Other folk might like that hill.Fair enough.It just was not for me.
I,m never bored or uninspired here though.I switch instead to a whole new level,able to see reality but also to glimpse in my mind when I,m cycling or walking so many other endless possibilities or see echoes  and hear voices calling to me in places far away.
How can you not be inspired when round the next corner could be the roofs of Hailsham  boarding school from the exquisite and heartbreaking "Never let me go"......

Or around the corner after that the lonely farm house on the moor from Emily Bronte,s "Wuthering Heights"....I could have my pick of a dozen hill  farms on high moorland around here but I,ll choose this one....

Or  bring to mind the rolling Dorset Downs  and the  bitchy writers groups,dairy farms ,cattle and  wagging tongue shenanigans of  "Tarmara Drewe" with this landscape of villas and mansions hidden in the woods.

This area is full of driven ,high achievers who normally have a desire to obtain the best things in life and by the very laws of nature not all will  be able to behave themselves if a pretty butterfly floats past nearby.
Voices call out from hidden towers and rich princesses stuck out in the countryside try to fill their days.Maybe some get bored here but not I.

When I was very young I  used to read Oor Wullie and the Broons. I liked them and one year was most disappointed when I received a Rupert the Bear annual instead . I went in the huff for weeks. Even though he sat on a bucket I could relate to Oor Willie. At that age I didn't know Rupert and his  pals were drawn versions of English, fairly posh children playing in a typically rural , small village,  southern landscape.
I didn't get many books then, maybe one or two a year. All I knew was that if a child wearing the gear that Rupert had on ..scarf ,hat, gloves and checked trousers turned up at our school he would get beaten up every day...Even if it happened to be a girl wearing that stuff.
Now I,m older I can more easily recognize one of these characters as being the Mayor of London.Another, changed into a suit, our current Prime Minister. Hi Rupert.
But that,s beside the point.When I did pick it up I discovered it had one big advantage over Oor Willie.It was in spectacular colour and it was full of adventures in Caves,coves,beaches,romanticized English countryside, castles and towers.Inverclyde and Renfrewshire were a perfect fit for all these. Kilmacolm and Bridge of Weir wouldn't look out of place dropped into the Home Counties of England.After all they were probably modeled from examples down there.

When The Lord of the Rings dropped into my Christmas stocking aged twelve it made a big impression on me.
("Christ ! Not more F****** elves! "A disgruntled comment from an Inkling,one of Tolkien,s writing group when told of his latest offering :) I love that!
To me it was obvious this could be the Shire as well.It was a perfect,almost magical version of the English landscape as described in the book.Magical because it was so far north. The map of the Shire showed the same small rolling hills ,woods, meadows and farms.In the middle of that imagined landscape drawn from Tolkien,s own childhood memories Greenhill Country  sat bang in the middle of his Shire.
Look at the sign in the photo above this one.I rest my twelve year old minds case.:)
This has always been for me my Shire and even when I look at the modern film version that Peter Jackson Shot in New Zealand so many views of that still match  the views here.A wooded rolling country of small gentle hills and streams.The only thing missing is the hobbit holes.After all "The fairest of a thousand parishes" quote about Renfrewshire  was penned long before the Lord of the Rings was ever written.

Maybe its just I've grown so used to placing books and films into this remarkable landscape from an early age its become like second nature to me.
But it is amazing how many of these classics where the landscape is a star can fit in here like a glove. Its got that level of diversity.
It certainly makes a cycle ride here a fun experience.
What do I see in this landscape other than fields and farms?
Decades of books, films, plays and half remembered  ghostly characters  that flit in and out of my mind constantly here. Nowhere else has that effect. Just here.         " Cold comfort farm? "Why, That's here as well of course , just over the next hill.
That early day's pack horse man was spot on.This is a changeling country.
But I've always known that.
I don't need peacocks and horseboxes sitting outside my front door when I can play in sunshine every weekend and can transport myself to so many different imagined and real landscapes all over the UK at will.
All you need is imagination.... and I've always had my fair share of that.
If God offered me the keys of heaven right now I,d say.
"Pah! Old man! Is that the best you've got? I,ll stay right here then .If you  ever want a tour around  some real quality scenery anytime just give me a shout."