Sgor Gaoich

Glen Feshie arguably the loveliest glen in the Cairngorms. From here the slopes of Sgor Gaoich open up invitingly. A gentle path from the car park at the end of the road takes you up onto Carn Ban Mor.

 

It's a grassy path initially with big, open views all around until you reach the ridge that leads to Sgor Gaoith.  The short, clipped grass giving way to a more stony top, but not one that is hard to navitage across in good visibility.

 

 

A highlight on the ridge and on the summit is the view down into Loch Einich and across to the likes of Braeriach and Cairn Toul.

 

 

Another good outing for my 20 year old Hot Ice rucksack !!

 

Broad Cairn

Occasionally you set off on a hill-walk in the rain anticipating a fairly horrible day with little to see. However, from time to time the weather can turn during the day and that was our experience on Broad Cairn.  From dull wet weather to sun shine, it was a great day out.

 

From Loch Muick we took 'the lightening' path and this gave us a great close encounter with some red deer hinds.

 

 One of the reasons for picking this walk was the fact that the paths are quite clear, which in a bad day can be a real bonus.

 

Our garden

At the end of a long day there is nowhere quite like a garden to relax.  We are very lucky with the spot we have.  South facing in the main we benefit from the drier climate that the east of Scotland offers ... and I say that after several decades trying to nurture plants in the much wetter west of Scotland.

When we got this garden it was just a plot, so we have had all the fun of planning and planting on a blank canvas.  Would we do it differently if we had the chance to start from scratch again ... you bet, but that said it hasn't turned out too badly.

 

To get from the above to what follows was great fun. Once the house was complete the first task was to get to work on turning the earth over and raking out all sorts of stones.  These varied from fist-sized right through to some that needed two of us to remove.  Wheelbarrow, after wheelbarrow followed, but gradually we had a soil that we could rake before laying the turf and erecting fences and a greenhouse.

 

 

 

 

Every garden needs a helper or two  The two that we have offer limited help !

 

 

 



Cairngorms

Cairntoul, Braeriach, Ben MacDui, Lochnagar ...   so many classic mountain names and so many great outings in one spot.

I'm not sure when I first fell in love with the Cairngorms, but after years of walking in the western hills these were a welcome change of scenery.  Vast plateaus, stunning long views and more often than not quite dry underfoot ... now that really was different.

The wildlife is marvellous in this area - from adders and lizards to golden eagles and red deer. I bought a Nikon D40 in 2009 and the first day I took it out we came across an adder near Derry Cairngorm. Unbelieivably lucky and what a great wildlife experience.

 
The Lairig Ghru is one of the great sights in this region. I had a great overnight here with my father in law, stopping in the Corrour Bothy on a summer Sunday night. A slightly damp weekend it was nevertheless marvellous to wake up in such a fantastic spot and the sense of silence first thing in the morning was eerie.

The remnants of Caledonian pinewood here are absolutely stunning, the smell, the colours and the beautiful shapes.  Heading north to the Pools of Dee and scrambling through a wonderful boulder field we eventually emerged into classic Scots Pine woodlands and within minutes had our first sighting of a crossbill. Yes, there is so much to see in this area no wonder it draws you back like a magnet.

Montalbano

What to do when you have to reluctantly leave your Italian holiday behind ?  

Read Italian books, of course.

David Gilmour's - The Pursuit of Italy is one of my favourites and R J B Bosworth's Mussolini's Italy is another fascinating read.  But for real escapism I love the Montalbano detective novels.  The scenery, quirky characters, amazing food and sheer love of humour jump off the pages. 

Another highly enjoyable element of Andrea Camilleri's series is the superb cover artwork in the Picador series.  I find it a tough call to decide where Camilleri or Michael Dibdin is my favourite at the moment. The Zen detective novels are another really well crafted series, and whereas Montalbano is set in Sicily where the dry, arid landscape often dominates, the Zen novels are by and large set in Rome with frequent interludes in Venice. As you can imagine the sophisticated Rome life-style seeps on to the pages and the escapes to Venice bring that watery wonderland to vivid life.  Both series are finding huge popularity in Britain now withe t.v. adaptations lending a boost to their coverage.

