A visit to R.R.S Discovery

The Discovery now rests in a dock at Aberdeen, it is a wonderful, exciting part of a Museum, where you can learn about the Discovery's trip to the Antarctica, captained by Scott. You can go aboard the ship and follow in the footsteps of Captain Scott and his brave crew who survived two winters in Antarctica, which at the beginning of the 20th century was still an uncharted wilderness.

Captain Robert Falcon Scott joined the navy at 13 and was appointed expedition leader of for the Discovery in June 1900, he was promoted to Commander RN at the young age of 33.

Though a rather shy man he was also steady and as later events were to prove, immensely courageous. There were many scientists aboard the ship, who during the expedition took samples from the area, which has gone down in history as the beginning of our knowledge of Antarctica.

It is a great Museum and well worth a visit.

...........And not a Munro in sight!

Killiecrankie Visitor Centre

Three miles north of Pitlochry at the Northern end of the pass of Killiecrankie there is a visitor centre, it tells the story of the Battle of Killiecrankie, which took place near to this wooded gorge on 27th July 1689. Here, a Jacobite army led by John, Graham of Claverhouse, defeated government forces under General Mackay.
Formerly part of the Faskally Estate 40 acres of this oak & mixed deciduous woodland on the banks of the River Garry were gifted to the National Trust For Scotland in 1947. We walked along the Gorge, eagerly taking photos, it is absolutely stunning.

Queen Victoria visited in 1844 and is said to have commented favourably on the tranquility of the area in her diary. She was not wrong and it still holds that feel to this very day.

Further along the path we came to a spot marked "Soldier's Leap". Here you can look down at a large, flat rock at the water's edge which is said to be the site from which Donald McBane, a redcoat soldier fleeing the battle of Killiecrankie, leapt 5.5 metres / 18 feet across the River Garry, while being pursued by Jacobite clansmen.

The pictures above and below show the said rock (on the right hand side) but it is deceiving, as it is a lot bigger jump than it looks here! I would not like to attempt it, but I suppose he had little option.

Below, a picture of Colin, complete with cameras, running away from mine! and looking cheeky!

We passed by a wonderful old viaduct, which is 510 feet long and was designed for the Inverness & Perth junction Railway (The Highland & Railway Company from 1865). It was designed by Joseph Mitchell and completed in 1863 at a cost of £5,730.

The ten masonry arches are each 35 feet span and the extreme height to the parapet wall is 54 feet.
It was a sight to behold, we really enjoyed seeing it.

This area has been designated a site of special scientific interest because of the quality of its woodland. We enjoyed our "potter" here, as contrary to popular belief, we are not always bagging Munro's" on our Scottish holidays!

Carn Ghluasaid & Sgurr Nan Conbhairean

The mountains are on the north side of Loch Cluanie, mid-way between Loch Ness & Loch Duich.

From the A87 road the mountains may look unimpressive but their southern slopes & corries are undistinguished & their tops hidden. We started at Lundie, 4km west of the Loch Cluanie dam.

We followed the old military road west, then picked up a fine stalkers path which lead up to the first summit of the day, Carn Ghluasaid. (Hill of movement)
The weather was kind, so we had good views. We set off for the next summit along a broad ridge of moss & stones which lead up to Creag a Chorainn (999m),then west to Glas Bhealach over a smooth expanse of grass.

Colin had already climbed the two mentioned mountains, but had failed to pull in another which branched out from them, as at the time he didn't think he would be able to complete all of Munro's. But now he is hoping to complete them, so he paced on ahead to the second summit, where he left his rucksack and went on to climb his third Munro of the day. I followed behind & took my time to reach the summit of Sgurr Nan Conbhairean (peak of the keeper of the hounds)
See above, Colin miles ahead!
A self portrait, me at the summit! Could have done with a comb!
I waited for Colin's return, the mist came in, and out again, ravens flew by very close to me. The views were amazing. I put on a few more layers and enjoyed some food.


