Author: Fhithich
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Fossilised Tree
MacCulloch’s Fossil Tree is a fairly popular tourist destination on the Isle of Mull although the trek in is not an easy stroll, certainly not for the faint-hearted. It is located at the western tip of the Ardmeanach peninsula. Parking is at Tioran and in our case a 6km cycle to the township of Burgh…
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Overnight camp, LAMM 2006
Today I take a trip back to June 2006 and early finishers on Day 1 of the Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon are arriving at the overnight camp at Glencoul, a remote bothy at the head of the sea loch of the same name. The photo belies the thick, low cloud with rain and drizzle that…
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Loch na Leitreach
Perfect reflections on a summer morning. One thing I love about Scottish place names is their meaning. Leitreach means slope, so Loch na Leitreach is slope loch. A strange meaning until I imagine the inhabitants of Carnach at its head naming their loch from this view. Dominating the scene is Carnan Cruithneachd, a mere Graham…
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Bamburgh Castle
Or should I say Bebbanburg, the ancestral home of Bernard Cornwell’s Uhtred in the book and film ‘The Last Kingdom‘? An Uhtred the Bold did exist, he was made Earl of Northumbria in 1006. But Cornwell’s Uhtred lived 140 years earlier. A long, long time ago, maybe the time of Uhtred, maybe before or maybe…
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The Isle of Grasmoor
Lockdown day 1, my daily exercise ration done and dusted. All very quiet today. And afterwards a look through my photo archive. Flashback to New Year’s Eve 2008. This must have been one of my most favourite days out on the Lakeland Fells. We were staying at Helvellyn Youth Hostel. Good friends, good times. I’d…
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Stratification at Jet Wyke
A step-change today in reducing my patch for wandering. No more nipping out in the car to distant hills. William ‘Strata’ Smith was born on this day 251 years ago. He went on to develop much of the current understanding of geological science as we know it today and became known as the father of…
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Social distancing on Roseberry
Should I feel guilty? On the one hand, we have our snollygoster of a Prime Minister saying that it is OK to go out for exercise (not that I would necessarily believe anything he says); silence (as of today) of all official advice from the Government and the NHS on being out in the countryside;…
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Hawnby
Described as a “traditional nucleated settlement”, modern Hawnby really has two nuclei. The high one at the foot of Hawnby Hill and the low one centred on the old mill by the River Rye. Both have quaint sandstone buildings with red pantile roofs distinctive of the Tabular Hills. The village is mentioned in the Domesday…
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Face Stone
Community networks are rapidly being created following the coronavirus outbreak. Communities are coming together with various projects to try and support the elderly and vulnerable in our society. But it is also apparent that certain individuals are seeking to exploit the situation for their own gain. Perhaps this is a frailty of human society. At…
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The fields of Hutton Lowcross
A blue sky first thing this morning. Enough to momentarily forget our troubles. Plenty of runners and dog walkers. The hills are still open, they’re not in lockdown. Yet. Lockdown, an American word first recorded in 1973 meaning the temporary confinement of prisoners to their cells for all of the day. Quarantine, on the other…