Provence by Mini - the Vaucluse

 

Provence is a fantastic summer location.  The Mediterranean climate, the consistenty high temperature, the lovely fruit and vegetables, the honey, the wine and the magnificent hill top villages. There is a lot to see if you are on holiday and a return trip is hard to resist.  Favourite spots I'd pick out in terms of villages are Bonnieux, Gordes, Lacoste, Lurmarin, Oppede le Vieus, Rousillon, Venasque, Les Baux.  For scenery I'd say that Mont Ventoux is a must and if times allows the larger town I'd visit is Avignon.

 

St Saturnin Les Apt is one of ourfavourite destinations in this region, and it is a wonderful base for popping of to visit a range of superb hill top villages.  I suspect it has undergone something of a makeover in recent years.  Many of the roads and paths are in stunning condition and the sandy buildings are well cared for with few run-down options left for those who revel in 'a project'.

 

If Roman history is your thing then it would be hard not to visit Glanum. It's a great site and the visitor centre is one of the best I've been to. The French equivalent of Historic Scotland look after this site and it's a great place to spend a couple of hours. I'd make time to enjoy the visitors centre (a cool option on what can be hot days) and don't miss out crossing the road for what I heard one little boy describe as the 'mini Arc de Triumph'.

 

 

 

The Abbeye de Sanque draws many visitors. It's a lovely medieval Cistercian abbey and is one of the best places to see Provence's famed lavender fields. Home to Cistercian monks it was apparentelyh founded in 1148. Just north of Gordes you reach it by a 'B' road which in recent years has been made one way to ease the flow of traffic.  The old building sits in a valley floor and the surrounding lavendar fields make this a photographer's dream.

Perthshire Amber

Not for nothing is Perthshire known as Big Tree County.  The woodlands are exceptional and of course this means that autumn is ablaze with colour. Today we headed up to Killiecrankie just north of Pitlochry.  The area is part of a National Trust holding and derives much of its fame from the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689 and the 'Soldiers Leap'.  There is a lovely walk either side of an old iron bridge and with rail and road squeezed into a tight pass there is always a sense of drama about Killiecrankie.

Of course, I've borrowed the title Perthshire Amber from Dougie MacLean's festival. I've been to a few of these and although the experience is always different I thought the 2012 version in Perth's Concert Hall was the best I've been too.  What a great mix of music and a stunning venue.

Hen Harrier

A glorious October day in Perthshire.  Woke to misty conditions and a blanket hanging over the River Tay but gradually little pockets of blue sky appeared.  Too good a morning to waste, so on with the cycling togs and off to Little Glenshee.  There is always wildlife to see on this bike ride - and I really mean always!

First up a couple of jays before I've even got to Little Glenshee.  A few hares, and the ever present roe deer, pheasants scuttling about at the side of the road, crows and rooks lurking in the fields.  But no buzzards, which is unusual.  But then just after crossing the ford a bird hops out of the banking and 'bounces' across the road.  It's a bird of prey and I stop to see what's wrong.  A couple of steps off the road and I'm confronted by a hen harrier.  It lets me approach and something is clearly wrong.  I can touch it's back but anything more would I think bring a sharp peck. A beautiful bird.

Unfortunately I don't have any mobile reception here and so I have to complete the cycle home before I can call the wildlife rescue people.  It takes us a few hours before we can meet and see if we can find out what's wrong.  Unfortunately - or perhaps - fortunately the bird has gone.  It's a thick area of scrub with plenty of water and stunted shrubs.  The verdict of he SSPCA chap is that the harrier might have mis-timed a dive or swoop and been stunned.  Hopefully it recovered in the period between me finding it and managing to get back to the spot with the SSPCA.

I've always wanted to see a hen harrier, but this was at rather closer quarters than I would have liked.