Colin eventually appeared out of the mist, having successfully climbed the third Munro, Sail Chaorainn.

We descended down a narrowing ridge above Gorm Lochan it skirted round the ridge and the path was quite steep in places. This lead to the shoulder of Meall Breac, at which point the good old Scottish rain started to fall. The descent steepened and was very boggy in places.

We walked back to Lundie, legs aching, but happy and on reaching the road we passed the scene below! stunning!

We had enjoyed a great day out in the hills once again and later, after a shower, we enjoyed a scrumptious meal at the Glenelg Inn.

The Angel Of The North.

On the way back from Scotland, we visited the Angel of the North.

The Angel of the North was commissioned by Gateshead council and created by renowned sculptor Anthony Gormley.

It is Britain's largest angel sculpture and is one of the most viewed pieces of art in the world - seen by more than one person every second, 90,000 every day or 33 million every year.

Work on the sculpture started in July 1997 and was assembled on site seven months later in February 1998.

The site was cleared, old mine workings were filled with grouting and eight holes drilled, each 3 to 4 mitres across. One hundred & fifty tonnes of concrete were poured around steel reinforcement to form massive piles to root the sculpture into solid rock 20 metres below ground.

A concrete slab 1.5 metres thick & covering an area 13 metres by 8 metres was laid on top of the piles. A plinth 5.3 metres high was built on the slabs & cast into it are 52 bolts - each 3 metres long - onto which the angel is fixed.

The Angel was fabricated from 200 tonnes of weathering steel, it rises 20 metres (65ft) & has a wing span of 54 metres (175ft) - almost as big as a jumbo jet.

I have quoted the sculptor's comments below, after he was asked why he choose an angel for this site. I think to understand the history of where the angel stands and what she represents is important. I believe the sculptor was very successful, and I love the angel of the north and all it stands for.

"People are always asking why an angel?. The only response I can give is that no-one has ever seen one and we need to keep imagining them.

The angel has three functions, one to remind us that below this site coal miners worked in the dark for two hundred years, secondly to grasp hold of the future expressing our transition from the industrial to the information age, and lastly to be a focus for our hopes and fears."

Anthony Gormley

Sculptor.

Climbing Beinn Sgritheall

Beinn Sgritheall is a very steep mountain, rising above Loch Hourn.

It dominates the Glenelg peninsula and gives fine views across the loch to Knoydart and beyond the sound of Sleat to Rhum & Eigg.

We started our climb from Arnisdale on the north shore of the loch, it started off a very fine day with blue sky's and sunshine.

The climb was relentless, so steep with no rest for the legs!

We climbed a scree field to gain the east top and continued along the ridge where I had to swallow my fears whilst ascending a narrowing of the ridge, which seemed quite exposed.

Then, at last we walked up to the summit!

The descent was also steep, we walked to the start of a path which descended through the woods of Coile Mhialairigh. The weather had changed and it had started to rain, the path was very steep, boggy in parts and we had to watch out for the slippery tree roots. It was challenging after a tiring walk and we were pleased to reach the road, where we had a 2 mile walk back to Arnisdale, in the rain, happy and looking forward to the cosy cottage, hot food and a few celebration drinks!

Weather

This was a great day out, as you can see the weather was changeable! But that's one of the things I love about the Mountains and Scotland. It amuses me when people ask about the weather, like it may ruin my holiday if it rains. I actually like the rain! My waterproofs are excellent and it is very important to wear the correct clothing and boots on the hills, for safety and comfort.

We have had all weather on our many trips to Scotland and I could not say any was bad, even the week it rained almost non stop! It's nice to get a mixture, which is what mostly happens. The sun will shine, then the clouds come in, whirl around the mountain tops, followed by rain or hail. But then, the sun shines again and the clouds blow away. Then I see one of my favourite things, a bright, vivid rainbow that's so close I feel like I could reach out and touch it.

Scottish Road

I have changed this painting since I took this shot of it. The trees on the right have now expanded and go into the distance. I have trimmed the redness down from the right hand side.