Tuscany 2012

Tuscany ... what a great experience. Siena, Pienza, San Gimignano, Florence, Montepulciano, Volterra ... wonderful places.   Probably the most instantly recognisable photo we brought back was of Pisa but whilst I enjoyed it I'd have to say it was the most crowded spot we visited. Given a choice between returning to Pisa or nearby Lucca I'd plump for Lucca.  Pisa was a bit surreal ... we parked next to the huge concrete bowl of a football stadium where there is enough fencing to suggest military operations.  Yet stroll along the street, turn the corner and 'hey presto' you walk straight into the Field of Miracles. It is a great sight, a green oasis with three stunning buildings. 

The famous 'leaning tower'.

The hot springs of Bagno Vignoni were a real highlight on a very hot day. Built by the Medici the little village is well worth a visit as it is in stark contrast to the larger sights in the area such as Siena and Pienza.

Lucca is set within thick city walls, that are ideal for a stroll or a bike ride.  So thick are these walls that the walkway on top is a tree-lined avenue. The Duomo is well worth a lingering look, very intricate and blindingly bright white. I liked the fact that Lucca is a working town and the bustle in the centre is part tourism and part ordinary Italians going about their business. The famous 'round' square is well worth a visit too, but the best thing for me is that whenever you felt things were getting too busy you could escape onto the tranquility of the city walls.

However, the Duomo in Siena is one of the finest buildings in Tuscany. The city is a sheer delight, easy to walk round and full of wonderful architecture.  From the little district symbols to the mighty Duomo, Siena is crammed with interest.  We visited on a Sunday, parked beside the football stadium, and simply strolled from sight to sight. The Campo, numerous lovely churches, hidden piazza's, looming towers.  Great stuff and a place I'm keen to revisit. It can be fairly hilly but that said you wouldn't get the series of excellent views if it weren't for the ups and downs of this beautiful town. If posted many more images for Siena and the other hill-top Tuscan towns and villages on my flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/41471288@N02/sets/72157631236408470/

Volterra was our nearest hill-top village and is rightly very popular.  Perhaps not quite as dramatic as San Gimignano it is nevertheless a wonderful setting.  There is a calming park at the top of the village which is ideal for picnicking and some stunning Tuscan views.  Look out for the roman remains too, they are well worth a visit and quite relaxing in what can be a busy village. At the top of the village (near the underground carpark) is a vista that draws many visitors and with a broad wall to sit on you can linger here and drinki in the Tuscan scenery.

 

Our accomodation was interesting. A converted steading that houses around half a dozen holiday lets with a swimming pool and great views,  and all at the end of what the Italian's term 'a white road'.  White road don't have tarmac and are in essence dirt tracks but often wtih a good layer of gravel.  This proved interesting for us as our accomodation was at the foot of a fairly steep hill, and beyond our complex was a further farmhouse that was  undergoing substantial renovations. Now that posed a problem because the heavy vehicles that brought supplies to the building works quickly trashed the road and as we slithered down to our apartment on day one we both thought .... Mmmm, going to be interesting driving back up this in a mini.  Well, it was and it took me seven goes to get up what was a cratered and shifting surface.  For the next few days we left our car at the top of this steep hill and simply walked to and from the car at the start and end of each day.  That doesn't sound too bad but when the temperature is in the high 70s and low 80s and you are laden with heavy drinks and food (for we were self catering) it became quite a challenge each day.

 

But the benefit of being at the end of this road were the wildlife and quiet evenings. We had cattle egrets, deer, boar, foxes, birds of prey and hosts of lizards to watch. Insect wise there was good and bad news.  As darkness fell encountered the dreaded mosquitoes, but during the day and at meal times the Olianders drew in those magnificent big black bumblebees that bounce around with a soundtrack to match their impressive size. I can never make up my mind about Scops Owls.  The sound they make (so like a submarine beeping in a  movie) is like no other wildlife sound I've heard, but they do go on a bit and if they select a nearby tree you can write off sleeping for a while.

 

 

Sunderland AFC 1

Part of me thinks that when it comes to football, fans are a little like ducklings.

You know the theory that duckling will follow the first thing they see after hatching.  Well I think that applies to most of us with football clubs.  I was brought up in Sunderland and the first games my Dad took me to were at Roker Park to watch Sunderland.  The green swathe of turf, the red and white criss-cross pattern on the stands, the buzz of the crowd, the red and white striped jerseys.  I was hooked and despite living in Scotland for most of my days and watching heaps of football all over the place I still get a tingle when I see Sunderland. One of the most appealing things about Sunderland is arguably the way the whole town gets behind the team. I don't get to see them that often, but they are my team and I suppose always will be.

Football memorabilia isn't something I go in for, but I do like seeing it in museums and magazine articles.  Some of it is incredibly expensive, so below I've reproduced a few things and I've also captured in time some of my Sunderland memories.

Match programmes are the most common football souvenir that fans have of matches. Like most supporters I have a few programmes tucked away that come out once in a blue moon to remind me of games I went to, people I went with, great players, and joy and disappointment in equal measure.

Amongst the most memorable Sunderland home matches for me was the visit of Cardiff City at the end of the 1978/79 season. April 28th ... a glorious sunny day on Wearside, and a bumper crowd inside Roker Park to see Sunderland lying third in the league seek to secure the two points (as it was two points for a win in those days) that would almost certainly secure one of the three promotion spots. Cardiff had languished near the foot of the table for most of the season and were desperate for points themselves to avoid slipping into Division Three. So the scene was set for a memorable final home league match of the season.  What unfolded was pure theatre as Sunderland missed a penalty, huffed a puffed and finally ran out a steam against a Welsh side that mastered the tension better to win 2-1.  Talk about a deflating walk back into town.  Despite winning their last game of the season Sunderland were destined to miss promotion by a single point.

The following season, without the very unlucky Billy Elliot, who had been somehow removed as manager despite a good season, the club were duly promoted. The home game I got along to this time was Chelsea, newly relegated from the First Division (then the top league). Amid a fair bit of crowd disorder Sunderland edged home 2-1 but in truth the alarm bells should have been ringing for football as fighting fans were ruining the spectacle and driving many football folk away from the game.

However, undettered I was back for the return to the big time in the summer of 1980 and briefly Sunderland shone.  After beating Everton 3-1 at Roker on the opening day of the season (but to a smaller crowd than watched the Cardiff game) they went on to play Southampton in front of 40,000 plus. Alas, despite a goal by a certain Sam Allardyce, the Lads were beaten by a Saints side that had Keegan and Channon in their ranks. But the real excitement again came at the end of the season when relegation stalked the club.

April 25 1981, Sunderland at home to Brighton and with Liverpool away the only other fixture left a win over Brighton seemed absolutely vital. On another sunny day Sunderland slithered to a shock 2-1 home defeat.  It should have been arrevederci to the top league but amazingly one week later the beleagured side won 1-0 at Liverpool ....  ah, the great unpredicatable theatre that is football.  Liverpool and Ipswich had lured me out of Scotland to travel to Roker Park and I wasn't disappointed by either. Sure they beat Sunderland (4-2 and 2-0 respectively) but the quality of football was amazing - Dalglish, Souness, McDermott and Hansen for Liverpool, Muhren, Thijssen, Mariner, Butcher and Gates for Ipswich. Great teams to watch.

Occassionally I was tempted to travel to other grounds to see Sunderland. My first real outing was on the travel club coaches to Luton in November 1979. A really good day out and a surprise 3-0 win for Sunderland.  Rostron, Buckley, Rowell, Elliott ... a good solid team. This was the same season in which it would all end in tears at home to Cardiff and during the campaign I made a trip to the West Country to see Sunderland tackle Bristol Rovers.  I can't remember too much about the drab 0-0 other than the stadium being a greyhound stadium and brigning to mind memories of Clyde playing at Shawfield Stadium.

   Away to Cardiff was a clasic late season game when again Sunderland needed the points to go up.  Standing in the packed away end behind the goal the atsmosphere was vibrant, enthusiastic and optimistic, but a goal by Pop Robson was not enough in a 1-1 draw but a few days later against West Ham (complete with cup hangover) Sunderland went up.  I tried other away matches at Wolves, Birmingham, Tottenham and Liverpool but in truth the travel and the hassle didn't seem as rewarding as strolling along to a home fixture.

 

The arrival of the Stadium of Light came at a time when I had a young family and the budget didn't stretch to venturing south, but over time things change and I was finally able to see what the fuss about the Stadium of Light and the Premiership was all about.  First up was a birthday present for my oldest son to see the visit of Aston Villa, a great day out followed. The stadium, the much improved atmosphere, the quality of players ... it was a quantum leap from the late seventies and early eighties.
 
Since then we have made a few trips to the Stadium of Light together.  Manchester City (when local boy Adam Johnson scored a real cracker for the visitors), Arsenal (when Darren Bent grabbed a last gasp equaliser), Bolton with hosptality, Tottenham (who won 2-1) and West Bromwich Albion in a thrilling 2-2 draw. Great stuff and happy memories.

The AB & C company history can be traced back to 1949, and for schoolboys throughout the 1960s in particular they gave a great deal of pleasure and an insight into football with their popular bubble-gum cards.  Sunderland featured fairly heavily but with the odd spell in the Second Division there were seasons where the club were omitted.

The 1960/61 set featured the great Charlie Hurley who was my Dad's favourite Sunderland player by some distance. Hurley had joined the club from Millwall and was seemingly unsure if the move to Sunderland was right for him.  You could hardly blame him ... in his first two games Sunderland lost 0-7 and 0-6 so he could have been forgiven for thinking that his time as centre-half at Roker Park was doomed to failure. To cap it all the club were relegated at the end of his first season.  But Hurley was no quitter and he soon settled into things and was appointed club captain.  Fearless, charismatic and a natural leader he led the club back to the top flight in 1963. Along with Jimmy Montgomery and Len Shackleton, Hurley is a true Sunderland legend.

1965 Typhoo Tea Ltd - Famous Football Clubs - Second Series

Typhoo tea was a staple of many kitchens in the 1960s and the packets often carried small images and text about famous footballers and teams. With this series there were 12 teams featured. If you saved those up you could send them away for a large format issue card 10 x 8 ".  Remarkably, considering we hadn't won anything for about three decades, Sunderland featured in the set and it was the aim of most Sunderland schoolboys to transform the little packet cards into the large Sunderland team card.
 

      It's a good Sunderland card in that it shows the club's former stadium Roker Park, and the old main stand with the Archibald Leitch design quite evident; this was the design that would earn fame at the likes of Goodison and Ibrox. Also visible immediately behind the players is the traditional home end at Roker Park - The Fulwell End.

Meall a'bhuridh and Creise

This is one of the few Munros that offers some solace if you aren't feeling one-hundred percent.  The chair lift at the White Corries can magically whisk you about half way up the hill. From this mid-station it's a fairly non-descript slog to the top alongside some tow-lifts and the usual ski debris ... but the views behind you over Rannoch Moor are impressive.

It's the summits that make this a good walk and where the sense of place really emerges.  From Meall a'bhuridh there is a nice drop to a bealach with a straightforward ascent (in good visibility) to the ridge that leads to Creise. We had a few ravens to keep us company and their deep calls were just about the only sound we could hear. Creise gives great views up into Glencoe, particularly of the Buachailles. A few red deer about but all in all a fairly quiet day for wildlife.  (August 2012)

Carn Ghluasaid

Early May brought some decent weather.  Carn Ghluasaid and its two neighbours beckoned and in stunning weather we enjoyed a cracker of a hill-walk.

An early start from Perth was rewarded with a long sunny day on the hill.  First up was Carn Ghluasaid which lies next to Loch Cluanie off the A87.  An excellent stalkers path makes navigation easy and near the top the only thing to look out for is the fact that the true top is adjacent to a rather steep cliff !

Near the top of this splendid mountain there are good numbers of Ptarmigan.  In their summer plummage and with an absence of much snow their camouflage is excellent.  I tried my best to get a decent  picture of one but there is only so close you can get before they scurry off, and they are well-versed in keeping one step ahead.

The walk from Carn Ghluasaid to Sgurr nan Conbhairean is not difficult, the only word of  caution is to steer reasonably clear of the cliff to the west of the ridge.  On the top - on day like today - the views of beautiful Glen Affric and north to Torridon are awesome, and of course you can see out to Skye and Rhum. 

The day is rounded off with a quick jaunt down and along the ridge to the out-lier of Sail Chaorainn, a very straightforward Munro.  Of course at this point you are at the furthest extent of the walk and the journey from here needs some retracing of steps.  But instead of going back up to the summit of Sail Chaorainn, head west and join the ridge that leads back to the A87.  On a good day this is easy going and gives great views of Loch Cluanie and the famous South Glen Shiel Ridge.

Languedoc - Roussillon

The South of France is a truly superb holiday destination. Laguedoc - Roussillon is one of the most relaxing places I've visited. Go in the summer and you are almost guaranteed sunshine, add the fruit, breads and cheeses along with a heap of lovely villages and you have an ideal holiday spot.

 

We drove from Scotland by taking the ferry from Rosyth to Zeebrugge (sadly an option that is no longer available). Splitting our fortnight or so in two we initially stayed in a small village called Lagrasse. On the way down we visited the stunning Millau Viaduct and this was to be a sharp contrast to the equally stunning Pont Du Gard.

 

From Lagrasse a host of visits are possible.  One of our favourites was the PONT DU GARD ... Arguably one of the finest pieces of construction that the Romans produced. Some 2000 years on it can still take your breath away, and it was apparently in use for over 400 years. We visited on a blisteringly hot day where the temporary shade offered by the visitor centre was really welcome and folk were enjoying the river.

The olive tree that you pass on the way to the bridge is stunning too.  A nice blend of the natural and the built environments in one marvellous site.

 

Other highlights of this holiday including going to the seaside town of Collioure, visiting the charming old town of Narbonne, the near disney-like Carcassonne and the wonderful Cathar Castles perched on seemingly impossible summits.  When we left this area it was to go to Provence and we took the opportunity to call in on Aigues-Mortes.

 

 

A great area to relax in and the little backroad between Lagrasse and Limoux are not to be missed.

Creag Meagaidh

Creag Meagaidh is one of the best 'local' Munros for me.  A few years ago I had a day up here in the mist - an awful squelching, see nothing, bumbling outing - and it changed my approach to hill-walking.  High Pressure is the name of the game for me these days. Views are such a big part of walking.

This proved to be a great day.  Snow on the tops, ptarmigan, two golden eagles, a merlin and a flock of snow buntings were real highlights.  A snow refuge cut into the deep snow at 'the window' proved a quirky attraction. 

To cap it all we had this view on the shore of Loch Laggan at the end of the day.  High Pressure ... bring it on !

stoat robbed, rabbit saved

A gentle winter spin up Little Glenshee today. A few lapwings are now up in the glen, amongst the usual suspects of Buzzard, Jay and Crow was a newcomer for me ... a stoat.

Up near the head of the glen I saw a rabbit lying in the road with a couple of crows in attendance.  It didn't look good, but the crows were strangely reticent, and as I neared the prone rabbit I found out why, for out popped a stoat from the far side of the rabbit. Superb looking in ermine, with just the black tips of the ears breaking the snowy appearance.

Fortunately for the rabbit my arrival saved the day, but for the stoat it was a case of a meal disappearing in unusual circumstances.